Hell’s bells!
My Guillermo del Toro experience continued last night with the viewing of Hellboy (2004).
The Dark Horse Comics movie adaptation was one of those films that slipped through the cracks of my movie-viewing experience. Released in 2004, its taken me three years to manage a sitting - largely because I missed it at the cinema, couldn’t ever find it to hire out on DVD - and until just recently, its not been present at the local DVD retailers, or simply too expensive to justify purchasing.
That changed on Saturday, when I discovered a 2-disc special edition for sale at Big W. Only $12.
I really had no idea what to expect - I’d not followed the graphic novels or the recent animated films on any respectable level. I’d ‘heard of it’. That was about all.
Ron Perlman I knew from Alien: Resurrection, Blade II and Narc, Selma Blair from The Fog and Cruel Intentions and John Hurt from V for Vendetta, Alien and my fav - Spaceballs. I’d even read that David Hyde Pierce voiced ‘Abe Sapien’ (though isn’t credited). So the movie definitely wasn’t short of proven talent and names.
“A demon, raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness”.
A comic book movie is based upon a comic book, a wild fantasy world with virtually no rules, implausible circumstances and unrealistic physics. As long as you can get past this concept, you will enjoy Hellboy.
Hellboy reminds me a bit of ‘Marv’ (Mickey Rourke) in Sin City. That brute force warrior; Iron skin and Titanium fists. Its a fantastic character that you immediately form a liking to.
Abe is a true display of prop-genius. The suit is amazing, the makeup terrific. And Doug Jones’ movements are wonderfully fluid - he makes for a great character.
Abe Sapien: Remind me why I do this again.
Hellboy: Rotten eggs and the safety of mankind.
Abe Sapien: Ah!
All over, its a polished flick that really deserves more credit than it seems to have received. The Hellboy character is an interesting, funny, powerful one - and I can only look forward to the sequel due next year.
Hellboy: Mmmmmm nachos.
Great film.
Link: Hellboy at IMDB
Link: Hellboy at Wikipedia
