In 1944, the Germans, desperate to win the war, sent a Special Forces team to a
mystical island off the coast of Scotland for the purpose of opening an
inter-dimensional portal to summon forth Ogdru Jahad--the Seven Gods Of Chaos.
It was the hope that these malevolent Gods of Chaos would aid the Nazis in their
losing battle against the Allied powers. The Nazis were led by none other than
Rasputin himself, the true historical figure who was the occult advisor to the
Romanovs, the last royal family of Russia. Rasputin is revealed to be a powerful
sorcerer with the gift of long life and is knowledgeable in black magic. Yet the
Allies were onto the Nazi's plans. A group of American soldiers, led by occult
specialist Trevor Broom, battle Rasputin and foil his plans to contact the dark
gods. However, the portal had been left open during the battle long enough for
something to come through. Not wanting to leave a potential threat unchallenged,
Broom and the soldiers thoroughly search the area, only to find an infant demon
that is blood red in color and has large horns on its forehead. Broom quickly
adopts the little crimson tyke, whom the soldiers affectionately nickname "Hellboy".
Some sixty years later, Hellboy (now played by Ron Perlman) is busy working for
the Bureau Of Paranormal Research And Defense, based in Newark, New Jersey.
Their number one expert in battling demons and other supernatural menaces that
threaten humankind, Hellboy works along side Abe Sapien, an aquatic gill man
with ESP powers (the result of some amazing make up effects supervised by Rick
Baker) with whom he trades a witty repartee. He's got the typical parent/adult
child relationship with the now elderly Trevor Broom (played by John Hurt),
which means that, like most father and son relationships, although they care for
each other, they also drive each other crazy most of the time. And there is even
a lady in his life. Elizabeth Sherman, (Selma Blair) a young woman who appears
deceptively normal, is also a member of this unique anti-monster squad, thanks
to her powerful fire-starting abilities which she can barely keep under control.
She is also the apple of Hellboy's eye, yet the big shy lug can't bring himself
to express his true feelings for her. He soon regrets this when the Bureau hires
John Myers (Rupert Evans) a handsome young FBI agent straight out of the academy
who not only woos Liz back to the BOPRAD, but starts making moves on her as well.
Yet Hellboy and his wild and wooly crew soon have a far bigger problem to worry
about. Rasputin turns out to have more lives than a cat, and he's back to call
forth the Seven Gods Of Chaos upon the Earth once more, this time with the
unwitting help of Hellboy and the rest of the Bureau Of Paranormal Research And
Defense.
Written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro with great style, Hellboy is exciting,
funny and just vastly entertaining. I must confess that I had never read the
original comic book, created by Mike Mignola. Yet even if you've never heard of
Hellboy, the film is still very enjoyable. It deftly introduces Hellboy and the
universe he lives in all without screeching the film's pace to a halt with the
usual dull exposition scenes. Ron Perlman, an actor whom I think is one of the
most underrated performers working in Hollywood today, finally gets a role where
he can shine. Although buried under several pounds of make up, Perlman still
makes the character of Hellboy his own. He's big, strong, and can go toe-to-toe
with the worst demons from hell, yet Perlman ably makes Hellboy a down-to-earth,
sympathetic character with flaws that you genuinely root for. The rest of the
cast is also superb, including Selma Blair as Liz, John Hurt as the elderly
Broom, and Rupert Evans as Agent Myers.
The two-disc DVD set is also excellent. It has a ton of special features,
including an outstanding "making of" documentary that is longer than the film
itself! There are also two sets of commentaries, one by the actors (which is
very funny to listen to) and the other by the director and Mike Mignola, the creator
of Hellboy, plus loads more stuff. There is also a confirmation in the DVD of an
upcoming Director's Cut of the film, which will come with a Hellboy bust. --SF