The Gospel According to Hellboy

Rating: 10/10 (8 May 2004)

Ron Perlman is so perfectly cast as the title character in this film that I have to give it 10 stars. The way he manages to toss off what could be corny one-liners and make it all seem completely natural and in character is fascinating. It is also mind-boggling to see how he can emote from under all of that make-up and be menacing, sexy, and goofily romantic all at the same time. And even though the plotting is at times lacking in continuity, it is not too confusing for someone like me who had never even heard of the comic strip it is based on.

I liked the other actors, especially John Hurt as the older Prof. Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm. His character's deep affection for the creature he calls 'son' and Hellboy's return of this paternal affection is apparent. So it's too bad that for reasons of the plot Hurt and Perlman don't spend much time on screen together. There is also good interaction between Perlman and most of the other cast members. However, for some reason the interesting character of Abe Sapien is not made enough use of. Unfortunately, the evil characters are much less developed. They are the most 'comic-book' of the characters in the movie if you take that term to mean superficial and under-developed.

The only real problem I had with the film is the virtual lack of monsters for Hellboy to defeat. The trailer, which was what attracted me to this film in the first place, made me expect "things that go bump in the night". These "things" essentially end up being only one thing and a surprise related to Hellboy's last fight was already given away in the trailer. Frankly, there are more monsters to be had in the 1984 film "Ghostbusters" which certain plot elements in Hellboy reminded me of.

Despite this quibble with the plot, what makes me love this film is that the character of Hellboy actually has some depth to him that takes him far beyond recent comic-book based films like the 2003 films "Hulk" and "Daredevil". Perlman's Hellboy, similar to Tobey Maquire in the 2002 film "Spider-man", actually develops and changes. There is also something in this film, whether deriving from Del Toro's script alone or from Mike Mignola's original "Hellboy" comic strip as well, that moves beyond the superficial use of relics, Crucifixes, and Holy Water to make a point that to my mind is essential to my understanding of the Catholic faith. It is a person's choices that determine who they become and not who they are born.

I ended up leaving the theater being much more impressed with the heart and soul of Ron Perlman's Hellboy than with his huge punch. I am now planning to read Mignola's original "Hellboy" comics to get more of an idea of how his creation differs from this film adaptation. I can't wait for the DVD and hope that any sequels improve the script without, at the same time, taking away the wonderful freshness of Perlman's performance.