| Overall Grade: |
A |
|
| Story: |
A |
|
|
| Acting: |
A- |
|
|
| Direction: |
A+ |
|
|
| Visuals: |
A+ |
|
|
It's Chock full of pretty...
by Michael (movies profile)
Jul 16, 2008
10
of
11 people found this review helpful
The film is chock full of fan service. Let's just get that out of the way, right off the bat. It is chock full of fan service, and it's pretty.
It takes a few liberties with the comics version of the characters--primarily with Krauss, who is much more thoughtful and quiet in the comics, so some fans may take some exception to it. If you loved the ectoplasmic researcher, then maybe this is one you should take with a grain of salt.
It's pretty. It is a damn good translation of the Mignola's world, though, this time around, it's less about the dark and light contrasts, as contrasts of color. It's a much brighter vision of the Hellboy universe--but given how much of it takes place on the Fae side of things, that's to be expected.
It's got lots of big stuff going on. Not just big monsters, but big threats, and a whole universe to show off, and del Toro took to it with some gusto this time around. He builds a very much realized world, and continues his design fun with making that world lived in. Breathing. Not just a few illustrations like last time, with waking the dead, but by showing what hangs around and hides under people's noses. In that, it is just frippin' fun as all get out. Visually, the film is full of candy. And the script is too. Not just leaving it open for sequels, which is pretty much the Hellboy motif, as a sort of re-imagined pulp horror, but chock full of asides and jokes that work well in the sort of film that del Toro does.
One of the things that pleases me to no end, is that even "small" characters get a decent treatment and "stage" time, to fulfill their purpose, and to make the world all the richer. Where some directors would focus on the battle, and hustle us off to the next scene, del Toro lets you have a few beats, consequences and impact to the characters. They may have "won" but at what cost?
And I mentioned it's pretty. Chock full of stunts. Chock full of critters. Chock full of good moments for the characters. Hellboy has always been about wee jokes, some of Mignola's stories are just four page set ups for a single joke, and that is kept alive in the film. Mind you, I like what Mignola does, and I like what del Toro does, so if you weren't a fan of Pan's Labyrinth or Hellboy--or even Blade II which you certainly see how he brings a camera to action sequences--then this is certainly a pass.
Story wise? It fits. Hellboy has never been a particularly deep franchise. It certainly has its moments, and at first, I was disappointed when I realized that they weren't doing Almost Colossus, one of my favorite Hellboy stories, but the new beast is its own critter. And while it separates the film and print versions of the franchise, the story isn't bad. Deep? Not so much. Good moments? Certainly. And it all flows along nicely, while still taking the beats.
Bottom line? See it. Have fun with it. Get some popcorn and Junior Mints and have a good time, because that's what it is. Not about dropping your jaw, but having a good time. There are moments of awe--the big critter that explodes from the streets that is in all the trailers I won't spoil for you, but it's not what you expect--but it's less about the effects, than building a world and populating it, and making it real. And creepy. Not cute folklore, but the Old Skoolio stuff that Mignola and del Toro both love and do so well. |
My Public Profile 
