Entertaining comic book fare

Rating: 7/10 (7 March 2005)

Following on from the recent trend of turning comic books into movies is this offering - Hellboy. I've never read, or even heard of, the 'Hellboy' comic before seeing this movie but it doesn't matter as the film pretty much explains itself anyway. Hellboy tells the story of a demon that was brought into this world by way of a very silly sequence involving a portal to hell, Rasputin (yes, Rasputin) and some Nazi's (naturally). Instead of exterminating this demon, the American army decides to not only keep it, but raise it as a crime fighting superhero, whom they go on to use in the paranormal side of the FBI, which battles various monsters and stuff. Obviously. As you can probably tell, this isn't a film that takes itself seriously and should, therefore, just be taken for what it is - an enjoyable comic book movie. And when taken like that, it has to be said that Hellboy succeeds.
Guillermo Del Toro is an obviously talented director. Cronos and The Devil's Backbone prove that without any further need for proof, but it's also worth noting both Blade 2 and Mimic, which weren't as great as the two films just mentioned, but were obviously helmed by a talented auteur. Hellboy fits in with the latter two films, unfortunately, and although Del Toro has no doubt made a good job of this movie, you can't help but think that his talents would be better served making more movies like Cronos and The Devil's Backbone. The CGI effects in the film are mostly rather good, and go some way to proving that CGI can work if done correctly. The film falls down when it comes to making the character of Hellboy into a well-rounded 'human being'. The word 'cliché' springs to mind immediately, and does so again when it comes to the dialogue that Hellboy has been given. Still, Ron Perlman makes an excellent job of the role, and although I've never read any of the comics; his performance shows what I would expect the character of 'Hellboy' to be. The film is not great, but it's a fun ride; so the thumbs are more up than down.