"Hellboy"
On an island off the coast of Scotland, in 1944, a
group of American soldiers, accompanied by young Brit
scientist Dr. Bruttenholm (Jim Howick), are
investigating strange doings by an elite group of
Nazis. The Germans are losing the war and desperate
times call for desperate measures. The group's leader,
Grigori Rasputin (Karel Rodel) - yes, that Rasputin -
is combining Nazi scientific know how with black magic
to open a portal to Hell and release the Apocalypse
upon the earth. But, they are thwarted by the plucky
scientist and Yank soldiers and the creature they
rescue from the evil Nazis will become the fighter of
truth and justice known as "Hellboy."
Helmer Guillermo Del Toro has had quite the eclectic
career in the horror movie business with his string of
scare flicks such as "Cronos," "Mimic," "The Devil's
Backbone" and "Blade 2." He continues along this path
with his adaptation (with Peter Briggs) of Mike
Mignola's comic book series about the spawn from Hell
who, under the guidance and education of Dr.
Bruttenholm (John Hurt), serves good rather than evil.
Dr. Bruttenholm saved the baby demon with the huge
right arm of stone from the clutches of Rasputin and
his mechanical minion, the half man/half machine Karl
Rupert Kroenen (Santiago Segura). Now, 60 years later,
Bruttenholm's health is failing and the forces of evil
are on the march once again, led by the reincarnated
Rasputin, back from the "other side" and more evilly
powerful than ever. This dark lord has plans to bring
the Apocalypse upon the Earth and he wants to recruit
Hellboy (Ron Perlman) into service to accomplish this,
believing you can take the demon out of evil but not
evil out of the demon.
But, Hellboy has earthbound loyalties to his adopted
father, Dr. Bruttenholm, a merman named Abe Sapien
(performed by Doug Jones and voiced by David Hyde
Pierce), and a pretty, troubled pyro-kinetic, Liz
Sherman (Selma Blair). This stalwart team is aided by
the FBI, led by Special Agent Tom Manning (Jeffrey
Tambor) who has grown tired of Hellboy's
eccentricities and violence. But, Rasputin has
unleashed the indestructible hellhound upon the earth
and the challenge facing our hero and his team of good
guys may be insurmountable.
Young FBI agent John Myers (Rupert Evans) is assigned
to Dr. Bruttenholm's BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal
Research and Defense) where he is given over to the
care and feeding of the bureau's star border - Hellboy
- but not before he meets Abe Sapien, the aquatic
merman with psychic powers. His introduction to the
frightening vision from Hell is temper by the fact
that the giant, destructive demon is also a cat lover.
This little team takes on the dangerous, near
impossible task of taking on Rasputin and his evil
throng and stopping their dastardly plan for world
domination.
"Hellboy" is a hit and miss proposition. It positions
itself as the first entry into a film franchise of the
titular comic book superhero and Ron Perlman is just
right for the role. The actor has proven his ability
to don lots of makeup - see him in the 1987-89 TV
series "Beauty and the Beast" - and kick butt. Here,
as Hellboy, he is huge, red and has the stumps of his
devilish horns that he files down so he'll "fit in."
Perlman gives a strong, snappy and physical
performance as the demon-for-good takes up the mantle
against evil. He is pitted against Rasputin's
hellhound but does not know that by killing the
creature it returns - doubled. Every time he kills
another of these ugly brutes he is unknowingly
increasing their numbers and must find a way to
eliminate them all.
The supporting characters around Hellboy is a
collection of X-Men-like creatures, such as Abe and
fire-starter Liz, and the more normal types like
Myers, the good doctor and special agent Clay (Corey
Johnson). This band of good guys must face off against
Rasputin (performed with little depth by Karel Rodel),
his cyborg sidekick Kroenen and the wicked Nazi bimbo
Ilsa (Biddy Hodson). There is lots of CG action as
Hellboy fights to save the world from evil.
The problem I have with "Hellboy" stems from its
derivative nature. There are elements of "Raiders of
the Lost Arc," "Alien," "Ghostbusters," "Star Wars"
and other films from past years that detract from any
originality the source material may have supplied. The
character of Hellboy is worth the price of admission
and the non-supernatural players like Myers and Clay
help keep things grounded. Gill-man Abe also lends a
nice friendship to the equation as he honestly cares
for his hulking red friend. Selma Blair provides the
quasi love interest and, when Myers shows interest in
the pretty fire bug, a jealous flare in Hellboy. The
bad guy side of things is problematic with Rodel
giving none to much to the underdeveloped Rasputin -
the filmmakers would have been wiser to keep the look
of the wild-haired/wild-eyed Russian shaman instead of
the Euro-trash look they use. Also, the Darth
Vader-like Kroenen steals the show from his boss and
is the more compelling bad guy. Rasputin's chick,
Ilsa, is in the picture because of...? It beats the heck
out of me.
Guillermo Del Toro does a decent, though not great,
job in marshalling the material, cast and crew into a
mostly entertaining, overly long sci-fi, monster movie
action flick that is a showcase for its title
character. Ron Perlman is up for the job, too, and
will help with his onscreen presence. The film smacks
of first in franchise and, with a better story and
more wicked bad guys, will probably end up with a
sequel or two. This one could have been tightened up
to make a better movie. I give it a B-.
For more Reeling reviews visit www.reelingreviews.com
robin@reelingreviews.com
laura@reelingreviews.com
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