Where to watch Hellboy
3 Stars
At the end of World War II, Nazi officers Karl Ruprecht Kroenen and Ilsa Haupstein start an experiment to raise the forces of Hell trough Russian dark mystic Rasputin on a Scottish island, but it’s interrupted by an allied commando guided by professor Trevor “Broom” Bruttenholm. He prevents killing the human-demonic half-blood, which was accidentally created and raises this “Hellboy”, while rising to head of a secret C.I.A.-linked U.S. agency Bureau of Paranormal Research, which secretly studies and uses the occult, including supernatural freaks. As “father” Broom is aging, he hand-picks brilliant, sensitive Agent John Myers as new minder-companion, as regular “warrior” Agent Clay can’t empathize and lacks flexibility mental. Hellboy is quite a handful, regularly spotted by worried civilians on unauthorized excursions, especially to pyro-telekinetic freak friend in a mental asylum. Johnny, Hellboy, and Clay team up on missions against paranormal threats with aquatic-bionic freak Abe Sapien. Their task proves to be daunting, as monster Sammael multiplies every time it “dies”, while Rasputin and the Nazis reemerge, armed for revenge.
Creative inspirations are abundant onscreen during Hellboy, the brainchild of creator Mike Mignola, and realized in live-action by the brilliant filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Ron Pearlman plays the title character in a portrayal that’s part wounded adolescent, part wise-cracking tough guy, and completely humanized. Hellboy is a beautiful-looking film with blood reds against cold colors in almost every frame. The imaginative special effects are impressive and hold up two decades later.
The supporting characters that occupy Hellboy’s world are uniformly interesting and well-cast. The amphibious creature is especially intriguing, while Liz, Hellboy’s crush, is alluring, and both are integral to the film’s plot. This superhero/anit-hero movie runs on for two hours, and it does get bogged down in a protracted final 40 minutes. Hellboy is a lot, almost too much of a good thing, but it’s fun, funny, and contains some dazzling imagery. Above all, this film appears to be the culmination of all the skills and cinema tricks Del Toro has acquired over his career up to that point in time, and he puts his unique mark on this quirky project.
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Written by: Guillermo del Toro, Peter Briggs, Mike Mignola
Starring: Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Selma Blair