Synopsis: As dark forces gather to hasten the Apocalypse, Hellboy fights fire with fire in this mind-blasting supernatural action-adventure from the visionary director of Blade 2. Based on the celebrated Dark Horse comic book.
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Hellboy 8.25

Hellboy is a fascinating mix of horror, superhero action and dramatic elements. Based on the Mike Mignola comic book series and interpreted by none other than Benicio Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Chronos, The Dveil’s Backbone), the film was a surprise hit at the box office, both commercially and critically.

It’s hardly surprising: Del Toro is a fine craftsman, a perfect director for this type of film – especially since he had a decent budget to work with. Granted, his English-language pictures are always weaker than his Spanish-language ones, but this one is remarkable enough to sustain his reputation as a creative genius.

Of course, he always surrounds himself with tons of artisans (you should see how long the credits are!), a little like Peter Jackson does – which justifies why Del Toro was originally hired to film ‘The Hobbit’ (alas, it was not meant to be!). And he gives all these very capable people room to practice their craft – you can see so much talent on the screen!

However, there were a couple of weak points: for one, the rope work was shoddy in some areas. I mean, you shouldn’t be noticing the stunt; it should be fluid and part of the action. As well, the the CGI was subpar. I’ve seen worse, of course, but most of the CGI stuck out. And this also shouldn’t happen; good CGI blends in with the live-action.

On the flip side, the make-up work was pretty good. I mean, you can tell that some stuff was latex, but they got some excellent results most of the time. And, in particular, the set design was exceptional; you can’t help but be impressed by the locations that the characters visit and inhabit. And yet, they feel real – not too otherworldy or over-the-top to defy credibility.

The aural presentation is top-notch: at its best, rather impressive, at its worst very very good. There were some great bass effects that hummed through the room – very nice considering the limitations of the system I watched this on. And the surround effects and detail were all you could hope for from this kind of film.

The acting was generally solid. Ron Perlman, in particular, was awesome. He is SUCH an under-rated actor, but his physionomy has made it difficult for him to gain enough respect to get lead roles. Here, he imbues a “human devil” with a tremendous amount of emotional depth – something you neither expect nor hardly ever see in superhero and/or action films.

Having said this, Selma Blair sucks; she is the 2D to Perlman’s 3D. Ever since the loathesome ‘Cruel Intentions’, she has consistently hurt my eyes with her amateur-hour performances. She has improved since (it’d be hard not to! oO), but why she even got the gig blows my mind. Sigh… I’m happy to report that I haven’t seen her in anything in a long time.

Anyway, all this to say that the film is pretty enjoyable. The ‘Indiana Jones” moments, for example, are tremendous fun. And there is pretty good balance between the different elements in this film. It’s a little dark, but I’d recommend this to anyone who likes comic book adaptations, actioners and/or monster movies.