Hellboy
for sci-fi action violence and frightening images.
Reviewed by: William Foote
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Mature-Teens Adults |
| Genre: | Horror Action |
| Length: | |
| Year of Release: | 2004 |
| USA Release: |
April 2, 2004 (wide) |
| Featuring |
Ron Perlman David Hyde Pierce Doug Jones Karel Roden Victoria Smurfit |
| Director | Guillermo del Toro — “Blade II,” “Mimic” |
| Producer |
Mike Richardson Lloyd Levin Lawrence Gordon |
| Distributor | Revolution Studios |
Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “…a supernatural, action-adventure based on Mike Magnolia’s acclaimed Dark Horse Comics series of the same name. Born in the flames of hell 60 years ago during World War II, Hellboy was brought to Earth by evil madman Grigori Rasputin to perpetrate evil. Destined to be a harbinger of the apocalypse, Hellboy was rescued by Allied Forces led by Professor Broom, founder of the clandestine B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense), who raised him like a son and developed his extraordinary paranormal gifts. Despite his dark origins, Hellboy becomes an unlikely champion of good, battling the evil forces that threaten our world.”
Hellboy movies:
• “Hellboy” (2004)
• “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (2008)
• “Hellboy” (2019)
Well, once again Hitler and his Nazi henchmen are blamed (or at east used) for the attempted loosing of unspeakable evil upon the world, as at the height of World War II, Hitler’s evil occultist, Kroenen gives up his soul by aiding the unkillable and very evil Grigari Rasputin to unlock the Gate of Hell and usher the hosts of Satan into the world.
Fortunately for humanity, a brave band of GI’s thwart the evil plans and close the portal, but not before one baby demon (affectionatly named Hellboy) slips through. He is lovingly raised by Professor Trevor Broom, founder of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD). Teaming up with Liz Sherman, a human who has the power to turn into a human fire ball, Abe Sapien, a mer-man creature with psychic powers, and a very human FBI agent John Meyers, Hellboy becomes the champion of good as he battles the evil forces eventually released upon the world by Rasputin and Kroenen.
Unfortunately, Hellboy continues the same humanistic world view theme that we have seen so frequently in recent comic book movies (The Hulk, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), i.e., man is morally good and has the power to prevail over evil.
According to Hellboy, the evil “all began in 1944.” (In reality, God’s Word said it all began before the foundations of the world were laid when Satan was filled with pride over his own beauty and God cast him out of Heaven along with his fellow fallen angels (now demons) according to Ezk. 28:16-17. See Relevant Issues section of this page.)
The closest the movie came to any Biblical reference of righteousness was from an off screen narrator who intoned, “In the absense of light darkness prevails.” As believers, we should remember that Christ was “the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5).
Occultic themes run rampant through out the movie. Although there is a universal acceptance of supernatural evil, demons and Hell, the token reference to God comes in the negative as one evil character intones, “Your God chooses to remain silent, mine lives.” As believers we need to remember that God is not silent, in fact he “has spoken” (Psalm 50). Further references to Christ, angels or heaven are undeniably missing.
For a short period there is an unspoken reliance by Professor Broom (and later by Agent Meyers) on the implied saving power of a Rosary string which somehow seems to save Meyers, but not the professor, from death at the hands of the evil Kroenen.
The movie is extremely violent throughout, including shootings, stabbings and burnings, however, gore is minimal. There is no sex or nudity at all. And although present, the use of profanity is surprisingly infrequent. I counted 3 uses of Jesus name, 2 “Oh my G*d,” 1 G*d D*mn, 1 G*d, 1 cr*p. Hellboy smokes a lit cigar throughout most of the movie.
The movie does portray evil as totally undesirable, and all of the evil characters are eventually done away with by the movie’s end. Goodness and love are portrayed as desirable and are exemplified in the character of Hellboy in his relationship with his human father and his friends. The producers and director apparently took a cue from the failure of “The Hulk” and cast a live actor, Ron Pearlman for the part. Good move. He stole the show. Even though the story line was very predictable, it was well acted. The special effects, on set and computer generated, were top notch and the casting/acting made the movie work.
As an adult, I enjoyed the subtle humor most of which was scripted to Hellboy—like taking counsel on his love relationship with Liz Sherman from a young boy over cookies and milk. After pensively considering the boy’s counsel, he returned to his senses, reminding himself and the boy that “your only 9 years old.”
This is a guy movie. Hellboy will certainly appeal to young teen age boys and possibly some older fans of Dark Horse Comic books from whence the Hellboy fame came. If your teens see this film, I suggest that you spend some time afterwards sharing the real truth about Evil and Righteousness from God’s Word.
Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: None
[Very Offensive/3]
Also, the rosary in this case is better seen as a representation of the way in which Christ’s sacrifice allows one to make a free choice for good. Without Christ’s sacrifice, Hellboy would be bound to his demonic heritage, and open the Gate of the Dragon. However, the rosary is what reminds him that he can choose. Indeed, even though Rasputin is defeated at the end, Hellboy himself still must struggle with choices for good. Even with Rasputin gone, Hellboy still has the power to bring the Ogdru Jahad to Earth, and there are still beings who would try to use him for this purpose.
As such, Hellboy is still very much on his journey. As to his initial choice for relationships over fighting evil, it is more a reflection of his own flaws as a free moral agent. All people are tempted, and to show this temptation is not the same as to endorse it. After all, I think almost any human being would feel much the same way in similar situations. All in all, it’s a good movie to go see and think about. While it may be more intense than is appropriate for young children, it is still a fun flick to view with your friends.
[Good/5]
[Very Offensive/1½]
Of course, this isn’t The Passion of The Christ. This is a comic-book fantasy super-hero film, so we shouldn’t really expect it to come straight from Scripture. I think that this film presents a positive message, if the characters and actions are considered as metaphors for reality. Hellboy represents fallen, cursed mankind, who is able to rise above his evil nature only with the help of his adoptive father (we are adopted into the family of God), and the support of his brethren here on Earth.
[Average/4]
[Better than Average/4½]
[Good/4½]
Hellboy does what it was meant to do I believe—He has an awesome sense of humor, makes the best of every situation, sees the good in each action, and always plays the gentleman. Yes, there are couple of swear words, and the BAD guy is definitely the Enemy incarnate, but what you see is something that says IT IS COOL TO RESIST EVIL! That is the message of this movie, done in a way that will appeal to many age groups.
I do not believe we should shelter this or keep teens from seeing it. It is campy and ghostbuster-ish, with enough action to keep any guy interested, and when he has to choose to remember who he is, he chooses the path of right doing, even if it means the loss of his one true love. Like it says in the movie.
Unsaved kids today get turned off instantly at the mention of God or Jesus—But when approached in this way, they can easily see why BAD is NOT GOOD or COOL.
[Average/4]
[Average/3½]
[Good/4]
I think one must take this story with a grain of salt as, obviously, these characters exist in a world different from ours. There is no real red giant with a stone right hand running around, acting as a superhero and fighting the powers of evil in our world. It is up to the individual to choose the path of righteousness (as many believe is through Jesus) or the path of evil for themselves.
I think there is a valuable lesson about redemption in this film and, if you like the cheesy humour of the original comics and Ron Perlman’s excellent performance, it’s worth a watch. I think it would be silly to let the main character’s appearance overshadow his struggle to denounce his Hellish roots in favour of a self-sacrificing life bettering the world for man.
[Average/4]
[Good/3]
[Average/4]
[Average/3]
Personally, I think that this movie is somewhat related to the Hulk, but not with sci-fiction, but of more religion. I really liked how they used Catholicism to which was against Hell. Even though the witchcraft parts were not that great, I really liked how “John Myers” threw the Cross at H.B. as a reminder to whom he was. That would go for any of us. We, sometimes, need to remember who we are and why we’re here. To follow Jesus Christ. I would probably want to see this movie again, but this movie is NOT all that great for young pre-teens.
[Better than Average/5]
If the parents think their kids wouldn’t be bothered by the violence or profanity, they could just talk with the children about angelic warfare, etc. after the movie. With that aside, I liked this film a lot. Not the best comic book movie (I reserve that praise for “X-men 2”) but it still had great effects, excellent action, nice performances, and as far as I’m concerned, a fascinating plot. If you’re not too bothered by the movie’s supernatural features, I think this would be a great one to go see with some friends on a Friday night.
[Average/4]
Demons cannot be “good.” In order to be so they would have have to be of the Lord, which is a blasphemous contradiction. This movie glamourizes hell and demons. I can just imagine what a kid might say after watching it. “Wow, wasn’t Hellboy cool!” or “I want to be just like Hellboy.” or is it so far fetched to wonder “Maybe one day I’ll go to hell and meet Hellboy!”
[Extremely Offensive]
Still, if you are bothered by some occult I would not see this movie. There was only minimal swearing with maybe 5 different curses. The great thing about this film is that it opens with a question, “what makes a man a man?” and at the end it answers the question saying that a man is made by “not how he begins his life but rather how he ends it.” This film shows us how choices affect our life. The only downside is that at times the gadgets seem overdone, but other than that it was an excellent film. I would highly recommend seeing it.
[Better than Average/4]
[Average/4]
My Ratings: [Average/2]