A unique hero rises to the challenge!!!

Rating: 8/10 (4 April 2004)

Many think that comic-book hero adapted films have become a dime-a-dozen what with `Spider-Man,' `The Hulk,' and `Daredevil.' However, it is not like these movies have been all that bad-the best being `The Hulk' which portrayed a tormented man born with abilities that he cannot control. Now we have `Hellboy.' Hellboy himself is hardly a super-human; he is more of a super Satan. With a unique look of red skin, broken horns, and a right hand made of armor, we find a friendly and heroic character willing to save the world from the clutches of his own kind-ultimate evil. The end result is a familiar, yet exceptional tale of good verses evil.	`Hellboy' tells the story of the son of Satan, taken from hell by a ritual in which Nazis tried to take over the world. The good-old boys of the American army botched the attempt and the creature taken from hell was adopted by the United States government and appropriately named Hellboy (Ron Perlman). Raised by Professor Bruttenholm (John Hurt), a scientist who works for a secret U.S. Government agency, Hellboy learns the ways of good and fights to protect the world from `things that go bump in the night.'
Now, in the present, Hellboy is faced with the resurrected Grigori Rasputin and Nazis, as they attempt to once again take over the world by bringing hell down on earth. Hellboy is aided in his fight by another strange creature named Abraham 'Abe' Sapien (Doug Jones), a fish-like man with great knowledge; Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), a beautiful young woman who can manipulate fire; and a new recruit to the agency named John Myers, a future replacement for the ailing Professor Bruttenholm. Their adventure to save the world will force Hellboy to face his very identity and require him to make a choice between the world of which he physically is, and the world that he was brought up to fight for.	Although the film is conventional and we can expect to see an unusual hero rise, we also find a one-of-a-kind hero that will not back down from what he knows to be right. The unconventional aspect of `Hellboy' rests in its awesome characters that are not only colorful, but also personified by their human qualities. For example, Hellboy himself is deeply in love with Liz Sherman and would do anything to protect her. There is a funny scene in which Liz enters Hellboy's room and finds him writing one love letter after another to her. As for the character of Abraham Sapien, he offers words of wisdom for Liz when Hellboy is distraught over his ailing adopted father, Professor Bruttenholm. Sapien says, `If there's trouble, then all of us freaks has is each other.'	Identity and choice are the keys to these super-hero flicks. Hellboy has to make a choice between fighting for good or evil. Choice is imperative and it is what separates these characters from other people around them. The same is true for the characters of `Spider-Man,' and `The Hulk.' They acknowledge that they are cursed soles-but they do not have to live a cursed life. They are both normal and abnormal. It is their choice to live in a world where they can protect mankind so that people will not have to feel the same pain that they do. As for `Hellboy,' it latches on to that quality, will not let go and becomes a movie where an unlikely creature becomes a hero. ***