Taking a look back at Guillermo Del Toro’s Hellboy movies in lead up to the new film hitting later this week.
First of all, I know it’s been a while since I watched this movie considering I didn’t notice all the times the phrase “seed of destruction” is used until now. Second, this movie is as fresh today as it’s always been. I think we can all agree that John Myers is the biggest form of exposition/audience surrogate that sounds the bell that movies oughta change, but he’s still likeable enough to get by.
Besides that, the movie is fantastic. It pulls some great material from the comics, but is raised to new heights with the scope of superhero cinema. It’s far more colorful and upbeat than the comics in my opinion, but not for one second does it downplay the Hellboy character and mythos.
And what can I say of the practical effects? Del Toro is one of those directors that knows the perfect balance necessary for CG and practicality. It’s always exciting to see what he brings to the screen, especially on an epic scale like this. I can’t get enough of it.
I won’t go on because all the good about this movie has been covered by many people over the years. It’s a great movie. It shows how the superhero mold can envelope characters beyond the bright colored tights. Really that’s the big difference between Del Toro’s take and Mike Mignola’s original works. The comics are noir, supernatural adventure stories that showcase monsters fighting monsters, and while the movies do achieve that, they sprinkle the superhero embellishment on top. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but it certainly leaves me wanting a more grounded approach in future iterations, if there be many more at all.
TL;DR Score: Very much a PG-13 rendition of the source material, but hey, it got me hooked way back so I guess it works.
TL;DR Comics 