April 2, 2004 -- “Hellboy,” based on a comic book series of the same name, is a movie filled with both action and comedy. Although the tone of the film is heavy with apocalyptic themes and very evil, deadly villains, it never takes itself so seriously that it can't have some fun with its characters while they are busy saving the world. In one scene, a super-secret squad of heroes possessing supernatural powers rides off to save the world in the back of a garbage truck.

Ron Perlman (“Blade 2”) stars as the title character, a heroic demon who's on the side of truth, justice and the American Way. Transported to earth through a demon portal created by Nazi necromancers in 1944, Hellboy has been raised by Professor Buttenholm (played by veteran actor John Hurt (“Owning Mahowny”), head of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, a super secret government agency. Hellboy, along with aqua-man Abe Sapien (played by Doug Jones of “Mimic”) and firestarter Liz Sherman (Selma Blair of “Legally Blonde”) help defend the world against supernatural threats.

The three are arrayed against the trio who originally opened the demon portal in 1944, Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden of “Blade 2”), his main squeeze Ilsa (Biddy Hodson), a strange living corpse known as Kroenen and a bizarre creature called a Sammael (Brian Steele), the “Hound of the Resurrection,” every time you kill it, two more are born. Rasputin, Ilsa and Kroenen are trying to re-open the demon portal in an attempt to unleash monstrous creatures that will destroy the earth. This apocalyptic event is called Ragnarok, or the twilight of the Gods (based on the Scandinavian myth, similar to the German myth of Gotterdammerung). This is the same event that the three bad guys were trying to invoke in 1944 when they were stopped by a squad of GI's led by Buttenholm.

Perlman, a fine actor, breathes life into Hellboy, despite all the layers of makeup he wears in the film. Perlman is used to lots of makeup after his noted performance as a mad monk in “The Name of the Rose” and his Golden Globe-winning performance as the beast in the TV series “Beauty and the Beast.” Blair is also good as Hellboy's sometime girlfriend. She and Hellboy and another agent, John Myers (Rupert Evans), form a romantic triangle. John Hurt, an outstanding actor, gives an excellent performance in the film in a limited role. Although Hellboy is a hero, he longs for a normal life where he can kick back with his girlfriend, chug beer and eat nachos. He also loves cats. This is played for laughs in several scenes. Jeffrey Tambor of “Girl, Interrupted” plays Dr. Tom Manning, a federal bureaucrat. Manning is an enigmatic character. It looks like some of his scenes were cut. There isn't a lot of depth in any of the characters, but there is enough to keep the story moving. Guillermo del Toro (“Blade 2”) is a good action director and he makes sure the pace of the film never gets bogged down too long.

One of the strengths of the film is the outstanding production design by Stephen Scott (“Die Another Day”), the art direction by Marco Bittner Rosser (“From Hell”) and Peter Francis (“The World is Not Enough”) and the set decoration by Hilton Rosemarin (“XXX”) and outstanding work by the entire art department. The sets look great and there seems to be an endless of supply of large, intricate clockwork-type mechanisms everywhere, from intricate locking mechanisms to huge mechanized doors, pendulums and other delightfully elaborate mechanical contraptions. The makeup art by Rick Baker is also outstanding, as one expects from the all-time best makeup artist in the business. This film is fascinating to look at. It has amazing visual style. The visual effects in the film are also excellent, with lots of impressive digital effects. The digital fire effects have a unique look to them. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2004 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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