#51 We just watched this on Netflix streaming: Hellboy

The Film: Hellboy

There are tons of comic book movies, but for some reason Hellboy has always stood out to me. For a a movie that is only a little over sixty million dollars it is hard to imagine the movie being packed with special effects. I mean, compare that to any of the other big budget movies where the budgets average hovers around 100 to 150 million.

Moreover, there is just something childish and fun about the Hellboy story. It’s plot that sounds like something a person would write when they’re in middle school. The movie ends up being a successful rift on the League of Ordinary Gentleman theme — a group of unlikely heroes who band together to fight evil.

Why to watch it: Ron Perlman is so fucking good as Hellboy

What an impossible character Hellboy is to make likable. The makeup and costume alone put up a huge wall between the character and audience. But Perlman makes it work. He uses humor, loneliness, annoyance, and subtle nuances to flesh out a character that almost anyone can like. There is a sense that he goes out and does his job for the mere fun of it, and never, not even for a second, do we get the impression that this desire is phony. Moreover, Perlman makes the relationship between him and Liz seem possible and that there is real yearning there. I think the whole movie really came down to Perlman and how he executed that character.

Pay attention to this: The special effects despite a small budget.

Del Toro is famous for somehow creating fantastic makeup and prosthetic effects on a relatively small budget. Blade 2 was only 50 million dollars. Hellboy was only 60 million. The 2nd Hellboy, which was wall-to-wall with special effects, was only 80 million. Pan’s Labrynth was on freakin’ 20 million. How does he do it?

My guess is that he knows exactly what he wants and knows who he can get it from quickly and for the least amount of money. Hellboy’s “look” could have been a disaster. However, he looks bright and realistic, as does his sidekick Abe Sapien. Abe’s bright blue hue looks brilliant next to Hellboy. The whole movie is just…cool. It is fun. I remember I stated that Hellboy 2 was the best comic book movie ever made, not knowing how good Dark Knight would be only a few weeks later. But my point was that the Hellboys just capture something really fun about comic books and fantasy. Where ridiculous characters are fleshed out to make fun entertainment and that’s it.

-Collin