Hellboy

Based on the comic of the same name, which is even referenced in the film, 2004's Hellboy stars Ron Perlman as the titular hero brought to Earth as a child by Nazis in World War II but raised in the United States by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt) and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense to "bump back" against what goes bump in the night.

After giving us Hellboy's arrival on Earth, which also introduces key villains in Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden), Karl Ruprecht Kroenen (Ladislav Beran), and Ilsa Haupstein (Bridget Hodson) responsible for opening the portal, the film jumps forward to the early 2000s when these villains will return to continue what they started.

While I prefer the film's sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which further fleshes out characters by exploring Hellboy's role in the world with a bit more fantastic flair, there's quite a bit to recommend in writer/director Guillermo del Toro's first adaptation starting with the larger-than-life Perlman and the beautifully rendered world of the B.P.R.D. which also gives us Selma Blair as the firestarter Liz Sherman struggling to leave that world behind and Doug Jones as the amphibious empath Abe Sapien. I'm less impressed by John Myers (Rupert Evans), a walking plot device used to introduce the world to the audience, but he serves his purpose.

The film is filled with obstacles for Hellboy to overcome, both external and internal (such as dealing with his jealousy over Liz's friendship with Myers). Hellboy's contentious relationship with FBI director Tom Manning (an over-the-top Jeffrey Tambor), his struggles with saving a world he isn't a part of, his yearning for Liz, and his discovery of his purpose on Earth (which almost spells its doom). There are several fun moments here including the Russian cemetery, Hellboy's blowups with Manning, and the initial fight between Hellboy and Sammael in the museum that spills into the subway.

Speaking of Sammael, along with Rasputin and his clockwork minion, the film also offers this beastie with an ability to resurrect, and multiply, every time Hellboy kills it, leading to an ending where several of the creatures must be vanquished all at once. And it's the ending where I think the film stumbles a bit as Rasputin becomes a far less interesting giant CGI creature which is dispatched with relative ease also saving Liz from the other side as the film ends.

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• Title: Hellboy
• IMDb: link