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| About Review |
Reviewer
RumbleWolf4
Review Date
30th July, 2004
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| Movie Credits |
Director
Guillermo del Toro
Cast
Ron Perlman
Selma Blair
Rupert Evans
John Hurt
Jeffrey Tambor
Screenplay
Guillermo Del Toro
Tagline
"Give evil hell."
Country
USA
Classification
PG-13
Year
2004
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| Errors |
| If you have found any errors in this review of the DVD, please tell us about it via e-mail. | |
| DVD Cover Art |
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| DVD Information |
Format
NTSC
Region Coding
1
Aspect Ratio
1.85:1
16x9 Enhanced
Yes
Running Time
122 minutes
Year Released
2004
Packaging
Keep Case
Extra Features
2 Video Introductions
2 Audio Commentaries
Branching DVD Comics
Set Featurettes
Storyboard Track
4 Animated Cartoons
2½ Hour Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Character Bios
Cast Bios
Animated Storyboards
Storyboard Comparisons
Pre-mod Animatics
Sculpture Gallery
Poster Gallery
TV Spots
Theatrical Trailers
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Hellboy
The Plot
In 1944, upon the eve of WWII, Hitler enlisted the aid of the Russsian Sorceror Grigori Rasputin to unlock the gates of Hell and bring forth "The Gods of Chaos", thus ushering in the apocalypse. They ultimately failed, but before the Gates of Hell could be closed, a baby demon escaped into our world. 60 Years Later he has developed into a cigar smoking, cat loving defender of humanity, known affectionately as "Hellboy". Hellboy and the rest of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, face their biggest challenge when Rasputin returns and resurrects an aincent evil. It becomes demon against demon as Hellboy fights to protect our world from the dark forces of Hell.
The Movie
Hellboy is not a full blooded horror film. Rather, it is a genre bending, effects laden thrill ride that combines action, horror and comedy. This movie comes to us courtesy of the direction of Guillermo del Toro who is certaintly no slouch i nthe action-horror department (Blade 2, Mimic). The good times begin with some outstanding set design. The environments keep the film's "dark but fun" feel intact. Be it Hellboy's room filled with cats and Baby Ruth wrappers or the breath-taking snowfield that is a Russian Cemetary, the sets prove that a lot of dedication went into the production of this movie.
As for acting, Ron Perlman is a perfect casting choice for Big Red. He posesses not only the physical attributes, but also the cocky and brass attitude that fits his character like a glove. He simply steals the show. Decked out in convincing makeup effects and spouting cheesy one-liners with reckless abandon, Hellboy is immensely likable. The other characters seem somewhat low-key when compared to our protagonist, despite that they have great potential. The development is very uneven as the three main villains get very little to do besides kill hapless victims. Selma Blair does good as a troubled pyrokinetic and she and Perlman have good chemistry onscreen.
The effects in this movie are also very convincing and well done. Sammael, our sole monster in the film, is presented via a great combination of animatronics, puppeteers and CGI. Some faults in the intense action scenes are slightly noticable (the subway scene mainly) but they don't bring down the excitement too much. The main flaws beside uneven characters, is the lack of a logical ending. The final battle is very underwhelming (and reminescent of the finale in Men in Black 2, which is not a good thing) and doesn't really fit the rest of the film. Also, we are left with some unanswered questions that kind of annoyed me.
Overall, despite the bad ending, Hellboy proved to be a very funny and entertaining movie, worthy of attention. It's not the greatest accomplishment in the history of cinema, but it delivers what it promises: Funny one liners and high-octane action. Don't miss out on this one.
The DVD
Sing praises to Columbia for releasing this, possibly the best DVD I've yet to encounter. These discs are loaded with an almost overwheliming collection of cool features. We get 2 Commentary tracks (with the cast and the creators) as are expected. Then we get a revolutionary feature which exhibits comics (drawn by series creator Mike Mignola) that branch from specific scenes in the movie. Also we have another branching feature which shows visits to the films various sets, to be accessed at key points during the movie. Also included is a Storyboard track which details the movie's storyboards in Pitcure-in -Picture fashion. With all these branching features and commentaries, you can watch the movie SIX times and have a differnet experience! Hellboy tosses in his two cents by providing his four favorite "Gerald McBoing Boing" cartoons, written by Dr. Seuss! These charming old-time shorts are a joy for those who grew up with cartoons (and who didn't?)....and that's just the first disc!!
On the second disc we have a massive, epic documentary that clocks in at over 2 hours and 20 minutes! Not to mention the delted scenes (With commentary), Character bios and cast filmographies. Various forms of Storyboards are presented with Animatics (computerized sotryboards), animated storyboards (handdrawn) and Storyboard to film muti angle studies. Then we have the galleries: a neat one with rotating character models and one featuring poster art. Trailers and Tv spots round it out. Oh and I forgot to mention the fancy, glossy slipsleeve the set is packaged in and the insert DVD Map (similar to that found in the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD). Oh and there are also 7 Easter Eggs to be found scattered around.
So to sum up this DVD in one word: Astonishing.
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