Hellboy

Guillermo del Toro 2004

Where would we be without Nazi’s? Just think about all the computer games and films that revolve around those pesky Germans. Its bloody loads! And once again along comes another film to make sure we never forget how evil they were, and how they dabbled in the dark side. They are without a doubt cinematic gold.

The hero of the film is Hellboy; a demon conjured up by the Nazi’s during the war, but rescued and raised to be on our side. Along with a secret government agency (its always a secret agency isn’t it) he fights the forces of Evil…Mu-ha-ha

Guillermo Del Toro has made some wonderful, genuinely effective shockers like “Cronos” and “The Devils Backbone” and also some all out big budget action films like “Blade II”. With “Hellboy” he manages to combine a great story with some great action.

It’s good to see Ron Perlman get a lead role, even if he is painted red and covered in latex. As “Hellboy” he gets the best lines of the film and mixes both humor and sadness well. Perlman has been in some brilliant films, such as “The City of Lost Children” but has never made it out of cult category. Hopefully this will open up a few more roles for him.

The only slight let down with this film is that you don’t get to know very much about any of the characters. Especially Liz Sherman and John Myers and because of this Selma Blair and Rupert Evans are woefully underused. Hopefully the sequel will give opportunity for some more back-story and character exploration, or at least give them a few more lines to speak.

While being in a similar vein to “X-Men”…them and us, who is protecting who… ”Hellboy” is a lot more fun. Demon’s, Nazi’s, Rasputin, and a little bit of love what more can you ask from a film?