It's about time Hell had a hero or two. I mean, sure, it may be the most evil place on Earth after Wisconsin, but it seems to have been unfairly represented by the Popular Culture, as far as The Duke can tell.
Sorry, Wisconsians, but I saw that Death Trip film, and I don't want to generalize or anything, but you're all demented.
Anyway, it seems Mike Mignola thought the time was right also, for Hell to spawn a character we could all look up to, and admire, and engage with via some emotional nuances, and so he went ahead and gave us Hellboy, one of the most revered comic book titles of the last decade.
Telling the tale of a big red motherfucker what was spat out from the bowels of Hades sometime during World War II and now works for the FBI, Hellboy battered a fine trail through Lovecraftian pseudo-demonology and good old fashioned punching the hell out of stuff.
Most folks who cared about these kinds of things can't have been anything less than relieved when it was announced Guillermo Del Toro would be bringing the Satan Kid to the big screen. He already did the action-heavy comics adaptation thingy with Blade II, and did it exceptionally well, even coaxing a decent performance out of one of the Bros fellas.
Drop the boy, motherfucker.
Del Toro in fact not only passed on Blade III : Trinity to do this, but also Harry Potter And The Prisoner From Alcatraz or whatever, so it was obvious it was a labor-of-love type-affair, and Hellboy the film was going to be respectful to the source material.
For which fans can only be grateful, since the studio heads were less than concerned with the long-established mythos. At one point they were attempting to persuade the Mexican Auteur to totally change the core narrative, having Hellboy as a human who simply turns all red and shit when he gets angry. Maybe Lou Ferringo was busy at the time, but whatever happened, the idea was thankfully shelved, ie, exposed as ridiculous horseshit. They also tossed out the notion that sure, Hellboy comes from Hell and all that, but what if he was, y'know, a human, a regular guy, is what.
That's a load of arse-paste is what Del Toro suggested, and the film he finally delivered is as true to the source as could be reasonably expected. Everything feels right, from the nods to various story lines and plot arcs, to the tentacle-flaunting squid-god things torn straight from The Call Of Cthulhu, right down to the fact that, thanks to Rick Baker's stunning make-up, Ron Perlman couldn't look anymore like the comic creation if he were etched in 2-D and filled in with crayons.
Article comments
1 - Jim Carruthers
I was looking forward to "Hellboy", though I hadn't read any of the comix (I've been in a "meh" phase the last while), but had reasonably enjoyed Del Toro's stuff (Especially The Giant Cucharachas Who Ride the Toronto Transit Commission Subway).
I saw a screener, and it was okay, but at the end, well, at least I don't feel cheated. But the characters are shallow, and the villains don't make any sense. They have no motivation other than they are eeevvvviiiilllllll!!!!!! And that makes for a piss-poor villain.
And on the other side, well, they're the good guys, and you don't get much more than that.
"Hellboy" was better than most comic book movies, but almost any two episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel would kick his big red ass.
For a good take on the Cthulhu mythos as applied to post-WW II, check Charlie Stross' "A Colder War".
2 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Jim, thanks for the comments and for the recommendation there. I'll be clicking once i finish here.
I agree with most of what you just said, about how the "evil" characters seem to have very little motivation, or if they do, it's not really related in much of a way other than yacking on about some "Eden" or other, but i dunno, i couldn't see an apple anywhere, and i don't remember the bible having a scene with giant octopi.
Overall though, i thought it was a lot of fun, and it'll probably end up like X-Men 1 is now, an above-average warm-up for a much more involving sequel.
Hopefully, anyroad.
3 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Oh, and totally agree with the Buffy thing. In fact, at various points in the film i was thinking how such a meagre storyline would be better served in a double-part Angel or something.
4 - Jim Carruthers
Actually Joss Whedon already did the treatment for a better story, but instead of calling it "Hellboy", he called it "Fray".
Mysterious gurl with special powers? Check
Horned demon from hell who aides her in fighting some sort of world-ending evil? Check
A fish-like guy who lives in an apartment sized aquarium? Check
Really long-lived evil bugger who wants to bring about the end of said world by bringing back an Elder Ghod? Check
Basket full of kittens? Shit, no way. (Time, Mr. Spike is what turns kittens into tabbies).
"Fray" is also from Dark-horse, and it has an ending which doesn't require "To Be Continued, honestly the next one will be better".
5 - Vic
That was a helluva review. :-)
Vic
6 - Vic
That was a helluva review. :-)
Vic
7 - Shark
And now for something completely different...
Shark watched Hellboy in early April
8 - Shark
"...Incidentally, this final showdown is directly preceded by a scene which climaxes with 45 seconds of silent black-screen."
...meaning "we didn't have a fucking clue what to do here, but figured a theater full of retarded window-lickin' comix and action figure fans won't notice..."
9 - Jim Carruthers
Or the 45 second clip could be the actual work-print (where they leave blank leader while waiting for the CGI to be done) which on release resulted in a hearty round of "I thought you were taking care of _that_" and much ass-kicking.
10 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Jim, its possible. But it does give the impression of much time having passed, meaning the transition from the explosion to the tied-up carry-ons makes slightly more sense.
Shark, thats a tad harsh, dont you think? I don't think i like being classed as a "retarded window-lickin' comix and action figure fan". although i do like comics and action figures, and am probably retarded, but i havent licked a window in at least two months.
11 - Shark
Duke, that wasn't necessarily aimed at you, but um... you did kinda like the movie:
"...It's a bit shallow, a tad overlong, and really, lose the motherfucking Nazi's, but it's still a superior blockbuster with enough heart to justify the occasional lapses in taste or narrative."
Shallow? Overlong? Lose the main drive of the 'plot'?
But it's a superior blockbuster?
Jeesus. What does it take for you to NOT like a movie? What's your friggin' criteria, man?
Oh, wait -- "jawdropping" effects.
No plot.
No characters.
Just jawdropping effects.
hell, you can get that with any commercial on TV.
For free!
Shark's
12 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Shark, PMSL
I guess it just won me over is all, it had a lot of heart, and it didn't feel cynical or calculated to me. It just seemed like a hell of a lot of fun, and really, it was the imagery that won me over in the end. I still say that final scene has some of the most arresting fantasy imagery in a mainstream film in a long time.
I guess its like spiderman. It didn't have much plot going on besides Pete tryin to find himself and what not, and the villain was fairly crud (not to take anything away from willem dafoes energetic gurning) but overall the thing was so much damn fun that you came away with a smile on your face, or at least i did, anyhow.
I just liked the damn thing, man, but that don't mean its flawless. I mean, shit, i think Amytiville II is amazing. What the hell do i know?