Issue 151

Review on Hellboy

29th January 2007

'Hellboy' is the film equivalent of licking a battery; it's stupid, immature and pointless but once in your lifetime you will get the urge to do it and possibly enjoy its minute of entertainment.

From the comic comes Del Toro's big screen adaptation of caper that reads like the most lurid dreams of Hunters. Thompson converted into a children's mythfilled tale. The titular Hellboy, portrayed by Mr. 'oh-its-him-from-everything', Ron Pearlman, is summoned by the Nazis working in collusion with eccentric Russian wizard Rasputin, but they fail to truly harness his power and he joins the Allies. And that's just the set-up.

Following this insanity we soon meet the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defence, a secret arm of the government for whom Hellboy soon becomes a key figure alongside the wise amphibian Abe Sapien (voiced by David Hyde Pierce). Over the countless run-ins with various beasts, which serve to exhibit Hellboy's real physical strength, a hard-to-believe love triangle between the red-faced beast, fire conjurer Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and a young FBI agent is also placed further adding to the depth of the picture.

Eventually Hellboy must face the comic-book favourite finale of a world-ending act involving a bizarre object of extreme power as he puts aside his gripes with love and buckles down to the task.

The plot is somewhat convoluted, serving much better as a comic book although it is still entertaining. However, the sheer farcical nature of most of it makes it hard to engage with.

Other than being mildly impressed by the CGI and dry quips of the iconic Hellboy it seems to fall short of really cementing itself as anything more than time-killer, due to its lame sub-plot and taking itself too seriously. Maybe 'Hellboy 2: The Golden Army' will advance some of these failings but it seems unlikely.

Chris Sloley