Hellboy (2004) ***

Things really do go bump in the night and the most fertile place where these creatures are conjured up rests in the mind of the director Guillermo del Toro. I remember seeing the original trailer for Hellboy on TV back when I was in college and thought that looks a little weird and unusual. It wasn't until the imminent arrival of the sequel that I thought I would give Hellboy a whirl. Just to back up, the first experience I had with del Toro's work was taking my sister to see Blade II. It had been a long day and I only sort of liked the first one so I ended up tuning out most of the film. I was impressed though with the creature designs of the Reapers, who were thoroughly frightening villains with their gaping jaws that gave fearless vampires pause. Urged by my friend to give del Toro a legitimate try and told that Pan's Labyrinth was his best, I chose to watch The Devil's Backbone instead and it was love at first fright. So I was enormously looking forward to Hellboy.

Ok, personal time over. At the root of Hellboy, which is essentially a superhero movie, is the heart of its characters. I think Ron Perlman was an excellent casting choice as he has the necessary physicality required for such a demanding role as well as the ability to convey a range of emotions under heavy prosthetics. The character designs are superb as well as while they are a delight to look at, they never limit the actors, particularly Perlman and Doug Jones, in displaying true emotion that is easily understood by the audience. Perlman carries a wisdom in his eyes and facial expressions, and it complements the fact that despite maturity-wise Hellboy is only in his twenties, he has still been around on Earth for over fifty years dealing with creatures that other people can only experience in nightmares. The disgruntled sarcasm and youthful charm are well played by Perlman and it was interesting to find out that he was always the director and creator's first choice.

The entire cast is well chosen and there are none that stand out as bad choices. Rupert Evans shines as the naive new agent assigned to Hellboy's protection detail. Selma Blair as the silently intense Liz whose love story with Hellboy provides some of the best examples of the human nature of Hellboy despite his demonic origins. John Hurt as the fatherly professor who is reaching the end of his life and cares so deeply for Hellboy, as he is the son he always wanted. They argue and disagree as fathers and sons tend to do but their is a deep emotional bond between the two that both actors carry off well. Finally, in this laundry list of characters, is Jeffrey Tambor as the bureaucratic but still humorous Agent Manning who oversees the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense, who while trying on Hellboy's patience at times, is never really annoying.

Aha, but I lied, I saved the real stand-out for last, Doug Jones and the voice of David Hyde Pierce are combined into Abe Sapien, my favorite character of the film and one that departs all too soon. Due to money constraints Abe was not able to appear in the last act of the film, but it works to whet the appetite of the audience (at least it did me) for the larger role he can play in the sequel. Abe is a truly unique and intriguing character who is one of the only people Hellboy will always listen to. Their friendship is barely touched upon here, but it is there since they're the only two of their kind left in the BPRD since Liz left and it stands to reason they would be closer for it. Their differing investigative styles and personalities complement one another as Abe serves as the brain and Hellboy the brawn. An excellent team to be sure and one I hope to see more of in the future.

Hellboy certainly was entertaining from the thrilling action scenes, such as the open assault by the Allied troops onto the Nazi occult ceremony to Hellboy's battles with an increasing number of Sammaels, a creature straight out of a nightmare that when you kill it multiplies into two more. The humor is there too with Hellboy's childish jealousy of Liz and Myers, spying on the two of them while on their date. The film itself is subtly laced with humor and Hellboy is not above a few one-liners that only Perlman's dry delivery could get away with. The only real issue with the film is the ending feels rushed with little time to dwell on the decision of Hellboy to fulfill his destiny and bring about the apocalypse. The final battle with a demon of the Ogdru Jahad is also over fairly quickly, but it appears that cost constraints were an issue and the story doesn't suffer that much from it.

Hellboy is a film that is inspired from the mind of Mike Mignola, who created the characters in his comic book, and tweaked by the dark and creative of mind of Del Toro, who doubled as director and writer of the film. The vessel of the end of the world is nothing like you would expect as he has been raised by humans and along the way learned to see them as people worth protecting while picking up some of their habits and mannerisms along the way. Nowhere else will you find such a childlike hero with a fondness for cats and television who relishes going into battle rather than sitting around and is burdened with the knowledge of his ultimate destiny and still maintains a good-natured disposition. Hellboy was a hell of a ride and one in which I cannot wait to experience again in the sequel.

Favorite moment: Despite the hostility between Hellboy and Manning throughout the film, the two come together in Hellboy's fight with Kroenen (Ladislav Beran) as Manning prevents Kroenen from sending Hellboy to his death by distracting him long enough for Hellboy to gain the upper hand. The best though is the business at the end where Manning shows Hellboy how to properly light a cigar. The two characters make peace with a mutual understanding of one another and further proves that superhero movies can have small character moments like this that are as significant as the action sequences.