Just Like a Comic Book
Hellboy is not only a good super-hero movie, but it's very entertaining and enthusiastic as well. As I watched it, I was reminded of the Evil Dead movies, which also featured a cocky main character who effortlessly spouted one-liners. Those movies were a lot of fun, and Hellboy is no different. It's like the comic just came to life and sprang onto the screen. It never takes itself too seriously, which prevents it from dipping into material that could be considered cheesy. For characters that don't even resemble humans, the acting is quite good, especially coming from a cast of relatively unkown actors.
During the last few weeks of World War II, the Nazi's tried one last desperate scheme to turn the tide to their favor. This one involved Rasputin opening a portal, attempting to bring forth the Seven Gods of Chaos, and wreck havoc upon the world. The attempt, being overseen by the freakish masocist Kroenen, is sabotaged, when a group of US soldiers attacks. Rasputin is sucked into the portal, and demon baby is spit out. This baby is taken in by Dr. Bruttenholm, and eventually leads a task force for the US government that deals with supernatural affairs. The demon is given the fitting name of Hellboy, and along with his aquatic partner Abe Sapien, they fight the evils of other worlds, only on ours.
There is quite a bit of backstory here, but it never hinders the casual viewer. I had never heard of Hellboy until this movie, but by the end of it, I felt like I really knew all the characters, and was glad for them. Rupert Evans plays FBI agent John Myers, sent to look after Hellboy, and become the successor to Bruttenholm. It seems that Rasputin and his Nazi friends have returned now, and released an ancient power, leading Hellboy on the chase of his life.
Ron Pearlman plays the confident Hellboy, and does so to a degree that it is almost believable. The fault of many super-hero movies is that the main hero is rather unbelievable in their portrayal. While several movies have gotten it right (Spider-Man, Batman, X-Men), most others have failed quite miserably. But Hellboy stands out as one of the finest performances an actor could give, he really brings the character to life. His tired, apathetic combat quips are all funny, but it just makes the more important scenes all the more touching. Here's a guy that two minutes ago was telling a monster attacking him with a huge tongue: "Uh uh! First date! No tongue!", and now he's petting a kitten while onlookers stare at him in disbelief.
What I truly enjoyed about this movie is that it didn't seem to steal anything from other films, as far as the directing went. The movie practically fed off of the enthusiasm of the characters, rather than the action scenes, similar to way Spider-Man was handled. That's not to say the action scenes are slow, in fact, just about every other scene is filled with some sort of action. But in all of that, it never loses focus on the fact that the characters are doing battle, not mindless CG pieces to stare at. The battles were ferocious as well, evven Hulk can't compete with this one. I have to admit, before I saw this, I really didn't think it was going to be anything special. But after seeing it, I realize that I was just being ignorant. Hellboy really is a great super-hero movie, and a nice change from all the DareDevil's out there.