Directed by:
Guillermo del ToroScreenplay:
Guillermo del ToroCinematography:
Guillermo NavarroComposer:
Marco BeltramiCast:
Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, Karel Roden, Rupert Evans, Brian Steele, Doug Jones, John Hurt, Ladislav Beran, Corey Johnson, Brian Caspe (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Born in the flames of hell and brought to earth to perpetrate evil, Hellboy was rescued from sinister forces by the benevolent Professor Bruttenholm, who raised him to be a hero. In Dr. Bruttenholm's secret Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.), Hellboy creates an unlikely family consisting of the telepathic "Mer-Man" Abe Sapien, and "Pyrokenetic" Liz Sherman, the woman he loves who can control fire. Hidden from the very society that they protect, they stand as the key line of defense against an evil madman who seeks to reclaim Hellboy to the dark side and use his powers to destroy mankind. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (12)
Hellboy is quite likable, but not particularly outstanding, and it suffers from an undeveloped script and a weak finale. The undeveloped script, in this case, means that the evil is too feeble and incompetent, and the heroes don't exert themselves much in their struggle, leaving the audience wanting. On the other hand, the casting is appealing, with Ron Perlman fitting perfectly into the role of the demon just by his appearance (it seems they could have partially saved on a makeup artist), and Karel Roden evidently enjoying his portrayal of Rasputin. Some props and sets are visually interesting. It's slightly above average, leading to a 60% overall impression.
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"I'm fireproof. Not you." I understand that a person who hasn't had the pleasure of reading Hellboy on paper might not appreciate the movie as much. But trust me, it's perfect (although many, many things are changed and many, many things are left out)! As far as Ron Perlman is concerned - that's what you call the role of a lifetime.__P.S. The extended version contains rather cosmetic changes and improvements, but the scene with Rasputin's eyes is excellent.
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Karel Roden in the villain role of Rasputin is not very good, but Ron Perlman as Hellboy is quite charismatic. The visual effects are decent, but overly cluttered and inconsistent. The film has all the parameters within the normal range, but doesn't excel in anything properly.
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Hellboy is fine. It's got heart, charm, humor, a cool edge, a fantasy dimension, and you can feel that writer and director Guillermo del Toro made it with love. That said, it’s not his best film. There’s not enough action in it and the most important action scene, i.e. the last one, is surprisingly unimaginative and rushed. Not to mention the absence of overall dynamics and panache (Blade II was better in that respect), which are things that a comic-book movie shouldn’t be without. Unless, of course, it’s underpinned by more dramatic psychology (like X-Men 2), which Hellboy isn’t. Del Toro conceived Hellboy purely as light entertainment built on humor, likable heroes, the ugliness of the sleazy monsters and the magical atmosphere of “another world”. In terms of formula, he basically just interspersed relaxing scenes in which our heroes hang out in the laboratory with scenes in which they go after their enemies and kick some ass. Unfortunately, these two levels alternate for the whole two hours without anything major being resolved and we are left in suspense as to what will come next. Three and a half stars.
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A visually captivating, but plot-wise somewhat overwrought breather that, given the premise, could have been better. The action sequences aren't great, the humour sometimes misses the mark and del Toro isn't very good when it comes to psychology. A lot is made up by the visuals, which are quite striking despite the average budget of 60 million, with decent effects (even if sometimes too computer-ey) and good make-up (Hellboy and especially Abe Sapien are simply awesome). The script didn't give Roden much space, but Perlman radiates charisma for a hundred lengths of his devil's tail. On the other hand, there is the very bland character of a young FBI agent who tries to woo Hellboy's girlfriend, but is otherwise completely useless. All in all, a film that entertained me on average and didn't resonate with me after I left the cinema. We’ll see with the sequel.
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