Hellboy is a decent rental for sci-fi and horror fans

Comic book movies are all the rage these days. Ever since movies like X-Men, Blade and Spider-Man conquered the box office, Hollywood executives have been quick to extract the latest trendy property from the printed page. When done correctly, these films capture the wonder and imagination of their source material (which is saying a lot). When they fail, as in the case of movies like Electra and The Incredible Hulk, they turn into bland exercises in mediocrity, something Los Angeles kids are all too familiar with.

But I don’t want to be too harsh on Hollywood. It is not necessarily easy to adapt a comic. First of all, it is difficult to achieve unless you have a huge budget (just imagine a movie like Spider-Man made cheaply). Then you have to find a director who can transfer the images from a comic to the big screen (Sam Raimi comes to mind immediately). Then there are all the regulars like competent actors and a solid script, as well as that intangible “something” that seems to always be present in movies that really come together. Overall, it’s not an easy task, but studios are more than happy to take on for the time being. That is, at least until the superhero version of Ishtar arrives.

This entry in the Hollywood superhero raffle is called Hellboy and was directed by Guillermo del Toro (best known for his work on The Devil’s Backbone and Blade II). Based on the comic by Mike Mignola, the plot is as follows: Towards the end of WWII, Nazi mystics led by Rasputin (Karel Roden) attempt to open a portal at Hitler’s behest and bring an alien god from the depths. Of space. They are thwarted by a group of American soldiers and a young occult expert named Trevor Bruttenholm. Rasputin is thrown into the portal and everything is fine in the world again. Well, that is until they discover that something entered the portal while it was open. That something turns out to be a small demon, with a large stone hand and a long red tail. The soldiers adopt the childlike creature (who loves Baby Ruth candy bars) and give him the nickname Hellboy (Ron Perlman).

Fast forward 60 years into the future. Bruttenholm (John Hurt) is the head of the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, and a slow-aging Hellboy is its main monster hunter. Other members include Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), an emotionally troubled pyrokinetic, and Abe Sapien (voiced by Doug Jones and voiced by David Hyde-Pierce), a water telepath. And the most recent addition is John Myers (Rupert Evans), a young agent chosen by the very ill Bruttenholm to replace him. Meanwhile, we find that Rasputin has returned from the void and has horrible plans … plans that only Hellboy can help or hinder.

Before continuing, let me tell you that Ron Perlman is the man. She has an uncanny ability to convey emotions through layers of makeup and prosthetics, no doubt a skill she honed during her stint on the television series Beauty and the Beast. And playing larger-than-life characters is what he does best, as evidenced by the featured roles in Alien: Resurrection, City of Lost Children, and Blade II. With his massive jaw and unusual appearance, Perlman has been embraced by a generation that grew up staring at the Klingons, Sith Lords, and other assorted oddities.

Perlman is found in rare form in Hellboy, possessing both the physical presence and the acting ability to play the role of a large red demon. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get much help from his surroundings, especially Del Toro’s script.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful movie to watch and the special effects are really top-notch. Take, for example, a scene in which Hellboy glimpses a vision of a possible future Earth, with vast tentacles stretching across the sky and cities burning in ruins. It would certainly be enough to make even HP Lovecraft cry.

But something is missing between all the effects and the attitude. For a movie dealing with mysticism and alien gods, Hellboy ironically appears to be soulless. Most of the characters just seem to be following the movements with no real direction in mind. Even the villains seem made of cardboard, and their nefarious plans lack a real sense of urgency or dread. If an alien god was about to cross into this world, don’t you think it should look a bit scary? Del Toro should have seen John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness to see how it’s done.

John Hurt, an excellent actor, has very little to do like Bruttenholm. Even his illness is only mentioned briefly, stripping the film of what might have been its most dramatic element. No, Hurt is primarily asked to appear dignified, something an actor of his caliber could achieve in his sleep.

Rupert Evans and Selma Blair also suffer from the bad script. A romance is sparked between the two, but is quickly abandoned as the film’s final act approaches (another wasted opportunity). Blair spends most of the movie dressed in black and looking gloomy, and one wonders why our protagonist would be so in love with her in the first place (unless, of course, it’s simply because she’s the only woman he knows) . Evans (as John Myers) is a major actor in the first part of the film, but he seems to recede into the background and almost disappear by the end. It’s true that Hellboy is the focus of the movie, but it’s a bit strange to feature someone so prominently in the early stages and then zoom out as the image progresses. Even Jeffrey Tambor as Tom Manning seems to have more screen time down the stretch.

But the villains are the ones who really keep Hellboy from rising above the range of just average. In a movie like this, the antagonists are of the utmost importance. Heck, they are very important in all action movies. Just watch a movie like Die Hard. Would John McClane have looked half as heroic if he hadn’t had a villain like Hans Gruber to match wit?

As a central villain, Rasputin is a huge disappointment. He has potential, to be sure, but that potential is buried under a mountain of generic villain language. In fact, the Nazi clockwork named Karl Ruprecht Kroenen seems to be a much more interesting villain, although the script quickly runs out of ideas and ends up pushing him into a generic battle with our hero. Even the final monster, which is supposed to be the main threat, is eliminated in no time (leaving the climax of the film very incomplete).

Hellboy is worth the price of a rental, if only to see Perlman in action and admire the special effects. But don’t expect the depth of Spider-Man’s character or the supernatural energy of Blade. Like the mystical villains that populate its landscape, Hellboy talks about a good game but has nothing to say in the end.