Customer Reviews

Hellboy

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While some good directors never quite "get it," it took Guillermo Del Toro only one misfire -- the icky, slow-paced "Blade 2" -- to get the whole comic-book adaptation thing right.

In fact, just about everything is right with "Hellboy" -- Del Toro crafted an action blockbuster with a grimy, slimy cult-movie feel and a quirky sense of humor. It's graced with excellent acting, spectacular action scenes, and the trappings of clockpunk and Lovecraftian horror -- not to mention that it stars a six-foot-tall scarlet demon with a soft spot for kittens.

In 1944, young Professor Broom accompanied an army regiment to a remote Scottish island, where the Nazis -- led by Rasputin -- were about to open a portal to another world, and allow the vast tentacled Ogru Jahad (Seven Gods of Chaos) to enter our world. Rasputin and the Nazis were destroyed, but something came through the portal -- a baby demon, whom Broom names Hellboy.

Fast-forward sixty years -- a grown Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his fishy friend Abe (Doug Jones) are working at a paranormal government agency that specializes in policing the supernatural, with the weirded-out Agent Myers (Rupert Evans) just joining the team. Soon afterwards, Hellboy is called on to kill Sammael the Hellhound -- but it turns out that Sammael can replicate himself indefinitely.

As Hellboy and his team try to hunt down the remaining Sammaels, the dying Professor Broom (John Hurt) finds that a revived Rasputin and his immortal Nazi followers have orchestrated all this. And Rasputin is continuing to pull the strings behind the scenes -- including using Hellboy's love Liz (Selma Blair), a depressed pyrokinetic. And when Hellboy suffers a devastating loss, his journey will take him right back to his roots -- and the potential destruction of the world.

Watching "Hellboy," it's easy to see how Guillermo Del Toro because world-famous for the exquisitely dark "Pan's Labyrinth," and why he's been chosen to direct the forthcoming "Hobbit" movies. This adaptation could have just been another paint-by-numbers comic-book story, but Del Toro gives it the kind of grime, quirk, brains and heart that a lasting cult movie should have.

Part of that cult appeal is "Hellboy's" distinctive look, with Lovecraftian tentacle-gods and some steampunky details. And the action scenes are pretty spectacular -- trains, slimy hellhounds, sword-swinging Nazis with chopped-up faces, giant clock cogs, and a fiery explosion in a mental asylum. And there are some truly spectacular action scenes in a vast underground labyrinth, full of ancient hammers and collapsing bridges. There's just enough action and grossness, without going overboard.

But Del Toro is able to balance out the action with some truly touching moments, such as the aged Broom's final scenes in his firelit study. And there's a lot of dark humor here as well -- and not all of it is Hellboy's dry one-liners. The movie is liberally peppered with dark humor moments ("1945, you mean. Hitler died in '45." "DID he now?"), including some hilariously macabre scenes involving a bad-tempered Russian zombie ("This is Ivan Klimatovich. Say hi, Ivan." "Go that way, Red Monkey!").

Most importantly, Del Toro is able to give his characters little human quirks -- hair plugs, love of cats, and Hellboy sanding down his horns in the morning. Perlman is simply amazing as "Red," whose gruff scarlet exterior hides a kindly, affectionate heart. Not many actors could emote through that many prosthetics (including a very lifelike tail), but Perlman makes it look natural.

Though he's playing a ninetyish old professor, Hurt plays his role with a quiet, powerful sense of goodness. Jones and Evans also do excellent jobs, one as an erudite psychic fish-man ("We lead a charmed life," he observes as cockroaches skitter around him) and an earnest young agent. Selma Blair is the one downside -- she sort of mumbles in a monotone most of the time.

"Hellboy" is one of the best comic-book adaptations that Hollywood has turned out, primarily because of the darker, eerier aesthetic Guillermo Del Toro brings to it. Definitely a must-see.

Hellboy & Hellboy2 great movies! It makes my Grandkids laugh that I enjoy the Hellboy movies as much as I do at the ripe old age of 60.

In the search for wonder weapons, the Nazis allowed themselves to listen to a certain man by the name of Rasputin. Many people would know him as "the mad monk" or other terms, but the Nazis only saw a way t make a quick buck. I wish the movie could have brought about how he survived his fall better, how the seven didn't just have the power but there was also a certain witch named Baba Yaga that had quite the way with this world, but movies can only do so much. This movie did quite a bit, too, taking many of the things fromt he first ansd second graphic novel and giving them to an audience that wants. Mignola said that the answers he gave here made him feel a little bad, too, so the graphic novel readers were rewarded by getting explanations they may have otherwise found themselves without. In my world, that's a win-win on both fronts.

As far as the movie fgoes, it had a little bit of everything. There were the fables that mixed with the Hellboy flavor, introducing Nazis that readers would recognize but adding them with a twist. Seeing these things move on the screen was beautiful, too, because i really didn't expect so much from Hellboy going into the primetime. Still, add a great director, imput from the writer, and Ron P. (the only person i can see being Hellboy) and you have yourself a set-up. Then add in other things like the CGi that blended in beautifully, Chtulu-spawned beasts that were shout outs by both director and writer, and you have yourself a great story. It has pieces that make it a little bit of eveything, too, from the coedy styling of a joke here or a beast there and you have youself something that shines on the screen.
In the beginning I had my reservations, too, but the end product made me a happy camper.

For fans of the series, this is a great thing. From people who do not know anything about the series, it is something grerat with a title that echoes the Pulp comic days of yore. There are all sorts of things that are good to have here, garnering high priase from someone that has followed ( and reviewed) almost everything that has Hellboy in its pages. And I loved what was made here, much to my surprise.
Heavily recommended.

Working with a near perfect balance of action, humor and charm, the first of the Hellboy series to reach the big screen is a highly entertaining flick. While Ron Perlamn's effective performance as the gruff but warm hearted red monster centers the film, he is surrounded by a phalanx of supporting actors that give "Hellboy" its broadened success.

In particular, John Hurt as Hellboy's father figure caretaker, Dr Bloom, exudes a strong intelligence and sense of purpose to avoid his character being a scientist cardboard cutout. Rupert Evans plays a befuddles new handler, newly exposed to the top-secret paranormal agency that Hellboy dwells in. Add some angry Nazis and one p-o'd rasputin who want to destroy the world, and you have a firecracker of a fun film.

Written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, the script pops at all the right moments all while adding character touches. The action sequences are a rollercoaster of thrill and scare (and the box of kittens is a hoot), along with a terrific visual sense. Even Jeffrey Tambor's sourpuss gets a good lesson in accepting the unusual before the film ends. For fans of the resurgent comic book movie genre, "Hellboy" hits all the right notes.

Hellboy delivers a welcome addition to the superhero club. Big-hearted but derivative supernatural adventure. This movie is occasionally quite funny.

The Bottom Line:

Overlong (this refers to the Director's Cut) and poorly-structured, Hellboy coasts for a while on the considerable charm of Ron Perlman but ultimately collapses upon itself; I love Del Toro, but found Hellboy to be a movie long on imagination and short on storytelling technique.

The movie itself is great- my problem is with the actual DVD. The description of this DVD on Amazon's website says that it's Widescreen, but it's not. It plays Fullscreen in my DVD player, and I cannot find anything on the DVD menu that allows you to change the format. All my other Widescreen DVDs play in Widescreen (aka letterbox) with no problem, using the same DVD player and TV set. I'm not happy.

Hey - I really liked this movie! It was fun, cheeky and a great ride. I like the costumes, it was action packed without having to take it all too seriously. I also quite enjoyed Hellboy 2 (which I saw first) - I'm a fan. I hope they keep up the quality of these as a serial because I look forward to another rollicking, funny, action packed Hellboy 3!

Del Toro loves Lovecraft and it shows. The image of the Old Ones' tentacles coming down from the skies is terrific, as is the creature at the end. The movie has a sense of humor and doesn't take itself too seriously...I like that. I enjoyed it.

I just wanted to say to amazon and hastings I'm really happy with my purchase. I just ordered hell boy I this sunday I got it today 11/17/10. The cases are good and the dvds are not scratched up. This is pretty much why I keep ordering from hastings so much. From the bottom of my heart, thank you...