Hellboy, directed by Guillermo Del Torro, is the kind of satisfying superhero film that I’ve been wanting to watch for a long time. Initially I had thought I would review the new Hellboy film but I figured it would be best if I first go back to what made the original such a hit. It certainly wasn’t the CGI which isn’t bad but now carries with it a certain vintage feel; which says a lot for a film made only in the 2000s. Rather, I think it was the inspired visual images and symbols that pervade ever corner of the film, promising a world underneath what we see, filled with wonder, horror, and world-ending demons. Writing this I’m thinking back to that fantastic scene in the museum where the bad guy Nazis break an ancient statue in half, only to reveal that it was hiding a secret within it’s hollow body. The same can be said about the NYC portrayed in the movie, on the surface you have your normal life but underneath it are all the creatures that go bump in the night and of-course, Hellboy himself. There is such power in these images and it’s something that stayed with me well after the film ended. Del Torro is fantastic at this, and he would only get better and better at doing these things with time, culminating in “Pan’s Labyrinth”.
The story is filled with bizarre characters and plots, I loved the Nazis trying to open up a portal to let in great squid demons to rule the world, and Rasputin rehashed as some evil sorcerer who gets raised from the dead after blood is pooled in a secret cave in a cold Moldavian mountain. More than anything though, I loved Hellboy, his relationship with his father, and Liz. Hellboy didn’t so much feel like a superhero to me but more like a person with extraordinary characters, and I think that’s one of the best compliments I can give to the writing in this film. And it’s not just with Hellboy, many characters in this film are well fleshed out, including Jeffery Tambor’s Tom Manning, who has a wonderful scene at the end teaching Hellboy how to properly light a cigar. It’s not just a scene about how to light a cigar but contains with it, the continuance of Manning and Hellboy’s relationship, the start of a new leaf, and a certain amount of understanding and respect that both characters have now garnered for each other. And there are many scenes like this, this is a layered film that goes beyond just presenting superheros, it’s a mighty human film too.
The acting by Ron Perlman was absolutely amazing, he lived the character of Hellboy and there was not a minute where he didn’t keep me entertained. He made this other worldly creature believable and real to me.
If there was one thing I could have done without in the film, it would be the love triangle between Liz, Hellboy and Myers. I found it a little odd, why would Myers go out with Liz knowing that Hellboy has such a connection with her ? It was a little confusing to me. Even Myers isn’t as well fleshed out as the other characters in the film either, which is a shame as he shows up so much in the movie, and whenever they switched over to him I always wanted them to go back to Hellboy or Liz or the father, something other than him.
Despite that though, this is a lush film that I think will continue to stand the test of time. Del Torro is certainly a master in his craft and this film shows it.
