A demon, raised from
infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows
up to become a defender against the forces of darkness. Courtesy
of IMDb.
CRITIQUE
I highly doubt
there's anyone else who could've pulled off the character of
Hellboy with the zest, fun, sarcasm, and complete workout than Ron
Perlman. It's also safe to say that Guillermo Del Toro (The
Devil's Backbone, Blade II) was the best choice to
direct the film adaptation of Mike Mignola's comic book. The
supporting cast is likeable, they do a good job with the
characters.
Overall I didn't
find anything to dislike about Hellboy. It's a fun, dark,
and action-oriented film with a good story and incredible effects.
The script by Del Toro, from a screen story by himself and Peter
Briggs, opens with a pretty neat prelude. After Hellboy's
introduction, the story gets moving on a considerably good pace,
but there are a few bumps along the road to the climax, such as
the time when Hellboy and other agents enter the sewer system to
look for a dangerous creature stretches a bit. That is, parts of
this story sequence should've moved faster. But overall this is
not to say that scenes are unimportant.
The script's
narrative is clear and not too confusing. Essentially, if Hellboy
doesn't stop evil from bringing on the Apocalypse, we're screwed.
It's that simple. No, there are some good layers beneath the main
story. The subplot of a love triangle between Hellboy, Agent Myers
(Rupert Evans), and Selma Blair's character sets up a few pretty
nice scenes. Also, the film's villain, a sword-wielding metal
figure, is quite cool, especially considering the way he or it
exists.
So, there you have
it, pretty much, in three short paragraphs. Hellboy is
quite good and fun, and while I don't think it's perfect, I have
to say I didn't expect it to be. At any rate, I'm really looking
forward to the sequel.
THE VIDEO
Columbia presents Hellboy
in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors are vibrant, crisp, and
well-saturated. Detail looks great, as does sharpness. There is
edge enhancement in some close-ups here and there, which is not
good. Despite that, the presentation looks very good. Color
balance is very accurate. Black levels and dark tones are deep,
and whites show no noise problems. Visually, of course, the film
looks stunning. The transfer is very accommodating and looks
real good; considering the amount of bonus material on the first
disc that's quite an achievement on the studio's part. Optional
subtitles include English and French.
THE AUDIO
Columbia presents Hellboy
in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround. This is a very solid
presentation. Dialogue is always clear and easy to understand.
Voices and sound effects don't overlap or cause problems. The
front speakers have a lot to do, and they do it very well;
positional audio is very effective. The sound effects come
across loud and clear through the surrounds. There's great
dynamic range here as well. Overall this a very nice surround
sound experience. Hellboy rocks the house, so to speak. The
film is also available in a French 5.1 dub track.
THE EXTRAS
Well, where to
begin. It's no secret this 2-disc special edition DVD is a
double-dip as a 3-disc edition is already planned to release in
the very near future. At any rate, the special features across
both discs here are informative and presented with high quality.
Disc 1 stars
off with a brief introduction by the director. There are
two audio commentaries, the first with director
Guillermo Del Toro and comic creator/co-exec producer Mike
Mignola, and the second with actors Ron Perlman, Selma
Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, and Rupert Evans. The first track is
very informative with a lot of behind-the-scenes info on the
production, such as filming, collaboration, changes from the
comic, etc. A very good listen. The second track doesn't fare as
well, but there are some good spots where the actors joke
around, especially Perlman.
Next are eight
branching DVD comics, created exclusively for this DVD, that
take an on-screen look at the Hellboy comics. The storyboard
track is a picture-in-picture feature that plays
simultaneously with the film. Next, at key moments during the
movie, "The Right Hand of Doom" Set Visits allows
the viewer to choose from eight branching featurettes. These can
be accessed from the menus or while the film plays. Rounding out
the extras on the first disc is From The Den that looks
at some older comics, and a few well-done DVD-ROM extras,
such as a printable script, the script supervisor's book, and
excerpts from Del Toro's director notebook.
The extras on the
second disc are quite comprehensive. There's another brief
introduction here, this time from Selma Blair. The biggest
extra here of all is the "Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation"
documentary, which runs approximately 140 minutes. It's very
in-depth and covers just about every angle of the production
process. It's a great look at the making of the film, but the
presentation is somewhat off; the 1.85 anamorphic video is too
soft and the audio is not loud enough.
The three
deleted scenes are available with optional director
commentary, but they're not very important. The upcoming
director's cut of the film will certainly include better scenes.
There are also filmographies and character bios
that are written by Del Toro.
The Kroenen's
Lair menu contains a scene progression feature, and
several board-a-matics, animatics, and
storyboard comparisons, which adds up to about 20 minutes
worth of video. The Bellamie Hospital menu contains
trailers & TV spots, poster designs, and previews
for other Columbia titles. Rounding out the extras on the second
disc is the Maquette video gallery that looks at 3D
character sculptures/designs.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Hellboy is a fun
comic book film with a good story, cool effects and visuals, and
splendid action. Parts of the film drag a bit, but overall it's an
exciting watch. The DVD is filled with cool extras, so it's going to
be interesting to find out what more there is with the upcoming 3-disc
edition. Video/audio quality is terrific. In short, Hellboy is
highly recommended.
