HELLBOY
-------
Professor Broom (Kevin Trainor) of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and
Defense, formed by President Roosevelt to fight the occult wars begun by
the Nazis, leads cynical Allied troops through the Scottish countryside.
When they crest a hill, a startling sight meets their eyes - amidst ancient
ruins, Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden, "15 Minutes") is opening a portal to
unleash the seven gods of chaos to begin Armageddon. Broom and the
Americans manage to avert doom, but the portal remained open long enough to
deliver one of Hades denizens, one which will be brought up by Broom as his
son, "Hellboy."
Cowriter (with Peter Briggs)/director Guillermo del Toro ("Blade II," "The
Devil's Backbone") turns Mike Mignola's Dark Horse comic into a promising
potential franchise. Ron Perlman's ("Blade II") devilishly perfect
performance is supported by a beautifully cast Bureau family. While
"Hellboy's" characters may be reminiscent of X-Men, they're a lot more fun.
Only a weak villain mars this new comic book entry.
After the film's prologue, the title sequence economically brings us to the
present, updating us with newspaper headlines and TV news reports about a
legendary devil figure whose existence is debunked by the FBI. We then
meet Broom's (now played by John Hurt, "Owning Mahowny") gang through the
eyes of newcomer Agent John Myer (Rupert Evans) who has been recruited to
care for Hellboy. Myer is sent to Section 51 and enters a chamber that
looks preserved from the 1940's, all except for the wall enclosing a tank
which houses Abe Sapien (Doug Jones, "Mimic," voice of David Hyde Pierce,
"Down with Love"), a Mer-man who demands that the pages of multiple books
be turned. Abe (more casually referred to as Blue, just as Hellboy is
frequently called Red), Broom explains to his flustered recruit, was
discovered in the 1860s and is a highly intelligent psychic. After
offering 'There are things that go bump in the night. We bump back,' Broom
hands John two Baby Ruths and gives him over to Agent Clay (John William
Johnson) to introduce him to his charge. 'They're not talking,' explains
Clay about the Professor and his adopted son before revealing that the
legendary red creature is, in fact, not only real, but exceedingly fond of
cats (and chocolate bars).
Hellboy is like a rebellious teenager who flaunts the FBI's need to keep
him under wraps by escaping to visit Liz Sherman (Selma Blair, "The
Sweetest Thing"), a troubled pyrokinetic who left the BPRD to try and
reenter society. The two have a strong attachment, although Myer creates a
love triangle by appealing to Liz's need for normality.
In addition to the parental and romantic love situations, the action begins
when Rasputin, along with his Nazi lover Ilsa (Bridget Hodson - a reference
to that 'She-Wolf of the SS' perhaps?), and Hitler's assassin Kroenen
(Ladislav Beran, "Blade II"), an unstoppable freak in a gas mask, unleashes
Sammael (Brian Steele, "Mimic"), the Hound of Resurrection, in a New York
City museum. Hellboy is sent to slay the beast, but every time Sammael is
killed, two more are spawned. A episode with Liz that results in the
destruction of her hospital brings her back onto the defense team.
Del Toro and Briggs' adaptation maintains a high level of humor without
undermining the heavier emotions of young love, parental love and the
freedom to do good vs. evil. Their introduction of Myer was a smart move
not only as an obstacle for Hellboy's yearning for Liz but as a reflection
of the younger Broom. Broom is the soft-hearted parental figure while
Jeffrey Tambor's ("Never Again") is the disciplinarian. The scene where
Manning and Hellboy connect over the proper way to light a cigar is one of
the film's best, a nice stepping stone into Hellboy's adulthood and
Tambor's opportunity to develop Manning's character as he assumes a mantle.
We're given too little interaction between Hellboy and Abe, whose jokey
camaraderie should be given more weight in the sequel (perhaps to make up
for the loss of a charismatic FBI agent who enjoys an equally entertaining
relationship to the big red one). If only Del Toro had spent more time
developing his bad guys. Kroenen is a terrific creation (Broom's
psychoanalysis of him is devilishly creepy), but Rasputin is bland and Ilsa
just window dressing.
Perlman is the ideal Hellboy, a deadpan pragmatist who is also capable of
showing great tenderness from beneath pounds of makeup prosthetics. Selma
Blair has never been better than she is here - she's lovely and soulful,
like a cross between X-Men's Rogue and Storm with the romantic problems of
Jean Grey. Rupert Evans makes a splash in his debut, creating a character
conflicted by his feelings for two people he cares for. Hurt has been
missing from the big screen for too long and one wishes he and Johnson were
guaranteed roles in the continuation.
Karel Roden, interesting in the so-so "15 Minutes," simply doesn't look
like Rasputin, nor does he interest us in the character as anything but an
obstacle for the BPRD. Child actor Rory Copus makes much more of an
impression in one scene spent observing Liz with Hellboy from a rooftop perch.
Production designer Stephen Scott ("Highlander: End Game") and director of
photography Guillermo Navarro ("The Devil's Backbone") create a dark,
dreary world of cool colors, ensuring Hellboy's red pops. The film's
opening is like a rainy version of Raider's ending. Rasputin's tomb is an
elaborate, gothic design featuring a huge mechanical clockwork device that
harkens back to Cronos. Stunts and visual effects, mostly achieved live,
are outstanding. Only once does a character's movements seem unnatural,
when Hellboy appears to be supported as he races across a disintegrating
bridge. Perlman's makeup and mechanically operated appendages (his tail
and his giant hand) look outstanding on camera (and one has to admire the
actor for incorporating them into his performance).
"Hellboy" is a hell of a good time. Kudos to a film and technical team
that can create a reanimated corpse as a quipster tipster.
B
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