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"Perlman does his best, but there is little worthy in this dud."
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The 2004 film adaptation of the Mike Mignola comics directed and written by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.
< read all 13 reviewsThis flick is still a hellacious bore after all this time.
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Aug 12, 2011
- by Madpenguin
- posted in Speech Bubbles: Comics & Graphic Novels
Rating:
Taking place in 1944, a Nazi unit lead by a Russian mystic named Rasputin (Karel Roden) is attempting to use science to open up a portal, with intentions on releasing a mad god to supposedly defeat the Allies. An Allied unit aided by Professor Broom thwarts the plan and Rasputin is apparently killed in the void. Unknown to everyone at the moment, a baby demon enters the Earth-realm and is soon adopted by Broom. The demon child is named Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and 60 years later, he soon becomes a weapon to deal with other monsters. -summary
+2
Released in 2004 and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, Hellboy is a superhero film with supernatural and fantasy elements, and it's based on the comic book by Dark Horse. Now even though I'm a serious comic fan, I still up to this day have not read the comic book, and after watching both movies by this time (it did spawn a sequel) I still have no real desire to visit it. Hellboy seems to have things down in the special effects department, and it even has a very strong beginning. But for some reason this flick feels like it was aimed too much towards boys, and it just didn't raise enough hell for me. For a movie that appears to be quite dark, I really didn't care for the kid friendly feel.
The special effects are indeed pretty, and there are numerous moments where the light shows were a gorgeous visual spectacle. I can honestly say there were very little dull moments when it came down to looking nice. There were some cool underwater and underground labyrinth set pieces, and the film could be quite atmospheric when it wants to. The monster designs had some potential even though they were quite limited. I liked Hellboy's look, and he indeed looked like an intimidating protagonist who could be a real powerhouse. Unfortunately, the looks were seriously deceiving.
Outside of the visuals, there was very little to nothing I liked about this movie. First of all, I did not like the action scenes despite the solid use of CG. There was absolutely nothing that gripped me with the action. Hellboy shoots, he throws a few punches, he gets thrown around, pummeled, and nothing said look at me whatsoever. From an action standpoint, this is easily one of the most boring superhero movies I ever sat through. The final battle also seemed to lack that big moment feel, and it was just too ho-hum for my taste. The action sequences contain no type of serious gore at all. I'm not saying that's some of the reason why I didn't like them. This is just a heads up to those who don't prefer gory action.
If the poor action isn't bad enough, the film suffers from some bad pacing too, and it could have used more action, no matter how dull, because I found the character interactions to be a little more dull. Although slightly developed, nothing they did really seemed to jell, and the villains are cookie cutter all around. They're nothing more than the usual bad guy seeking world domination or destruction just because. The film had a couple of funny moments here and there. For the most part though, many of the jokes where just pretty bland. I lightly chuckled here and there. I'll give credit to the music, which was pretty good during some of the action scenes, but it wasn't good enough to save them.
The plot begins with Hellboy stopping a random demon, but things run a little deeper than that. Rasputin makes his return determined to finish what he started. Hellboy together with two other freaks and one human attempts to stop him.
The acting really isn't much to talk about, however, Ron Perlman does standout as Hellboy. It's easy to tell that he was into his role and loving the character. Too bad his acting talents were kind of wasted to me, because he really didn't have much to work with and I felt many of his one-liners were completely missed.
Hellboy is a very uninteresting superhero to me, I really didn't like him at all here. The movie itself is very bland to me, and this is surely something I can never watch again. It's pretty sad too, because I remember coming into this with high hopes after the action extravaganza Blade II. Oh well, at least the sequel was better... But that's not saying too much though.
Pros:
-Ron Perlman, Special effects
Cons:
-Boring action, boring character interactions, just an all around bore.
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FM_ALEX
August 13, 2011
I actually enjoyed this flick, far from classic but over all I liked it.
Madpenguin
August 13, 2011
I thought the second was better, but this damn near put me to sleep several times.
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Count_Orlok_22
August 12, 2011
I liked a lot of things about this film. The visual effects, the music, the performances of some of the cast members, and the direction. But somehow the spirit of Mignola got lost in all the painfully repetitive action sequences and the comedic elements of the story didn't have the same tone as the comics. In some ways, as much as I enjoyed seeing Perlman as Hellboy, I think that this character and this particular comic series is better off as animation. I prefer the other Mike Mignola film I've seen... "The Amazing Adventures of Screw-On Head" which was just much more of what I'd expect from him and it looked great animated. Somehow, I just don't think del Toro's love for the material translated well onto the screen, which just goes to show that even if you are a fan and faithful to the comics, that doesn't mean you'll end up with a great film.
Madpenguin
August 13, 2011
The action scenes were too repetitive, and I think Spiderman had raised the bar on what highly entertaining superhero action scenes should look like.
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woopak_the_thrill
August 12, 2011
You know I could easily agree with you, but in a way, I enjoyed Del Toro's direction here. He tried to be different and I have to say he did a good job in visualizing the source material; it wasn't as faithful as I hoped but it was cool in adapting/mixing up "Right Hand of Doom", "Seed of Destruction" and the first issues of Hellboy. I guess this really grew on me after I saw the director's cut. I also am a fan of Perlman so...nice review!
Madpenguin
August 12, 2011
It wouldn't have been so bad if the action wasn't so terrible. I became bored very quickly with everything. And I don't care how close something is to the source material. If I'm not enjoying it, then I'm not enjoying it.
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More Hellboy (2004 movie) reviews
**** out of **** I suppose we have "Blade II" to thank for the existence of Guillermo Del Toro's screen adaptation of "Hellboy". That film lead to this one; providing Del Toro with enough money to make his dream project come true. Real filmmakers have real dreams; and "Hellboy" would be a pretty big one for just about any filmmaker. But Del Toro's imagination is limitless, and he doesn't let the studio, the producers, or the money stop him from making one of the fondest movie-watching … more
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WARNING: This review contain spoilers! “What is this that stands before me Figure in black, which points at me Turn around quick and start to run Find out I’m the chosen one Oh, no” -Black Sabbath in the song Black Sabbath, written by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Terry “Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward The comic book character Hellboy was originally created when comic artist Mike Mignola was attending a comic book convention and … more
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I loved Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth and heard he was going to be directing the new Hobbit movie, so I thought I'd check out Hellboy. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed. I generally like films like X-Men Trilogy (X-Men/ X2 - X-Men United/ X-Men - The Last Stand), and superficially this movie was like those - the freaky superheros, the deranged villains. Visually, this is a strong movie and I can see del Toro's hand in creating a dark, visually arresting film. However, … more
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Great visualizations and well written story line with strong performances by Blair and Perlman.
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Compliment
I loved Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth and heard he was going to be directing the new Hobbit movie, so I thought I'd check out Hellboy. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed. I generally like films like X-Men Trilogy (X-Men/ X2 - X-Men United/ X-Men - The Last Stand), and superficially this movie was like those - the freaky superheros, the deranged villains. Visually, this is a strong movie and I can see del Toro's hand in creating a dark, visually arresting film. However, … more
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Compliment
Not as dark or funny as Mignola's comic books, but entertaining nonetheless. Del Toro's vision is impressive if not conducive to the comics.
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review by MichaelN.
May 06, 2009
This movie was highly entertaining though a little hard to follow. Not being familiar with the comics, may have been the reason for my difficulties in following the plot. Hellboy is found during a raid on a Nazi operation near the end of the war. The Nazi's, with the aid of Rasputin (yes, The Rasputin from Russia) are trying to rig a contraption and open up a rift in a type of Hell and loose demons on Earth. The plot is foiled but the soldiers discover Hellboy. He is brought back and raised in secret … more
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review by arichards.
November 15, 2008
"There lived a certain man in Russia long ago He was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow" ("Rasputin" by Boney M) Short Attention Span Summary (SASS): 1. German military says "Ra Ra Rasputin" , and tries to open a portal to another dimension 2. US Army shows up and all Hellboy breaks loose 3. Forget music - it's a Baby Ruth that soothes a savage beast 4. Fast forward 60 … more
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Compliments (3)
The theatrical cut was good, four stars. But now, thanks to the added minutes, the story and the characters get the time to develop the way they should have. The love story between Liz and Hellboy finally makes sense, the dark forces receive more depth and the humor hits you harder because you finally get the time to laugh without fearing to lose the story. Mignola did wonderful work with the comic books. His art and storytelling are splendid. G.del Toro obviously respects and loves the comics and … more
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Compliments (12)
I've never read the "Hellboy" comics. I have nothing to base a comparison on as such, so I'll review this movie as a person who just happened to pick this one up not knowing what to expect. What a surprise! This is an action-packed, but tender-hearted romp through the life of one of the kindest, cockiest heroes of our time. Ron Perlman is perfect as Hellboy. He manages to show us just how gruff and mean Hellboy can be, but he exposes the heart that lies inside our hero as well. … more
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Compliments (12)
About the reviewer
Madpenguin
Serious gamer and hardcore comic reader.
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About this movie
In the ongoing deluge of comic-book adaptations, Hellboy ranks well above average. Having turned down an offer to helm Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in favor of bringing Hellboy's origin story to the big screen, the gifted Mexican director Guillermo del Toro compensates for the excesses of Blade II with a moodily effective, consistently entertaining action-packed fantasy, beginning in 1944 when the mad monk Rasputin--in cahoots with occult-buff Hitler and his Nazi thugs--opens a transdimensional portal through which a baby demon emerges, capable of destroying the world with his powers. Instead, the aptly named Hellboy is raised by the benevolent Prof. Bloom, founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, whose allied forces enlist the adult Hellboy (Ron Perlman, perfectly cast) to battle evil at every turn. While nursing a melancholy love for the comely firestarter Liz (Selma Blair), Hellboy files his demonic horns ("to fit in," says Bloom) and wreaks havoc on the bad guys. The action is occasionally routine (the movie suffers when compared to the similar X-Men blockbusters), but del Toro and Perlman have honored Mike Mignola's original Dark Horse comics with a lavish and loyal interpretation, retaining the amusing and sympathetic quirks of character that made the comic-book Hellboy a pop-culture original. He's red as a lobster, puffs stogies like Groucho Marx, and fights the good fight with a kind but troubled heart. What's ...
Cast:
John Hurt,
Ron Perlman,
Doug Jones,
Santiago Segura,
Brian Steele,
Bob Sherman,
Selma Blair,
Stephen H. Fisher,
Karel Roden,
Jeffrey Tambor,
David Hyde Pierce,
Jeremy Zimmerman,
William Hoyland,
Mark Taylor,
Angus MacInnes,
Corey Johnson,
Rupert Evans,
Ladislav Berain,
Biddy Hodson,
Kevin Trainor,
Brian Caspe,
James Babson,
Garth Cooper,
Jim Howick,
John William Johnson,
Ellen Savaria,
Andrea Stuart,
Bridget Hodson,
Daniel Aarsman,
Bettina Ask,
Alvaro Navarro,
Emilio Navarro,
Rory Copus,
Andrea Miltner,
Jo Eastwood,
Charles Grisham,
Mille Wilkie,
Petr Sekanina,
Ales Kosnar,
Justin Svoboda,
Winter Ave Zoli,
Albert May,
Guillermo del Toro,
Richard Haas,
Ladislav Beran,
Jan Holicek,
Pavel Cajzl,
Monty L. Simons,
Tara Hugo
Director:
Guillermo del Toro
Genre:
Action,
Comedy,
Drama,
Fantasy,
Horror
Release Date:
April 2, 2004
MPAA Rating:
PG-13
Screen Writer:
Guillermo del Toro
DVD Release Date:
July 27, 2004; October 19, 2004
Runtime:
122 minutes
Studio:
Columbia Pictures,
Revolution Studios,
Dark Horse Entertainment
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