On the other side of the coin, back at the ranch, we have the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, home to our heroic trio of Hellboy (Ron Perlman), Abe (Doug Jones, who also provides Abe's voice, taking over from David Hyde Pierce), and Liz (Selma Blair). All three of these characters get good screen time and are allowed to develop over the course of the action. We are also introduced to a new team member, Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth McFarlane). It sounds like there are a lot of characters to get to, but they all have time and they all play an important part.
Of course our primary concern is going to be Hellboy himself. The character heads in some interesting directions this time out. We still have his love for pancakes and cats, but we also get into his inability to carry on a relationship (carrying over from the first film), and his desire to operate out in the open, rather than in secrecy. This desire leads to a revelation that the big guy had not considered before. The exploration of Hellboy adds considerable depth to the visually-oriented action film, which helps it become something more than just another action film.
The performances are all quite strong. Ron Perlman seems to have been born to play Hellboy; he brings a marvelous sarcastic delivery to the snarky lines while also displaying surprising emotional depth. Helping him along is the sullen work of Selma Blair, who has her own troubles dealing with who she is and with the relationship. Then there is Doug Jones who is a fantastic physical actor with great control over his body. Frankly, I am not sure I even know what he looks like, as he generally is covered in his roles (see Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Pan's Labyrinth). Then there are the deeper supporting roles like the one played by Jeffrey Tambor as the government’s liaison.
The film was written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro (from a story co-written with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola), and is an original story, not adapted from any pre-existing Hellboy comics. Del Toro has crafted a story that for all of the fantastical elements still feels grounded in reality. Combine that with his great eye for the visual and you can see just how this was not going to be anything but a good film. Following his critical success with Pan's Labyrinth, it seems that Hollywood is finally recognizing his talent, and this film looks like a near perfect blending of his arthouse and mainstream sensibilities.
Article comments
1 - Jordan Richardson
Sounds awesome. I hope to see it soon.
2 - Lisa McKay
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