Review
HELLBOY
Starring Ron Perlman, John Hurt and Selma Blair
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
Opens Friday, April 2
Check listings
The biggest problem with Hellboy is Batman. And Spiderman. And Superman. And every big budget Hollywood comic book adaptation that has preceded it. Now that comics mean big bucks at the box office, producers are turning over comic franchises faster than you can say Punisher.
Not that this in itself is bad. There have been some great movies based on comic books (American Splendor, Josie and the Pussycats) but often when these stories are brought to the screen there is so much back story to deal with that the movie never goes anywhere. Still, with the bigger names in comics even someone who doesn’t know the difference between Marvel and DC probably knows who The Hulk is and what he’s about, but Hellboy…?
In the film he’s a devil summoned from an alternate hell dimension by the Nazis during the Second World War. He falls into the hands of the Allies and with his decelerated aging, unmatched strength and odd red skin gets co-opted by a secret government agency to work alongside other "freaks" to save the world. When the same evil forces that summoned Hellboy (Rob Perlman) to Earth 60 years ago return to finish what they started, it’s up to H.B. and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense to save the day.
So what you end up with is a film that is part Raiders of the Lost Ark, part League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and part Bulletproof Monk (although it’s far better than the last two in that list), which means you have seen most of this before. The big exception is Perlman. Known for taking roles that require his face to be hidden behind layers of latex (you might remember his furry visage in TVs Beauty and the Beast), he once again undergoes massive makeup effects, but gives a performance worthy of the title role. He almost effortlessly walks that line between comic book camp and dramatic resonance with a great sense of humour, all the while chasing after computer-generated villains and brandishing teched-out weapons. He brings Hellboy to life in a way no other actor could and this performance makes you understand why the directors who work with Perlman do so again and again.
To be fair, most of the performances in the film are good. John Hurt as the aging patriarch and Rupert Evans as the new partner all do well against the onslaught of action set pieces and gory creatures.
But this film falls apart between the elements. The characters are strong, the effects are good and there is a great look to the film (especially in the design of Mer-Man Abe Sapien), but none of it comes together as it should. Director Guillermo Del Toro, who brought another comic book, Blade, to life with great success has a great eye, but relies too heavily on gimmicky effects. Where Blade was able to weather that by building on a vampire mythology that people were familiar with, Hellboy leaves the audience to make a few leaps and then never pays them back. The result is a film that is certainly very watchable, but doesn’t do much to keep your attention. |
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