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Hellboy: Directors Cut -Columbia/Tristar (2004)
Summary Hellboy fights evil. NAZI evil. My Thoughts Hellboy is one of those comic book characters that you have to be a comic book fan to be aware of his existence. I knew of him despite the fact that I’m not huge into comics, but I’ve never read the books. I always thought he was a rather interesting character and the idea of having a Hellboy film was rather intriguing, since he’s not the type of superhero who usually graces the silver screen. Unlike Batman, Superman, and Spiderman, he has no alter ego. Hellboy is what he is, a big red devil looking guy who fights all kinds of weird evil around the world. Starting the film, I expected something different from the norm. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The biggest problem with Hellboy is the plot. It's pretty much "Generic Comic book Movie: The Movie." I don't even need to describe it, since Hellboy follows the standard conventions listed here: 1. New guy is introduced into this world so that the audience may see everything from "his eyes." 2. Heroes go out on mission on the top of their game. They win, but there’s some bigger trouble brewing they don’t know about. 3. Base is invaded. 4. Mentor dies, or is incapacitated by a traitor, assassin, or both. 5. Heroes morn the loss of their mentor, sometimes one of them blames themselves for his/her death. 6. Plot reaches the world shattering conclusion with an epic battle at the end. I feel like I've watched this film before, and I have when it was called Tank Girl, X-Men 1 & 2, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, Blade, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc. In fact, this film is so much like the first X-Men film that it’s uncanny (pardon the pun). This is not to say that I didn't like Hellboy. It's fun in a non-serious, B movie kind of way. The real enjoyment of the film is found in the dialogue, characters, and action. Most of this is due to the source material of the comic, which includes elements of H.P. Lovecraft's mythos, and many supernatural legends, jamming it all in one big, exciting package. I mean, what's not to like about a film that has a cyborg Nazi? The cast is fairly decent overall. Ron Pearlman was the perfect choice for Hellboy. He's got the look, has the right kind of voice, and carries the film without much effort. One of my favorite characters was Abe Sapian, with David Hyde Pierce providing the voice. He does a great job, but I couldn't stop picturing Abe on the set of Fraiser. The worst two characters are obviously Liz Sherman, played by Selma Blair, who's the disturbed Goth chick, and the "new guy" character John Myers, played by Rupert Evans. Liz is bad because the actress that plays her sucks, and John is a horrible character all around, but portrayed decently. Video transfer is appropriately rich and dark. The surround sound mix spectacularly loud and functional. Not being a technophile, however, there wasn't any minor detail to get my panties in a bundle. I mean... boxers. I’d recommend Hellboy for anyone who really likes the comic, reads H.P. Lovecraft kind of stuff, or wants a no-brainer action film, otherwise there’s little in the way of ingenuity. As for the edition, its got extra stuff that wasn't released in the theaters and a ton of extras (see bellow), but I can only recommend it to the die hard fans, otherwise there's a lot of junk you'll probably never ever look at. Extras This three disc set was made for the elitist Hellboy fan who wants to know every morsel of knowledge about the film. I have to say that going through all this was quite a task, so it should keep any fanboy busy for a few days or more. The packaging looks good and is rather functional, with each disc having its own tiny case. The discs menus and the cases are all centered on a particular character, adding another cool touch to this set. In addition to all the goodness you’ll find on the DVDs, a small booklet that is supposed to be a selection of pages from Rasputin’s notebook is included. Awesome! Disc one contains the film and the commentaries along with a bunch of other extras. If this set was only the first disc, then that would be more than enough, but there's plenty more my friends. The commentaries on this disc include one by director Guillermo del Toro that offers some great insights into the film and comic books, and another by the film's composer Marco Beltrami with an isolated score. I found this pretty pointless, but I've never been a big film music fan. Also on this disc, you'll find “DVD Comics”, which can branch out as you watch the film or can be viewed via an index. These are great little snippets of comics that offer a lot of background into the film via a few paragraphs of info or a semi-animated comic book style. One even let's you explore Hellboy's belt! Why aren't there more of these things on comic book film DVDs? “The Right Hand of Doom Set Visits” is another feature you can activate to branch out as you watch the film, or you can access via an index. There are a few behind the scenes vignettes to various locations. It's all pretty standard stuff. “Story Board Track” Plays story boards along with the film. This is a nifty feature, but it's a little overboard. “DVD Rom” contains the DVD Rom features like a printable screenplay, script supervisor’s notebook, and excerpts from Del Toro's Director's notebook. Now on to DISC 2! Disc 2 features a hilarious introduction by actress Selma Blair. I’ve never seen someone read lines so badly. It sounds like she’s either all coked up or can’t figure out how to read a cue card. The “Egg Chamber” section features three deleted scenes with optional directory commentary. I’m not sure why they are featured in their own section, because they are found in the director’s cut of the film anyway. There’s also a documentary entitled “Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation” that’s a combination of documentaries that’s over two and half hours long. Egads! It’s a little on the overkill side, but there’s a lot of great stuff in the doc, like the section about the creation of the comic book. “Kronen’s Lair” is the section that contains all kinds of storyboard stuff split into four areas: Scene Progression: Ogden Jahad, Animatics, Board-o-matics, Storyboard comparisons. They almost all have intros explaining the difference between each of them, and they also all have options to watch the storyboards or storyboards with final cut comparisons. The “Maquette Video Gallery” was a rather good extra that featured several of the maquettes with close-up angles on each. “Bellamie Hospital” contains the trailers and television spots, previews for other DVDs, and the print campaign. Finally, there is a “Previews” section that features the same previews located in the “Bellamie Hospital” section (wah?), and a shameless ad for Hellboy merchandise in the appropriately named, “Hellboy Merchandise.” By God, will this ever end? Well, no, there’s disc 3 yet! Disc three features a video intro by Ron Pearlman that’s a little more convincing than Selma Blair’s. The “Cast Video Commentary” is located on this disc as well, and it’s the most unique commentary I’ve seen aside from Ghostbusters, because it actually shows the cast recording the commentary in a studio. It also is extremely funny and is the commentary I’d recommend. “Production Workshops” features the Makeup and lighting tests, and some visual effects stuff. Both of these features are worth checking out. Have you ever been to a comic book convention and seen one of the panels there? Well if you haven’t, then you don’t have to after watching “Q&A Archive: Comic-con 2002”, which is exactly like every panel I’ve ever seen. “A Quick Guide to Understanding Comics” is a handy little discussion about the history and art of comics. Again, I don’t understand why more comic book film DVDs don’t have stuff like this on them. “Galleries” contains about 8 million pictures from concept art, production still, pre-production art, etc., etc. And for those of you who still haven’t had enough, there’s more trailers for other films in the “Previews” section! Score: Film: 8.0 Extras: 9.0 Edition: 9.0 -Paul
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