VHS : Hellboy (Dol Slip)

Rating: - Wham Bam fun
Films do not get any better than this extremely entertaining blockbuster on the fantastical level. You instantly tend to compare this movie with the likes of 'The Lord of the rings' trilogy, or the 'Jurrassic Park.' However, what makes Hellboy so special is its never-lose-appeal factor. Not for one instance in the theatre (not even during non-action sequences) do you get dettached from the theme, or the characters within the plot. Everything seems so relevant despite being an imagination from start to finish. Even when the movie ends it lives with you, and inspite of knowing that there is nothing common between you and the 'male in the red,' you can still identify with him. Guillermo Del Torro sure knows a lot more about movie-making than your average director in Hollywood. Don't miss this one. Own it.

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Rating: - Surprisingly bad
Supernatural thriller in which Ron Perlman plays the 'Hellboy' of the title, a demon who comes to Earth through a portal from hell as a baby and grows up to be a defender of mankind against the forces of darkness. This premise had potential but ultimately nothing much was done with the idea and although Hellboy himself is a fairly interesting character he just isn't given an awful lot to do in this film. Hellboy is supposed to be fighting to prevent the end of the world but there is absolutely no sense of impending Armageddon in this film. On top of this the villains are weak, the climax to the film is a yawn and Hellboy's love interest in this film has abilities that we are given no explanation about. A surprisingly bad film. I expected more.

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Rating: - What Makes a Good Movie?
Comic book fans have high I.Q.'s. It's true, so sue me. But Hollywood insists that comic books are for stupid people. Sure. It makes sense. I mean--look at 'em! They're comic books, for cripes sake! So, along comes a guy who isn't from around here and doesn't know about the "comic books are dumb" rule. Guillermo del Toro makes a comic book movie as if comic books mattered. It ain't perfect, but it's a lot closer to a real comic book experience than any of the other "big time" movies that started out as comics. My friend, if you want to understand the soul of the comic book, you should watch Hellboy. Then you will understand. Maybe.

Actually, the movie is a teensy bit hard to follow.

There are script problems in the movie, that became story problems, that became editing problems. They don't really get resolved, but one of the many, many cool "extra features" in the DVD set is one featuring the Master himself, explaining that he's not making a logical proof in a math class, he's making a movie. If it's a little hard to follow sometimes-- tough.

I'm a fan of this film (and the sequel) and so I forgive it's failings. The good parts outweigh the bad--and if you watch the extras included in this edition, you'll see just how the "mistakes" were made. Lack of time (film can't be too long--theaters gotta be able to fit it into the schedule, you see). So things had to be cut (or never shot). That hurt--because the stuff that was cut was living tissue. The original theatrical release lacked a couple of scenes that helped to make things clearer--but they only helped to make it less confusing. It's still confusing, but, hey, it's not a logic test, right?

Okay. Then there is the blood. Or lack of it. No blood or gore, this is a PG-17 picture. So, here's a film about people being eaten alive by monsters and--no blood. Yeah, it's a little goofy. It also directly causes some major weirdness because Rasputin is supposed to be BLIND but they cut that part out. Seriously. Listen to del Toro's commentary.

But the plot is still a puzzle, even with some restored scenes in this "director's cut," and you just have to scratch your head to and ask "Why are they doing that? Why are they going there? How do they know?" etc., etc.

But I have a theory. It's confusing because they couldn't include the usual exculpatory scenes ("Oh yeah! That's why they went back to the old mill! ...and dumped the money in the pond!!") because the movie would have been too long. See? So they had to "rush" it along and just hope the audience would follow the story.

There is just one problem with this theory of mine. One of the longest scenes is the "big fight" between Hellboy and the monster. This is a huge special-effects event and it's just what del Toro does best--but it's confusing because it interrupts the flow of the story. The huge fight is so long and so spectacular that by the time it ends you forgot what was going on, and, if you had actually begun to grasp the plot, you'll have lost it by the time the last massive chunk of concrete comes crashing down and the "big fight" ends.

Seriously, when I'm watching this movie I actually hit the "next scene" button at the moment that the "big fight" is about to begin. The whole movie is easier to follow that way and the "big fight" proves nothing. Oh-- and by the way-- cutting the big fight shortens the movie so that, hey, wait a minute---that means that, if the "big fight" hadn't been shot at all, they could have made a movie that was 100% logical, and it would have been the right length!

But so what? This is Guillermo del Toro film. Cut the big fight to make the story more logical? Guillermo would have to commit ritual suicide on Hollywood Boulevard. No-- a word spelled the same in English and in Spanish.

No. Never cut the fight for the sake of logic! Viva del Toro! Viva Hellboy! Viva the gratuitous lengthy and expensive-looking fight scene with a cast of thousands! VIVA!

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Rating: - Really great transfer. Love the movie.
This review is for the Blu-Ray version of this film. I really like this film and the transfer is the best I have seen.

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Rating: - Hellboy Movie Review
Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy implements countless impressive ideas, including seamless computer graphics fused with animatronics and puppeteers, ingenious character designs and fascinating monstrosities. But for all of its undeniable visual flair, the film weakens due to sore-thumb dialogue and a regimen of predictable plot devices; as well as too many unlikely conveniences and the ever-popular need for heroes and villains to strike a lengthy poster-perfect pose before and after every action sequence.

During World War II, Rasputin (Karl Roden) aids the Nazis in opening up a portal to another world, which is abruptly shut when U.S. forces grenade the operation. Although Rasputin is destroyed, a tiny red creature is left behind on Earth to be raised by Professor Broom (John Hurt). Dubbed Hellboy, the demon soon grows into a powerful crime-fighter intent on keeping extra terrestrial baddies at bay.

Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is not alone, and is joined by Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), an amphibious creature that possesses incredible knowledge. Elizabeth Sherman (Selma Blair) also has super powers, although her pyrokinetic firestarter abilities are much harder to control. Together the group works for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), constantly and covertly cleaning up the messes left by alien life forms and resurrected enemies from the past.

The action sequences are all fast-paced, expertly choreographed, and arrive just in time to speed up the story when things get too convoluted or unexplainable. Seamlessly blending computer animated models of Hellboy, Sammael, Abe Sapien and many others with practical effects, the film achieves a startlingly realistic look. Like James Cameron's Aliens, the various monsters have a rubbery, tangible appearance, slaver real slime and appear to be actors in costumes more often than not. And this is a good thing, because it peerlessly prevents visual annoyances like those found in most major fantasy films in which Spider-men effortlessly swing from concrete jungle rooftops and hulking green men float through vast canyons.

A stepping stone to del Toro's next visual masterpiece (Pan's Labyrinth), Hellboy utilizes many unquestionably unique character designs and concepts. From Kroenen's hideously scarred visage (and his skill with bladed weapons, though not as cool as V from V For Vendetta), to Sammael's lumbering cartilaginous figure, to Abe Sapien's twitching webbed hands, the oddities speak wonders for both the makeup crew and original comic book creator Mike Mignola. Along with these bizarre concepts are idiosyncrasies and affecting personalities bestowed on every human and monster, which allows for more personable and relatable qualities from such inhuman concoctions as a giant crimson-skinned demon. The charisma of Hellboy (ample amounts of credit goes to Ron Perlman) and his wide array of emotions make the human liaison to the audience John Meyers (Rupert Evans) nearly obsolete. The set designs are also fascinating and numerous, from snowy graveyards to steaming sewers to a booby-trapped underground labyrinth.

Hellboy deserves credit for its innovative approach to visuals in a comic book adaptation, but loses points for noticeably trite dialogue from many of the supporting characters. The plot is also disappointing with its convoluted legend and prophecy jargon and otherworldly nonsense which simply doesn't do justice to the awesome characters battling across the screen. The fun somehow eludes the ruddy Hellboy, despite all of the action, comedy, violence, destruction, mayhem, romance and special effects.

- Mike Massie