Hellboy (2004)

A demon, raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness.

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writers:

Guillermo del Toro (screenplay), Guillermo del Toro (screen story)

Stars:

Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Selma Blair

3 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ron Perlman	...	Hellboy
John Hurt	...	Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm
Selma Blair	...	Liz Sherman
Rupert Evans	...	John Myers
Karel Roden	...	Grigori Rasputin
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Tom Manning
Doug Jones	...	Abe Sapien
Brian Steele	...	Sammael
Ladislav Beran	...	Karl Ruprecht Kroenen
Biddy Hodson	...	Ilsa Haupstein (as Bridget Hodson)
Corey Johnson	...	Agent Clay
Kevin Trainor	...	Young "Broom"
Brian Caspe	...	Agent Lime
James Babson	...	Agent Moss
Stephen Fisher	...	Agent Quarry

Storyline

At the end of World War II, Nazi officers Karl Ruprecht Kroenen and Ilsa Haupstein start an experiment to raise the forces of Hell trough Russian dark mystic Rasputin on a Scottish island, but it's interrupted by an allied commando guided by professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm. He prevents killing the human-demonic half-blood, which was accidentally created and raises this "Hellboy", while rising to head of a secret C.I.A.-linked U.S. agency Bureau of Paranormal Research, which secretly studies and uses the occult, including supernatural freaks. As "father" Broom is aging, he hand-picks brilliant, sensitive Agent John Myers as new minder-companion, as regular "warrior" Agent Clay can't empathize and lacks flexibility mental. Hellboy is quite a handful, regularly spotted by worried civilians on unauthorized excursions, especially to pyro-telekinetic freak friend in a mental asylum. Johnny, Hellboy, and Clay team up on missions against paranormal threats with aquatic-bionic freak Abe ...

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | demon | superhero | hero | assassin | 

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Taglines:

Here to protect

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and frightening images

Did You Know?

Trivia

The shot of John Myers descending down to the lower level of the B.P.R.D. via elevator was a miniature model with moving action figures.

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Goofs

The Caprice taxi that Liz and Myer are riding in has its rear windows rolled all the way down. This is not possible for those model years of Caprices as the way the door is shaped prevents the windows from going all the way down.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm: What is it that makes a man a man? Is it his origins, the way things start? Or is it something else, something harder to describe? For me it all began in 1944, a classified mission off the coast of Scotland. The Nazis were desperate. Combining science and black magic, they intended to upset the balance of the war. I was 28, already a paranormal advisor to President Roosevelt. I could never have suspected that what would transpire that night would not only effect the course of ...

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Crazy Credits

There is a scene in the closing credits: Dr. Manning tries to contact his team, while a shadow passes by.

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Alternate Versions

The Hellboy 3-disc director's cut DVD is ten minutes longer. (132 minute director's cut versus 122 minute regular version). Restores a few deleted/extended scenes back into the movie.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Interspecies Couples in Movies and TV (2015)

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Soundtracks

Easy Come, Easy Go
Written by Edward Heyman and Johnny Green (as John Green)
Performed by Johnny Crawford
Courtesy of Centropolis Records

User Reviews

B+ Good script, well-paced, overall very entertaining.

Hellboy is a well-balanced and very well-paced movie that avoids tiresome action movie content (mostly).

Script: Very efficient. The snappy-attitude lines are allowable because of Hellboy's partially juvenile personality.

Acting: I credit Pearlman for presenting a complete character without being gabby and coy. Well-done. Almost all of the other significant characters are equally well-presented by their respective actors, save for one. del Toro certainly dropped the ball in writing/directing that character (though I won't mention who so as not to give anything away). He messed up only one character, and I forgive him. Nobody's perfect.

Casting: Appropriate.

Pace/balance: The movie reminded me of X2 in this respect. It moved well, didn't get stalled anywhere, and both the action and drama were moderated with smooth transitions between each.

For comparison, Spiderman was good but overacted, X2 was good but with a few eye-rolling moments.

Overall, I found this movie provided high entertainment value. B+

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian German Latin

Release Date:

2 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hellboy

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$66,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,172,440, 4 April 2004

Gross USA:

$59,623,958

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$99,378,985

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revolution Studios, Lawrence Gordon Productions, Starlite Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 132 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1 (D-Cinema prints) Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1