Hellboy - Thoughts

Though I’ve seen Hellboy way back in 2004 in the theatre when it was released, I figured it was time to watch it again; especially considering I couldn’t remember it all. This was perhaps brought on by the release of the sequel, Hellboy II – The Golden Army. Remembering it was a decent watch; I rented the DVD and gave it a whirl.


As expected, it was worth the revisit, and was quite entertaining. About 5 minutes into the movie and it was pretty evident that this is based on a comic book. While there was a lot of action, and some pretty yucky creatures, the movie maintained a fantasy genre sorta feel throughout. Special mention must be made of Guillermo Navarro, the Director of Photography, as the look & feel of the individual scenes were quite unique, and visually impressive. In all it’s not very serious, and has a very standard plot; the forces of good who have specific special powers take on the forces of evil to battle for the destiny of earth. The rest of mankind oblivious to this, go on with their daily lives uninterrupted.

Ron Perlman who plays Hellboy is not obviously recognizable owing to the red skin makeup and other accessories. That said his brand of humor is quite obvious throughout, and also serves as the comedy element of the film. Selma Blair who plays his love interest as Liz Sherman is again very well cast, beautifully portraying a sense of being lost and confused by the powers that she possesses. The course of the movie is a sorta self realization/coming of age for her; though unwilling at first, she realizes that she needs to step up to the role that is required of her, and perhaps her destiny. Rupert Evans as John Myers, fit in perfectly with his mild mannered ways, completing the mosaic of personality traits required to keep the character development and story moving.

The DVD I was watching was a special edition 2 disk set (Region 1 US release). Video had been reformatted for viewing at home and exactly fit the 16:9 widescreen plasma TV. This made for an excellent viewing experience. The colors were rich, and red was certainly more emphasized. Besides the sets, costumes, and other tangible elements, red tones might have been amplified during post processing. Certain scenes were a little dark with limited lighting, but it wasn’t too much of a concern. Sound was sufficient and as expected from an action flick. Surround usage was moderate, and the mood/ambience was well recreated in a home-theatre environment. The audio presentation was a Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The second disk contained a lot of additional movie making and behind the scenes footage. Storyboards and several other elements were included. For the collector this would probably be bliss.

My Recommendation: Watch It (Great for Comic book buffs, Hellboy fanboys, and lovers of the fantasy action genre)