Just saw The Punisher and Hell Boy-- my review

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

The Punisher, thank heaven, goes WAY beyond that sorry flick Dolph Lundgren did a few years back. In a good way, that is. They managed to keep him human (no superpowers here!) and they also highlighted his human frailties. They managed to mix drama, comic book-style humor, and a few other choice ingredients to end up with a passable Marvel Movie. Even Mr. Scientology passed off an at least average performance-- I'm not sure how much of himself he invested in the part, as he wasn't the top-billed star. (This is being kind to a man who IMHO should have quit acting after the Sweathogs graduated....)

Hell Boy was interesting, but not much more. I killed time by trying to remember the last role Ron Perlman performed sans a rubber mask. I was unsuccessful. Plot twists and unexplained characters kept me guessing, mostly at why I had ended up parting with my hard-earned money. Average acting all the way around, and even the love angle was WAY underdone. (I was saved the final sap-filled words by a sudden speaker system malfunction. I could tell by watching the picture it ended predictably.) All in all it was a nice way to waste part of an evening, but I won't see it again, and I don't plan to buy the DVD when it comes out (I give it two months). I give Hell Boy a "whatwuzzat" factor of 4.5 (out of 5).

[Enraged_Ape]

1. I liked Hellboy

Not in a "go see twice" way, but enough that I will probably also rent the DVD when it comes available (if only to see the behind-the-scenes material). Perlman is great, as always, and it doesn't matter how much makeup he's wearing. He was the only man on Earth who could play that part.

On the other hand, I would not see Punisher if I were held at gunpoint (by Hellboy, even, with his big-ass gun). Yours is the sole good review I have EVER seen of it. Rottentomatoes.com has it in the 20 percentile range, which puts it just above Kangaroo Jack and Battlefield Earth. That's all I need to know.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

3. I said in an earlier post on another subject

Never trust professional critics. They get paid to say something. I won't get a penny for MY opinion, so I can afford to be honest.

[Enraged_Ape]

5. I agree with you to a certain extent, but these are too many critics...

to be ignored.

I'm glad you liked it, though. I, personally, think XANADU is one of the greatest movies ever made, and it was almost universally panned. But from the descriptions I've read about the Punisher, it just does not seem like my kind of film.

I'll just wait patiently for June 30th, when Spiderman 2 is released. I've seen the new preview for that movie and it looks simply awesome--exactly what I envisioned in my head when I read the comic.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

7. Hope Spidey is good

I began reading his comics from the first one. He's the greatest! I think Doc Ock is gonna kick a goodly share of ass, too...

[Enraged_Ape]

10. When my wife saw Doc Ock in the preview...

she said, "That man is freaking scary." She's not a big comic book fan (though she did like the first Spider-Man movie) and knows nothing about Doc Ock. That just confirmed for me that the director Sam Raimi and the actor Alfred Molina, as usual, hit it right on the head.

[EstimatedProphet]

2. Ron Perleman was in Blade II

without a rubber mask.
Had the best line in the movie: "Like my Daddy said, just before he killed my Momma-if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself". Best because of the delivery, and because it summed up his character perfectly.
FYI...

[bedtimeforbonzo]

9. He was GREAT in

"Enemy at the Gates" as a Russian Sniper (the one with the gold teeth) and as the lead in "City of Lost Children".

He didn't wear a rubber mask in "Aliens 4", for whatever that is worth.

[Mr. Blonde]

4. "Just saw The Punisher and Hell Boy-- my review"

Who would be your choice to play Vincent Vega without Travolta? I thought he did well in The Punisher. Nothing special, but certainly believable as Saint. I can see him doing anything to keep Laura Elena Harring happy, but so would I. My problem with The Punisher comes from the humor and violence not being mixed well. It was just nearly an action comedy. When action wasn't happening it was funny (sometimes accidently I'm sure), but then some of the action was pretty graphic or at least too graphic for something with that kind of humor involved. Also something about Thomas Jane's voice makes me think he is a bad actor. He did very well in this movie though, but his voice just bugs the hell out of me.

Hellboy, average down to its core. It was hurt I thought by a lack of a villian. Most movies are elevated by the bad guys. Those are always the characters I like to see. This one had barely visible villians, and when they were for the most part they looked like sea creatures. The one guy with the knives was pretty hardcore though I liked him.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

6. ANYONE other than Travolta

He's one of those people who just don't "act"-- he says the lines without emotion or meaning. You can see it in his face-- they're just pages of script to be read, nothing more. Hell- Arnold Schwarzenegger put more emotion into his roles than Travolta!

The Punisher was taken from a comic book. If you've ever read more than two episodes in a row of ANY comic, you'll discover this movie almost EXACTLY emulated that universe. For good or bad, I don't know.

After all, they're just movies!

[Mr. Blonde]

8. "ANYONE other than Travolta"

I don't know, I can't imagine anyone else. I guess everyone has their pet peeve actors. I have never been able to get into comic books which is kind of strange as much of an (admitted) geek as I am. However, I have only really liked the X Men movies as far as comic book adaptations. I do have high hopes for the new Batman. Christian Bale should be awesome. And the new Spiderman looks like it will be alright. The first one wasn't that bad, but I think my expectations were too high after it set all of those records and people were telling me how good it was.

Even if they are just movies, I freely admit they give me probably half of my personality. I can quote the two wayne's world movies almost verbatim. Does that make me a sad sad person? Oh well, at least I'm not in a position of power right?