Tangent 21 - Hellboy

Posted by
Maffrew

Posted on
19:56
Apr 14 2004

Hellboy

Writer: Mike Mignola (comic), Guillermo del Toro (screenplay)
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, John Hurt
Rated: 12a
Running Time: 132mins
Trailer: Quicktime, Various Sizes
Tagline: Give Evil Hell

While on holiday in New York this last three weeks, I saw a total of six films (maybe a tad extreme), Hellboy was one of them.

Most of you are probably saying, Â“What or who the hell is Hellboy?Â” so IÂ’m going to start with that question.

Hellboy is a demon, summoned forth unto Earth by the Nazis (in collaboration with Rasputin, the Russian monk), to tip the balance of the war against the Allies. In a twist of fate, Hellboy is found by the Allies and raised as close to being a man as is possible. Decades later, Hellboy works for the B.P.R.D. in an effort to get rid of evil, while caring for kittens, smoking cigars and making sarcastic comments.

Sound cool? It is.

Hellboy is the brainchild of Mike Mignola, who took the idea and formed a series of fantastic comic books from it. Queue geeky film director, Guillermo del Toro in this case, falling in love with it and waging a years long war with the studio to let him cast whoever the hell he wanted in it and BLAM! You have a super cool, ass kicking, cigar chewing, bright red badass.

And thatÂ’s the essence of Hellboy really. DonÂ’t walk into the film expecting cinematic greatness, because it doesnÂ’t live there. Sure, the film is well directed. Guillermo del Toro proved with Blade 2 that he could direct good action, and with Hellboy heÂ’s taken that one step further. Using a clever mix of authentic looking make-up and computer effects, the outlandish comic book action in the film looks totally fantastic.

Ron Perlman. Ron Perlman has long been a character actor that has stood outside the limelight, but in Hellboy he shines like a big, bright, shiny thing. If youÂ’ve read the comics, he brings Hellboy to life with frightening clarity and if you havenÂ’t, the sarcastic, wry way the character spars with his enemies and friends alike will have you roaring. The rest of the cast is rounded out by John Hurt, Selma Blair (as Liz Sherman, pyro-girl) and David Hyde Pierce (as the voice of Abe Sapien, fishman extraordinaire).

SoÂ… If you like fun films, funny films, action based films, comic based films, dramatic filmsÂ… go see Hellboy when it comes out. Unfortunately for Brits, it doesnÂ’t hit out shores until September. Bummer eh?

7 Replies and 5930 Views in Total.

Wobag Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so...

Im very excited about this film, and its done well enough for them to have already greenlit a sequel, but we have to wait until september, grrrr! By that time the R1 DVD (which is an extended version I htink) will have already come out.

Posted: 18:22 Apr 17 2004

Wobag Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so...

It looks like they have finally graced us with a release! Rumours are our version may have a lot of extra footage in, which may have made the wait worthwhile!

So what do people think?

Posted: 20:17 Sep 07 2004

Taz Extra medication for all - Pilz-e

I really liked it.
I've seen it 3 times already - one was even in the cinema

Posted: 20:20 Sep 07 2004

Maffrew In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight...

After loving the american version, i'll definitely be going to see the UK version.

Posted: 20:34 Sep 07 2004

Eve "There's no secret handshake. There's an IQ prerequisite, but there's no secret handshake"

Went to see it with my dad the other night, didn't think it would be my kind of thing but it was quite good, felt it went too slowly at times though, felt like it should have been shorter. x

Posted: 19:32 Sep 11 2004

Demona The London Underground is not a political movement.

The best thing about the film, in my opinion, was the characters, who were well-rendered from the comics. My fears that the inclusion of a new character for the film would be a disaster (like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) were thankfully not realised, and he interacted fine with the rest of them. The romantic plot, likewise not a feature of the comics, was also not a source of contention: it was a fairly standard, predictable romantic sub-plot, but it didn't feel unnatural or tagged-on, and the characters involved were likeable enough that it was enjoyable to watch.

However, mostly I found the film mediocre. The action was unmemorable, the script nothing special, the special effects a little dodgy, the direction indifferent. There are occasional flashes of wit, but also some over-ponderous and uninteresting plot dialogue.

The graphics of the comic are distinctive, and perhaps it was unlikely that this could be adequately rendered in film. Never-the-less, I felt they achieved this at points - large desolate landscapes is one hallmark of the comic, which we could see when Ilsa and her companions were trecking through an icy landscape - a shot taken directly from the comics, if my memory is not at fault. The opening scene likewise looked the part - although the scene itself was over-long and contained too much pointless drivel from Rasputin (a huge dissappointment, hardly imposing at all). The thing about the comics is that the are heavy on the inking and almost entirely drained of colour - with the obvious exception of Hellboy himself. I think it some way that could have been simulated, and could have given us a more visually distinctive film.

Anyway, this was a film I had an interest in because of my familiarity with the source material. As such I was glad to see it, especially as (unlike poor Mr Moore's large-screen adaptations) it wasn't a travesty of that source material. As a whole I found it only an average movie.

Posted: 17:08 Sep 12 2004

Loxx In the absence of light, darkness prevails. There are things that go bump in the night, Agent Myers. Make no mistake about that. And we are the ones who bump back.

"However, mostly I found the film mediocre. The action was unmemorable, the script nothing special, the special effects a little dodgy, the direction indifferent. There are occasional flashes of wit, but also some over-ponderous and uninteresting plot dialogue. "

Mignola gave GDT free rein to work on the source material, it was a great leap of faith for an non-american director to get the gig from an american studio, let alone someone who was a fan of Mignola and the material. With mignola still threatening to stop writing hellboy, yes even no more Baby Hellboy its a miracle that Hellboy was even greenlit at all, but the domestic success guarantees HB2.

Hellboy is darker than most films that get spit out, its considered largely as an origins movie for those not into the scene so they could check out the comics and explore the mythology and wonder of what Hellboy is.

:month:

Posted: 18:45 Dec 13 2004

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