not quite as sweet as the movie, but pretty darn close- should definitely appease fans of the comic book
Hellboy: Sword of Storms is in the quality of animation no more or less
the standard one might see on the average program on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network, of course). Which means it's always eye-catching, if only on a kind of wacky 2-D level that is left in the dust in these days of cinema going the way of CGI. What makes Sword of Storms significant, if only in parts, is that Mignola, Del-Toro and company start to introduce a lot more surreal imagery than was seen in the first theatrical feature. Hellboy gets swept up this time in a pretty convoluted (or just seems that way, turns out it's actually painfully simplistic in terms of the Japanese folklore played out as drama), with monsters and demons all under the control of a sword that if broken spells doom for the Earth. As usual he does his job well at whacking around creatures like a big turtle/lizard creature, and at the start even tackles a big beast that, until Liz- as kind of a running un-funny gag- blazes fire all over the place till the job's done- but that's not all. This time the supernatural is accentuated in the world of what is a cross between Noh theater and, well, the average Hellboy comic-book. It doesn't matter either way how much the writers and producers researched Japanese history and creatures and such (though I'm sure they did their share). What matters is how effective it all is, and in the end Hellboy is also a dark comedy- how is it to see Hellboy, after spending an uncomfortable night with some unpleasant Japanese fellows, to awake to find that they're heads have been disconnected from their bodies, and are attacking him viciously! It's even better, of course, to see the fate of the heads, pleading Hellboy to tell where their bodies lay. I also liked the little asides with the talking fox, the old lady, and of course the big-ass demons, who allow one or two quips from Hellboy as he has to tackle them any way possible. On top of the fighting heads, there's a crazy possessed researcher, which in and of itself could make an interesting issue in the comics. Only the conventions of the story (the psychic has been seen in countless permutations of the annoying side character who's only there for moments of sudden exposition for another side character who isn't as annoying; plus the ending with the Japanese ghosts going through a redemption moment) drag the film really downward. Aside from that, it's from cartoony viewing, and it should appeal to anyone who's somewhat a fan, and mandatory for fans of the books; lord knows there's only so many times we can see Hellboy in the whirlwind of samurai dreams.. 
What the Hellboy?
Live action translates perfectly into animation in this feature-length
Hellboy adventure. What makes it even better is that the main cast return to do the voices and Marco Beltrami's main theme is used. A lot of animated spin-offs in the past have proved to be just as good when taken seriously by the makers (Animatrix, Spider-Man) but, in my opinion, Hellboy: Sword of Storms was good enough for a theatrical release. A small one, like Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. The story has HB, Liz and Abe go to Japan where a local historian has gone missing and a priceless exhibit damaged. While at the scene, HB wanders off, following a strange Fox and ends up trapped somewhere in time. Liz and Abe have no idea where he is but have their own problems to deal with as the weather takes a turn for the worse. Stuck in ancient Japan, HB must deal with a bunch of vampires, demons and monsters in an effort to get home. Easier said than done. I liked the movie, but felt it lacked something. Still, it made me interested in the character, even though I have yet to buy a single Hellboy comic book. After watching this however, I can't wait to get some more of HB. The animation style follows that of the comic pretty closely and the color pallet ranges from very bright and very colorful to moody and atmospheric. It's very impressive and highly detailed. Don't expect 'saturday morning' style animation here. If you are seriously into Hellboy or even if you are just a casual fan of the movie then you totally have to get this. I eagerly await Hellboy: Blood and Iron, due out this summer. In the meantime, I reckon I ought to get me some Hellboy comic-books.. |
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