During WWII leading Nazis turn to the occult in an effort to win the war. The notorious Grigori Rasputin (Roden) opens a portal to a hell dimension to unleash unspeakable evil on the world. But before anything can come through, he is thwarted by the Allies... lead by occult expert Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm (Kevin Trainor). They are able to close the portal, taking Grigori along, however since the portal was open for a few minutes, something did get through: a small red creature with a penchant for Baby Ruth candy bars. The soldiers name him Hellboy.
Sixty years later Hellboy (Perlman) works for the United States government in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), as the leading agent, known as Red. He is joined by fish-like man named Abe Sapien (Jones, voice by Pierce), who is incredibly intelligent and telepathic. The third member of the team is fire starter Liz Sherman (Blair), who is living in a mental hospital and trying to learn to control her powers. They work with Broom (Hurt), who Hellboy calls "father." Broom is old and in failing health, so he procures newbie FBI Agent John Myers (Evans) to be Hellboy and Abe's guardian / caretaker.
Meanwhile, a blast from the past, Grigori, his ageless Nazi girlfriend Isla (Bridget Hodson), and top assassin / masochist Kroenen (Ladislav Beran), returns to unleash new terror on the world. Soon it is up to the BPRD to stop Grigori from destroying the world.
Apparently I'm on a comic book kick lately (Scott Pilgrim, Kick-Ass, Watchmen...). I've seen parts of this film before, but never really understood what was happening (it helps to have a basic understanding of the comic book). But watching it now... knowing a little more about the directors style and doing a little more comic book research... it makes more sense.
It is obvious director Guillermo del Toro enjoys the Hellboy comics... he sticks close to the original material, only changing a few aspects of the story for the film. The tone and styling work well; del Toro does well with fantasy settings and crazy characters (apparent in his film Pan's Labyrinth). The casting is excellent. Ron Perlman looks like he's having a blast. Snarky and consistently puffing a big cigar, the character is fun and funny, while still showing lots of heart (with his little kittens). The character of Abe is also a delight, despite only appearing in a few scenes. The combination of Doug Jones performance and David Hyde Pierce's voice work well together. And Jeffrey Tambor tries to steal the show as the frustrated head of BPRD Tom Manning. He doesn't get respect and isn't supposed to be a character you like, but he manages to win you over. Selma Blair is ok, but the character is gloomy and doesn't get to do much. The only sour spot is Ruper Evans' John Myers. The character / actor don't really add much to the film. He's o.k., but doesn't help. The villains are interesting, but there is not much focus on their characters. Hopefully they will find a way to bring them back in subsequent sequels.
The creatures are cool, the CGI is pretty good... the story itself is a little scattered, but overall everything works together to make you want to spend more time with Hellboy and the gang.
Hellboy (2004) 132 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and frightening images.
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Ron Perlman as Hellboy
John Hurt as Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm
Selma Blair as Liz
Rupert Evans as John Myers
Karel Roden as Grigori Rasputin
Jeffrey Tambor as Tom Manning
Doug Jones as Abe Sapien
David Hyde Pierce as Abe Sapien (voice)
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