Even black magic can't save the Nazis!

Rating: 8/10 (26 February 2009)

Strangely enough, Hellboy makes me think of Ron Perlman's performance in the slightly less impressive but underrated Alien Resurrection (oh shut up, it wasn't that bad). In both movies he plays a character that approaches his work with a casual confidence that comes from long years of general badassedness. In both movies he does hard work but has never really been challenged. He also does that cool thing where he lives unseen right here with us in modern American society, protecting oblivious humans from frightening dangers we don't even know are there. Oh, and he's massive and bright red but files down his enormous horns because he doesn't like to feel like an outcast. Can't be walking around looking like Satan, after all.
The movie opens in Scotland in 1944. The Nazis are falling from power and Hitler has employed a team to try to make use of supernatural forces to maintain his regime. I won't try to explain the intricacies of the process, but basically the efforts ultimately fail, but not before a portal is left open and a baby demon slips through. After the fall of the Nazis, the American military takes a liking to the little demon, taking him under their protection and, for some reason, nicknaming him Hellboy. He falls under the care of an American scientist named Professor Bruttenholm, who also cares for an aquatic mutant curiously named Abe Sapien, and the sporadic involvement of Liz Sherman, played by Selma Blair. Liz is a firestarter but is more human than Hellboy and Abe and has a tendency to be turned off by the work they have to do.
And what do they do? As Professor Bruttenholm explains, "there are things that go bump in the night. We Are the ones who bump back." Basically they protect the United States from otherworldly dangers. The latest danger comes in the form of none other than Rasputin, a Russian spiritualist back from the dead with plans to arrange a partnership with some evil gods which will endow him with great powers if he will open their path to earth.
If this all sounds confusing, don't worry, the story is not the most important thing about the movie. It's a comic book thrill ride and it works because the main characters are all performed well, particularly Ron Perlman as Hellboy and Doug Jones as Abe Sapien. The movie cleverly explains how Hellboy and his colleagues have remained secret for all of these years (something to do with an inability to get clear pictures of him, like the Loch Ness monster or Bigfoot), and even makes his existence into a legend, a bedtime story that entertains but is rarely believed to be true.
The characterization is not exactly the best thing about the movie. Selma Blair's character is almost completely uninteresting, Hellboy's sidekick is almost completely unnecessary, and, Hellboy himself is riddled with stereotypes, both human and as a movie character. He's definitely fun to watch, but other than his outstanding make-up, there's really nothing original or unique about him. He is an outcast with a deep love that seems hopeless to him, which is not to stop him from spying in one of the movie's most charming scenes when he thinks his affections are being challenged.
Hellboy was released around the same time as the disappointing Punisher, which represents a much lower quality film in the same genre. It is smart enough to laugh at itself, but not because we need comic relief. The movie is made with a much lighter tone than other similar films because they understand that you can't take a movie like this too seriously without making it unintentionally funny. When we watch comic book movies, we want a hero that we like but we still want to laugh and be entertained. The CGI and some of the special effects could definitely use some work, but this is a comic book movie that even my mom could enjoy. And trust me, that's a good thing.