Hellboy

Hellboy
In the absence of light; darkness prevails. There are things that go “bump” in the night. They are the ones who “bump” back…

1944 The Nazis are combining black magic and science to open a portal to free the beast Ogdru Jahad from its prison. This monster will destroy all of their enemies and bring about an age of chaos to the world. Things go awry when a squadron of American Soldiers along with their paranormal advisor, Professor “Broom” Bruttenholm (Hurt), attack the Nazis and thwart their attempt of domination. The portal closes up, however, it had been open long enough to let something through. Prof. Broom accidently finds what came through the portal; a red baby boy with horns and a right hand made of stone. He takes him in as his son, and he and the entire remaining soldiers band together to form the B.P.R.D., Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Sixty years later the remaining Nazis are back at their old tricks and trying to open the portal once more. This time they have to do it differently since this “Hellboy” came through the portal. The Nazis need Hellboy (Perlman) because his right hand of rock is actually the key to open the portal and summon Ogdru Jahad. Unfortunately the Nazis need other sources of power to open said portal so they look to the recently resurrected Rasputin for guidance. Rasputin decides to be a puppet master of the members of the B.P.R.D. and play them right into his hand. All hell breaks loose when Hellboy makes a decision for himself as to if he wants to remain on the side of good or join the forces of evil.
Hellboy is an exceptional comic adaptation. The look, the feel, the entire illusion that is created in the comics is brought to life in this film. Everything in this movie matches the comics as well as Sin City matches its counterpart graphic novels. The entire movie is fairly dark and at times a little saturated just to help with the fact that it is all about dark magic and the paranormal. The look of the characters had to be my favorite thing. Hellboy was unbelievable having Ron Perlman play him was a perfect choice. Ron has a large jaw and wide mouth and that is perfect for the grimaces that Hellboy makes while in battle or on the case. Ron Perlman is also good because he is of adequate size and Hellboy is no small guy. I remember Ron when he was in Alien Resurrection and he seemed like the witty wise cracking guy, which is also what the character of Hellboy is like especially during the fights. Hellboy’s catch phrases include “Oh crap” and “Son of a…” It just worked out really well, at least in my eyes. The not as famous as he should be; Doug Jones plays Abe Sapien the incredibly smart and psychic aquatic man. Doug also plays the man in most of the monster suits in a lot of movies; look him up because you might find it interesting. Selma Blair took the role of Liz Sherman the pyrokinetic woman that constantly leaves and comes back to the B.P.R.D. I really think anyone could have taken on this role but for some reason I really like Selma in it. I think it is because she plays a very good quiet girl that can explode at any moment and that is exactly what Liz Sherman is like. To top off the amazing cast they have John Hurt as Professor Broom. John Hurt always works as a wise old man and with his scratchy voice it just adds a lot of character to this character who has seen a lot of creepy and incredibly things.
As for the rest of the movie; the storyline was good. It actually combined a few of the comics or rather a lot of parts from different Hellboy comics. There was a little love story in it, but that is because it is in the comics and it really doesn’t distract from the main storyline, it actually helps play into it because it is used as a character development device. Even all of the CGI matches well with the action sequences and the rest of the look of the film. There is a good amount of comedy, action, and drama in this movie and it is all well balanced. Hellboy is a good film to chill out and watch. It goes down as one of my favorite comic book to silver screen adaptations. If you like the supernatural, monsters, or comic books then this is a good pick for you to spend an evening with.


Run time: 122 mins.
Written by: Mike Mignola, Guillermo del Toro, Peter Briggs
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Ron Perlman, John Hurt, Doug Jones, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, Karel Roden, and Rupert Evans