Buy it... if you've been waiting to hear Marco Beltrami extend his orchestral and choral talents to both majestic and carnivalesque ends.

Avoid it... if the letterbook style of comic book hero scores has too much formula built into it for your liking, or if you detest wild theremins!

Beltrami

Hellboy: (Marco Beltrami) Yet another comic book hero --this time from the Dark Horse realm-- punches onto the big screen; while Hellboy may not have been as widely known as other comic favorites, his on screen debut has fared well enough for Sony to call it a success. Director Guillermo Del Toro brings to life this tale of a "Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense" where freaks with special powers are raised to fight for good causes (doesn't anyone get tired of these X-Men, Mutant X, etc, spin-off ideas?). One such freakish character is Hellboy, a mammoth with horns who was bred by Nazis (of course... Why is it always Nazis? Why not the Communists? Or radical Muslims? Or, better yet, the American military?) to unleash evil upon the planet. But under the care of the father-like leader of this mysterious Bureau, Hellboy is resists attempts to lure him back to the dark side and fights on the behalf of an oblivious society. It's typical comic book stuff, for sure, and Del Toro reunited with his Blade II composer, Marco Beltrami, to provide the score for Hellboy. Beltrami has, for the past decade, seemed content dwelling in the foggy musical depths of pop culture horror flicks, with the Scream trilogy serving as starting point for finding other Beltrami works such as Mimic, Resident Evil, Joy Ride, and a dozen other nearly nameless scores. Last year, 2003, was Beltrami's first major break into the blockbuster scoring scene, receiving the assignment for Terminator 3 after much composer-selection turmoil. Even for supporters of Beltrami's career, Terminator 3 was a muddled failure to grasp a great opportunity for Beltrami, with only a mediocre effort provided for the hit project. Ironically, something along the lines of Hellboy is what most score fans were hoping to hear that time around... not necessarily the comic hero creativity, but the substance of depth heard in the orchestra, choir, several specialty instruments, and the thematic bravado with which it all comes together.

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Such is the case with Hellboy, which strictly orchestral film score fans will likely enjoy more than nearly all other Beltrami works. There's nothing better than the flexibility of comic book score writing to bring the best and brightest of fully orchestral mayhem out of a composer, and Beltrami does not disappoint. If the size of the score --compared to Beltrami's usually more subdued ensembles-- doesn't impress you, then the creativity of the writing will. His score is complete with the usual, straight-forward orchestral hero theme, and yet, the more intriguing aspect of Hellboy is the sense of style that Beltrami injects into the equation. Not only does Hellboy exist and kick butt, but he also does it with a confident style of swing and elegance... a distinct swagger of sorts, and Beltrami writes this style into his score by utilizing tango rhythms, operatic vocals, and swooshing strings. He also indulges us on the "coolness" of the primary characters by throwing in the obligatory, but entertaining electric guitar rhythm in the main titles that, at the start, would make you swear that Clint Eastwood was lurking behind some dark corner. A sensitive subtheme on strings for Hellboy and his pyrokenetic love interest is well developed in several places. Beltrami also dances into the bizarre end of the spectrum with a wailing theremin in several cues, going so far as to combine it at very low ranges with a jazzy female vocal in the final cue. That last cue, incidentally, is where Beltrami takes a page from early Danny Elfman in sheer craziness of rhythm and instrumentation, perhaps leaving the listener with the false impression that the score he/she just heard was a wacky and deranged piece of music. In parts, Beltrami does offer a carnival atmosphere. But the memorable sequences are still those largely orchestral and choral cues that make up the substantial base of the music. Conversely, some of the staccato arrangements of brass during fight sequences is where the score loses some ground, moving at speeds difficult to tolerate for their volume. On album, Hellboy is a well-balanced 45 minutes. For film score enthusiasts waiting to hear Beltrami apply his orchestral talents to both majestic and quirky ends, this album is your chance to hear just that. An impressive comic hero's score. ****

Bias Check:

For Marco Beltrami reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.58 (in 12 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 2.95 (in 12,126 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.