Impressions – Hellboy Movie

With the recent news about the Hellboy 2 Movie I decided to go back and watch the first one. Im not sure what it was, but prior to this viewing I had never really analyzed the movie. I always just sorta half-watched it, thinking of it more as a James Bond kind of action movie with cool visuals but not much in the way of substance. I have no idea what I was thinking!

Del Toro manages to bring Mignolas unique comic character to life in a classic monster movie that, thankfully, doesnt take itself too seriously, yet isnt afraid to dig deep when the situation calls for it.

The issue I probably had that really kept me from being absorded by the movie was that Im used to the mythical, lone man traveler, folk lore adventures of the comic. Sure, this story is right out of the first Hellboy comics, but thats not the Hellboy Ive really come to know and love. It was also a smaller release as compared to Spider-Man 2, which came out around the same time, and not as many people were talking about it, or around for me to discuss it with. Regardless, Im glad that I opened my eyes to this movie.

First off, I have to point out just how good of a director Del Toro is. When you watch this movie you can see that Del Toro knows movies. He loves movies and studies great movies. He has a wonderful eye for composition and movement and knows how to capture a scene. And despite the slightly anit-climatic ending, Del Toro knowns pacing. In comparison to Rami, who is a media darling with Spider-Man, Del Toro is much stronger. I think that Spider-Man has a bit more of cinematic feel, but thats probably largly in part due to the cinemotographer. But Hellboy just wipes the floor with it when it comes to pacing and solid directing.

Now, lets get my one giant problem with the movie out of the way; Selma Blair. Every time she is on screen this movie comes to a screeching halt for me. But dont think Im saying the love story in the movie is bad, because it isnt. Its a cool little romance between two freaks who dont fit in, even though they wish they could. Liz is afraid of loving Hellboy because she is scared to embrace the part of her that isnt human.

But the thing is, Ron Perlman pulls off his end of the love story wonderfully, which makes me think that it has nothing to do with the script or Liz’s lines, but simply the acting ability of Selma Blair. She just feels so flat and unatural. I certainly hope she comes off better in the sequel.

Now that I have that out of the way, the rest of the movie is dynamite! Hellboy himself is fantastic and its true, Ron Perlman was the only guy that could have pulled this off. He is perfect. Every line and gesture are not only spot on for Hellboy’s character, but manage to bring life and emotion to a character that could have been a giant disaster on the big screen.

The other two stand out characters were Broom and Abe Sapien. Casting John Hurt as Broom was a stroke of genius. He brings the whole movie to another level. This is a true actor. Hurt is just amazing as Hellboy’s surrogate father and really brings a range of emotional levels to the movie. From patient and fatherly, to dedicated and driven, Hurt never fails to impress. Without him the movie would be lacking its soul. He simply was that good and that important to the movie.

As for Abe, he was the one character that was actually heavily tweaked for the movie and it works beautifully. Not only is his character design fantastic, but the actor who played him, Doug Jones, and the voice of Abe, David Hyde Pierce, all come together to create one of the most unique, fun and interesting characters in all of movie-dom. Plus, the CG for Abe was absolutely astounding. For a movie that didnt get a lot of hype and probably didnt have a enormous budget, the effects are some of the best Ive seen (minus the animation on the ‘right hand of doom’).

Even the supporting cast like Clay, young Broom,Ilsa and the little girl on the roof are great. Everyone just works so well together that it really makes the movie click. Even Jeffrey Tambor, who plays FBI director Tom Manning, is good. At the beginning of the movie I wasnt sold on Manning, but by the end he became a character that broke out of his egotistical mold and became a strong part of the show.

As I said, the special effects are strong, and it really helps bring the story of Sammael, creepy creatures from the movie, to life. Along with Sammael, the bad ass Nazi hitman Karl Ruprect Kroenen and the evil sorceror Grigori Rasputin all make this a very cool monster flick. Luckily, as Mignola often says about the comic, when the action starts to get to heavy or dark, Hellboy is there to blurt a little ‘oh crap’ and bring the tone of movie back to the fun of beating the crap out of monsters and villians.

The whole plot worked really well and I dont have any complaints. The way they introduced the BPRD and the existence of all of these monsters was natural and fun. The baddies bring just the right level of maleficence to the flick and it never feels overdone. They didnt turn this into some giant scifi movie with flashing lights. Its still got cool ancient artifacts and magical beasts. Even the slight glimpse of Hell that we see is awesome. From the ‘birth’ of Hellboy, to pursuit of the Rasputin, to the final death of the big slimy monster, this movie’s plot is strong and entertaining.

Overall, Im really glad I woke up and gave the movie the attention is deserves. This is one fun flick that manages to have some really strong emotional moments, but never takes itself to seriously. With my new appreciation for this movie, it now ranks as one of my favorite comic book flicks. From the sounds of it, things are only going to get better with the sequel. It cant come soon enough.

Oh, and on a side note, this movie has one of the best audio commentaries Ive ever heard. Mignola and Del Toro have a track and they talk the entire time and keep it interesting. You can tell they had fun making the movie and really love what they were able to accomplish. And fortuntely they dont digress into stories about the actors or and silly nonsense, they keep it firmly focused on the movie and how things came about. Defitenly worth checking out.