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Hellboy | Year: 2004 Classification: Action/Adventure Actors/Actresses: - Ron Perlman - Selma Blair - Doug Jones Ron Perlman IS Hellboy! Usually, I find comic book adaptations incredibly corny and campy. One of the main reasons why a comic book should stay a comic book is because of the difficulties of translating the visuals into live-action sets and actors. Being a Mike Mignola fan, I decided to watch this film, but with reservations about dropping 10 bucks on a potentially, lame-looking movie. First of all, if Hellboy was real, he'll look exactly like Ron Perlman. Mr. Perlman isn't as tall as he looks in movies (he's about 6', maybe a hair less, but a giant compared to Tom Cruise) and he isn't exactly muscular. As Hellboy, however, he looks exactly like the hero from the comic book. For some reason, Guillermo Del Toro's Spanish films have more sophisticated plot and character developments. Films like Cronos and The Devil's Backbone are filled with subtle nuances that are quite enjoyable and unexpected. The minute he takes his work to Hollywood, they becomes big budgeted B-movies. The greatest thing about Mignola's Hellboy was the fact that it was based on actual historical myths and the occult, which gave it a real dark edge. In the movie adaptation, all these things are missing, which isn't hard to explain, because they tend to be things that cannot translate to film. I found the inclusion of Agent John Meyers to be incredibly dull, although Rupert Evans might just be a bad actor. I also found the script boring and lacking of any true depth. The romance between Hellboy and Liz Sherman seemed very unnecessary. Also in the comic book, the evil villian, Rasputin was a horrific character, that was truly insane and truly frightening. In the movie, he is a whimpy bald-headed fellow with stupid looking sunglasses. Not to say that this movie wasn't entertaining (the scene with the talking corpse comes to mind.) But, if you had a choice to see this movie or go out for a cheeseburger with fries, I would suggest spending your money at your favorite diner. When things go bump in the night, Hellboy bumps back "Hellboy" is the movie adapted from a comic book for people who did not read the comic book, which, in this case, would be me. That means I was free of any and all preconceptions regarding characters, casting, and plot this time around, unlike previous experiences with Batman, Spider-Man, and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. But even from a tabula rassa perspective it is hard to believe that anybody other than Ron Perlman could have played the title role in "Hellboy." The first key point about this movie is that "Hellboy" works even before Perlman shows up as Big Red and takes over the movie. We begin in 1944 in Scotland, where a bunch of Nazis have shown up in order to open an inter-dimensional portal to the dark side and summon forth the Seven Gods of Chaos. True, this is going to end the world, which is probably a bit more than Hitler was bargaining for, but it seems that the original Russian mad monk Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden), his Aryan bride of death Ilsa (Bridget Hodson), and the blade loving Nazi psycho Kroenen (Ladislav Beran) have a slightly different agenda. Fortunately, young Professor Trevor Broom (Kevin Trainor), FDR's psychic advisor, and the U.S. Army stop the Nazi plot. The portal is closed, but not before a little red-skinned horned demon comes through from the other side. We jump ahead to the present, where the rumored sightings of Hellboy are a tabloid staple. Young clean-cut F.B.I. agent John Myers (Rupert Evans) becomes a part of the agency's Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense where Professor Broom (John Hurt) introduces him to "Abe" Sapien (Doug Jones does the acting but the voice is provided by David Hyde Pierce), a fish like mind-reader/psychic and the adult Hellboy in all of his glory. Meanwhile, sixty years later Rasputin and his sidekicks are back again and have managed to unleash a monster from inside a statue at the museum. The fun part about this particular monster is that every time you kill one, two more are born to take its place. Hellboy has his work cut out for him this time, but Rasputin and Kroenen do something that makes this really personal for our hero. But the ending of the world as we know it is a minor problem compared to Hellboy's love life, which is fixated on the melancholy Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). She is a pyrokineticist who bursts into flames when she gets excited or angry. He is a seven-foot red skinned demon from another dimension who is impervious to fire, so it is clearly a perfect match. But once John convinces Liz to come back to the fold they start spending time together, forcing Hellboy to sneak around on rooftops spying on them. However, this is all just a prelude to the final showdown with the bad guys and their monsters. More than any other comic book superhero on the big screen, Hellboy really takes a pounding. But the big guy keeps coming back for more. Perlman is pitch perfect as Hellboy, his baritone voice providing depth to the character beyo Stylish fun "There is a place, a dark place, where ancient evil slumbers, waiting to be awakened," a character warns in the first minutes of "Hellboy." And if you think that ancient evil is going to continue slumbering through a film with a title like "Hellboy," you must be dreaming. Awaken it does -- on two fairly spectacular occasions -- and to defeat it, the world must call upon a guy who could squash Spider-Man with one sweep of his rock-hard right hand, a scarlet-skinned avenger who makes the Hulk look not-so-incredible. Hellboy, as readers of the Dark Horse comic know, is a half-man, half-demon and, as played by Ron Perlman, he's a whole lotta fun to hang around with. Although he's got brute strength to spare, his fireproof hide hides a tender side: He vainly tries to sand down the pair of horns that keep threatening to sprout out of his broad forehead, he consumes basins of chili and mini-mountains of nachos in one sitting, and he enjoys the company of ... kittens. The dream project of the gifted Mexican screenwriter and director Guillermo del Toro ("Mimic," "Blade II"), "Hellboy" initially appears to be a flashy mishmash of elements lifted from "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "X-Men," "The Matrix" and other fantasies. But stick with it. Somehow del Toro gives the movie unexpected rhythm and spirit; don't be surprised if you get caught up in this weirdly affecting tale about a superhero bedeviled by his need for acceptance and companionship. The screenplay by del Toro begins in 1944, as the Nazis and the diabolical Grigori Rasputin (yes, the Mad Monk himself) combine science and black magic to open a portal to Hell. The results are dire for all concerned, and in the midst of the mess a miniature red menace manages to cross over from the dark side. Adopted by paranormal expert Professor Broom (John Hurt), the little creature grows up to be Hellboy, the secret weapon of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, an organization dedicated to stamping out monsters whenever and wherever they appear. They're a low-profile bunch. Instead of the supersonic jet the X-Men travel around in, the BPRD team disguises itself as a band of trashmen. In the rare moments when he's not fending off attacks by the sinister forces of Rasputin (Karel Roden), Hellboy attempts to deal with new BPRD trainee John Myers (British TV star Rupert Evans), who has managed to win the trust of Hellboy's dreamgirl, Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), a sullen soul cursed with pyrokinesis: Whenever her temper flares, everything goes up in flames. The bizarre love triangle is delightfully opt as a defense against a cold, cruel world. They're self-deluding but likable survivors, and Patti LuPone is at her heartbreaking best as two-dollar whore Kitty Duvall. That's 29-year-old Kevin Kline doing fine work in a brief appearance, joining these downtrodden dreamers who, in Saroyan's world, become heroes of the heart. Buy Hellboy at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  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