A possessed professor dispatches several creatures to retrieve a powerful sword held by Hellboy.
I thoroughly enjoyed Guillermo del Toro’s “Hellboy” and its far superior sequel, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.” I only wish that the powers-that-be had given del Toro and his star, Ron Perlman, the go-ahead to finish up the trilogy with a third installment in the series but instead, they chose to reboot the franchise entirely with a new “Hellboy” that comes out April 12th and stars David Harbour from Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” Now don’t get me wrong, I like David Harbour, he is a good actor and his Jim Hopper character helps anchor “Stranger Things” but like Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger, I strongly believe that Ron Perlman should have been brought back at least one more time. I guess on April 12th we’ll see if Harbour is up to the challenge.
Lionsgate has decided to release two older animated feature-length “Hellboy” films on 4K Ultra HD, the first being 2006’s “Sword of Storms,” followed by 2007’s “Blood and Iron.” Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, John Hurt, and Doug Jones all return to voice their respective characters from the live-action versions. “Sword of Storms” follows Japanese folklore expert Professor Sakai who unwittingly releases two demonic brothers, Thunder and Lightning, from an ancient scroll. Legend states that hundreds of years ago, the two brothers roamed Japan and unleashed storms on anybody who got in their way. Just as they were about to demolish the land of a powerful Japanese feudal lord, he offered his daughter as a peace offering. They agreed to come back to claim her and when they did, unbeknownst to them, she had been trained with a mystical katana charged with enough power to defeat the two brothers and trap them within the blade of the sword.
When the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense is brought in to investigate, Hellboy picks up a dropped katana from Professor Sakai’s office and immediately is whisked away to another dimension. While Liz and Abe try to figure out what happened to Hellboy, he quickly realizes that the katana he picked up, is the same one which has the two brothers locked inside and should he break the blade, they will be unleashed on earth. As he tries to make his way back home all the while keeping the katana safe, the still-possessed Professor Sakai sends hordes of monsters and demons to take the sword but Hellboy is more than a match for them. Liz and Abe wind up at a location where there have been multiple disturbing earthquakes and comprehend that the two brothers are summoning dragons and demons. Eventually, Hellboy makes his way back home but in an epic fight with a monster, accidentally breaks the blade against a large stone, unleashing the two brothers, who are now hellbent on revenge. Now Hellboy, Liz, and Abe must figure out a way to stop them before they destroy the world.
“Sword of Storms” was my least favorite of the two animated features. It felt tired and pedestrian, and even the actors seemed quite bored, speaking throughout the entire runtime in a continuous monotone vocalization. The animation was uninspired and even the action scenes felt unremarkable, with little to no sense of fear or dread from the aforementioned demonic brothers. You might be better off skipping this title altogether and head straight for “Blood and Iron,” the best animated Hellboy feature to come close to a top-notch live-action iteration.
Hellboy and his team face off against a new supernatural threat while Professor Bruttenholm must investigate the possible reemergence of a vampire he had slain decades prior.
I thoroughly enjoyed “Blood and Iron.” Everything was a huge step up from “Sword of Storms,” the actors all seemed in top form, the animation was noticeably improved, and the overall storyline was more humanized, which meant I could relate to the characters from beginning to end. It’s not easy for an animated feature that is not Disney or Pixar, to engross you and keep you intrigued but “Blood and Iron” achieved this feat. Kudos to directors Victor Cook and Tad Stones for creating an enjoyable and entertaining entry in the “Hellboy” universe.
This time around, Professor Bruttenholm (John Hurt) insists that Hellboy, Liz, and Abe accompany him to a purported haunted house in the Hamptons. The house was recently bought by developer Oliver Trumbolt (J. Grant Albrecht) and once they arrive, he eventually confesses that the so-called hauntings were a publicity stunt as he plans to open the house to the public but before he can finish laughing at the sheer insanity of his plan, the house is taken over by ghostly figures. They find out that the ghostly apparition is of a woman known as Erzebet Ondrushko, a vampire from Eastern Europe who killed young women and bathed in their blood in order to keep herself young. Professor Bruttenholm recalls battling her back in 1939 and destroying her but now she is back and wants vengeance and will kill anyone who gets in her way. Hellboy, Liz, Abe and Professor Bruttenholm must concoct a plan which will vaporize her once and for all, along with all of her vampiric minions.
“Blood and Iron” had a very cinematic feel to it and I could easily envision it on the big screen as a live-action feature but to be perfectly honest, for big-screen “Hellboy” adaptations, the villain(s) are typically much bigger than that of a vampire but still, she posed as a formidable foe to the team and made each of their lives a living hell (pun intended). If you’re a big Hellboy fan then this is a must-have collection for you and watching it in 4K makes for even better viewing.
Available on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray™ and Digital) April 2nd
