The Boneman

Hellboy. (Not to be confused with the Jerry Lewis classic of the same name.) In case you're not familiar with the origin or premise behind Hellboy, it all starts in Germany as the Nazis recruit the assistance of the infamous (and very difficult to kill) Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden) to open a portal to the cosmic void to bring to Earth an all-powerful creature who will cause Armageddon, and help the evil axis win WWII. However in the process, a small band of American soldiers foil the plan and capture this small red-monkey of a demon with the help of a Baby Ruth Candy Bar. Even by Comic book logistics the first sequence of this film is a bit much to swallow, but by the time we meet the grown-up version of Hellboy, the fun begins.

In another unrecognizable role John Hurt plays Professor Bruttenholm an operative for the clandestine Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense who becomes Hellboy's father figure, and under his tutelage the nature of the small demon is turned around in such a fashion that instead of being an instrument of malevolence, he is raised to be a champion of all things good and right and well . . . American, as well. Even though Perlman and director Guillermo del Toro have created mayhem together before (Blade II and Cronos) I was a bit leery of Ron Perlman in the roll of any sort of boy (he's well into his 50s) but he turns out to be wonderfully effective and will no doubt pick up a good bit of career-invigorating steam from this marvelous turn.

I really enjoyed the gothic art-deco production quality as we journey into the future to find Hellboy in his secluded bunker - which turns out to be a pretty slovenly bachelor pad - with beer cans and pizza boxes scattered about. Not to mention the two or three dozen cats that he shares his living quarters with. We find him pumping iron and puffing away at a fat stogie, a big red brute of a hero, with reptilian skin and horns that require a daily shave with a belt-sander. He's not particularly attractive, with his stubbed horns and Lou Ferrigno brow - not to mention the fact that he has a tail and a large right fist made of pure concrete. You really can't take him anywhere - but you'll fall right in love with his Sam Spade/Damon Runyan one-liners and ho hum nonchalance toward his job. That being (hunting down evil paranormal entities) with sort of a somebody's-got-to-do-it shrug. "Bla bla bla, what monster do I have to kill today?"

He shares this rather elaborate facility with a few other evil-fighting freaks, one of which is a Creature of the Black Lagoon-looking fellow named Abe, (David Hyde Pierce) with a bit of a fey manner and a penchant for rotten eggs. His particular area of expertise is along the lines of ESP and he's a good bit of fun as well. Rounding out the Freak-squad is a perfectly cast Selma Blair who has a flair for the pyro-kinetic (think Carrie with a flame-thrower) supernatural ability. She's really perfect in this part, as the gloomy, dark, baggy-eyed beauty with serious personality issues. At times she reminds of the little girl from The Ring. I'll have to admit this is the first film where I've really fallen for her.

As it turns out, Hellboy has a bit of a Schoolboy crush on the dour hottie, and before you know it a wacky little love triangle develops as John Myers (Rupert Evans), a young FBI agent enters the picture as a hand-picked successor to the Hellboy's deathly-ill Father Professor Bruttenholm. Evans acquits himself rather well as the reluctant new steward to all of this evil-thwarting business and soon strikes up a bit of a fancy for Hellboy's flame. Perhaps the most endearing sequence of the film is a bit where Hellboy follows Blair and Evans on a night out for a coffee. Perlman absolutely nails this scene, and it's these lesser moments of the film that raise it above the level of typical Superhero fare.

I will say that the overall story line isn't all that riveting. It involves the infamous Russian madman Rasputin, who returns to Earth (this guy just will not die) to reclaim Hellboy for the dark side. He unleashes two villainous creatures, Sammael a (a swiftly multiplying monster cut from the mold of the swimming creatures from Aliens 3, but with Bob Marley dreadlocks) and Kroenen, a former Nazi nutjob who cut-off most of his body parts so he could replace them with metallic killing devices. He's fairly boring, as are the multiplying alien squid monsters. The fight sequences become muddled and really don't work particularly well, which slows the film down to some extent, but the non-action portions of the movie are charming enough to offset the boring fight sequences. Plus Hellboy makes them fun with a wry one-liners during these violent battles that lift things up even as he's being beaten down.

Had this film supplied us with a truly frightening evil adversary it would've have been an unqualified success, but I will say all of the performances (save Jeffrey Tambor's mostly annoying turn) made this into a really enjoyable thing to watch. I understand from comic-bookheads that Hellboy is changed in the film to some extent. The comics hail him as a public hero who is real and makes the occasional public appearance, whereas in the film he is regarded in much the same way as bigfoot or UFOs.

I was a bit surprised by the end of the film which depicted an Apocalyptic scenario right out of the book of Revelations, and I'd have to say it was more or less hokey, but I appreciated the poetic symbolism of it's ending scene. And the thing about Hellboy that I figured out early on, was that the fun in this film was going to be the journey rather than the journey's end. I think alot of people are going to love this film and I for one couldn't be happier for director Guillermo del Toro. He's a totally delightful man who reminds me of both Kevin Smith and Peter Jackson in both appearance and demeanor and his love for film is so evident that you can't help but root for him. The Boneman decrees "Go to Hellboy!"

Hellboy

Hellboy was so good that I wouldn't be surprised if the folks putting on the las minute touches on Spiderman aren't writing Tobey a few more jokes. I've seen Hellboy twice now and I'm thinking about going to it again, which is quite funny because my Mom has no idea that Hellboy is the hero and the good guy and she thinks I'm going bad. She doesn't want me to go see any more of that Hell business. Anyway, you guys got a helluva site, keep it up

Helldude

Hellboy kicks butt! I wasn't expecting this to be such a great movie, but I've seen it 4 times now and each time I drag someone with me - I even took my mom and she loved it, because of the humor. I agree with the Boneman that Del Toro is a cool guy, but he failed to mention his best film which is definitley Brotherhood of the Wolf. But I can see your comparison to Peter Jackson, the guy just is full of passion for what he does and that's what makes movies such a great art form. Now that Hellboy has become so successful I'm just as interested to see what his new project might be, just as much as I'm excited about King Kong. Like your site - who is the Boneman anyway? Does he really exist?

You go Boy

I'd still say Hell Boy is in the top five best pictures released this year, Name 5 better?

Horny

I like a man with horns and big red muscles, especially if he has a sense of humor - I'd say that next to Brad Pitt in Troy he comes in number 2 for the year

Babs

Adam

Name five movies better than Hellboy? Well first of all, I thought Hellboy was terrific but here's several films that I thought were better; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kill Bill, Passion of the Christ, Intermission, Spartan, Touching the Void, Super Size Me, and Johnson Family Vaca...scratch that last one. Actually, for one of the more high profile releases, you're probably right. Hellboy is right up there.

One Hell of a DVD

Okay, I'm feeling pretty smug about holding off on the theatrical release DVD of Hellboy right now. I knew there was an extended version coming out, but specs hadn't been released yet and the feature set on the two disc set that's out now is so good that I almost picked it up for the bonus stuff ... Well, I'd be kicking myself pretty hard right now if I had because DVDAnswers.com has just posted this list of Director's Cut specs that confirms the three disc set WILL INCLUDE all of the special features that were on the two disc version as well as twenty minutes of additional footage and three hours of additional bonus material. Oh ... and there'll be a version that comes with a limited edition Sideshow Toys Hellboy bust. Nice. Big version hits October 19th, thus further inflating my October DVD budget.

Adam

One Hell of a DVD,

Hi there. Yeah, that special edition is going to be amazing. I recently hit the Comic-Con in San Diego, and there was a huge presentation on it. Guillermo Del Toro and Ron Pearlman were both there to moderate the event. They showed off the DVD menu graphics and even gave a glimpse at some of the documentaries. You were smart to wait because that set is going to kick ass, as will the Lord of The Rings: Return of the King Extended Cut. I did a piece on both of these DVDs in my Comic-Con coverage. If your bored and have a little free time on your hands, check it out. Thanks for hitting our site.

Brandon

Glad you put Hellboy of your list for the year, it would have been higher on mine, but then again I'm along time fan of the comic, Nice site