dimfuture.net

Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms is a better Hellboy movie than the Hellboy movie was.

Now, as big a fan as I was of the Hellboy movie, that takes quite a bit for me to say. As big a fan as I now am of Sword of Storms, I should warn you that this is not so much a review as it is an extended fanboy gushing, and a fervent recommendation that if you like Hellboy even a little, that you drop whatever you’re doing — working, giving birth, whatever — and get your hands on this DVD right away.

A straight-to-DVD project that I hope enjoys huge amounts of success, Sword of Storms is the first installment in the Hellboy Animated “series,” which is not, regrettably, a regular series — although I would, without pause, have my left testicle amputated to make it so. Sword of Storms exists in a universe that is not the same as the comics, nor the movie, but takes elements from both. In short, Hellboy is still with the BPRD, which is now based in the Colorado facility of the BPRD comics rather than the Connecticut offices of the Hellboy titles (or the New Jersey BPRD of the live-action movie… still with me here?)

As in the movie, Hellboy is inimitably voiced by Ron Perlman, Liz Sherman by Selma Blair, and Abe Sapien by Doug Jones, who physically played Abe Sapien in the movie, but whose voice was done by David Hyde Pierce. I… hello? Oh, I lost you. Well, that was bound to happen. I don’t suppose it will help to inform you that in the next Hellboy Animated movie, Blood and Iron, Trevor Bruttenholm is still alive (despite dying as an aside in every piece of Hellboy media to date) and being voiced by John Hurt, will it? (I see your eyes glazing over now. There, there. Shh. It’s gonna be ok…)

But, continuity be damned! Sword of Storms is pure Hellboy joy from start to finish, because — and this is key — it does everything right. This is almost pure, uncompromised Hellboy, missing only the moody, pitch-black art direction of the original Mignola comics — and that, according to the interviews with Mignola and others, was a deliberate artistic decision. Everything else that makes the franchise unique is there. Authentic mythology, black humor, a great story, and a wealth of two-fisted Hellboy-style action. There are ancient Japanese demons, hordes of menacing undead, ancient temples, ferocious bat-creatures, and lumbering cthonian monstrosities the size of football stadiums — in short, everything a Mignola story should be.

Though Sword of Storms in no way resembles Mignola’s work in terms of style, the art direction is top-notch all the same, vibrant and colorful. The character designs are rendered in a very simple, minimalist fashion that really works on the screen. Hellboy, in particular, just looks terrific, with glowing yellow eyes and Ron Perlman’s perfect voice adding the perfect finishing touch. (I’ll admit it. I’d watch Ron Perlman do Hellboy all the live-long day.)

Liz Sherman, in sharp contrast to Mignola’s original art, is now cute as a button, with huge limpid pools for eyes and a pouty expression. Selma Blair’s sarcastic, moody tone seems slightly at odds with the way the character is drawn, but it still works — it’s just different from what both the movie and comics had to offer. Abe Sapien is also much improved from the live-action movie, with his pointless psychic powers removed and his personality (and, most importantly, his humor) much more evident. Frankly, what they did to Abe Sapien was one of my biggest gripes with the live-action movie, but Sword of Storms completely makes up for it.

My only real criticisms of the art direction, in fact, are with the Japanese demons themselves. There is an extended “flashback” sequence that establishes the backstory of the demons, which is told in a jerky, stop-motion style that doesn’t really work for me at all. Also, when the demons finally do emerge in all their menacing glory, they come across as a bit too “anime” for me — complete with chatty “look at these fools” monologues and such. These are very minor criticisms, however, and don’t even come close to tarnishing what is otherwise a top-flight Hellboy experience. The DVD extras, incidentally, are pretty good, featuring interviews with Mignola, the artists, the musical composer, and of course, the marvelously enthusiastic Guillermo Del Toro. Everyone involved with this project was really in love with what they were doing, and it shows.

And now for the shameless shilling. Future installments of Hellboy Animated depend on how the DVD sales for the first two movies fare, so, for my sake, I implore you to pick up a copy of Sword of Storms. I myself picked up a limited-edition box set at Best Buy, which has a set of “Bust-Ups,” which, as near as I can tell, are action figures without articulation that come apart for some reason. I don’t really get it, but they look good on my desk.

Seriously. If you have any love for Hellboy at all, buy this instantly. If you didn’t care for the Hellboy movie at all, here’s your chance to see it done very, very right.

9/10

This entry was posted on Friday, February 9th, 2007 at 3:13 pm and is filed under Movies, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.