It’s kind of tough to see Ron Perlman in anything but a tough guy role since obviously he looks like a big tough guy and that’s a little hard to get around. It’s too bad this list doesn’t deal with TV shows since Clay from Sons of Anarchy would be on of my top picks. But overall Perlman has been the kind of guy you see in movies when there’s a need for someone that looks big and mean and isn’t bound to take anyone’s attitude other than his own. In a lot of his movies he tends to be the big rough and tough individual that either doesn’t have lot to say unless he feels the need or tends to run his mouth at times when he should be quiet. Some people, well, a lot of people would argue that he was and IS the only Hellboy, and it’s hard to argue against that since he did a pretty good job of it. But as far as his acting range goes it’s tough to see him as anything but the big aggressive guy you don’t want to mess with.
Here are his five best movies.
5. Drive
It’s amazing what happens when people double cross each other and try to steal money that isn’t theirs isn’t it? Driver gets involved in the wrong deal in order to keep the husband of the woman he’s grown close to safe, only to see him get shot and killed in the process. When it’s revealed that it was set-up and that even giving the money back won’t smooth things over the Driver goes on the run and does what he can to keep the woman and her child safe while making sure that those who might harm them are put on notice that the two are off limits and that he’s very, very angry. Sometimes it’s best not to get involved.
4. Blade II
Now lets get something straight here, Germain Lussier from Gizmodo is right in a way by saying that Blade II is not as good as you recall, but there are moments in the movie that are actually worth watching or worthy of a good chuckle since the action sequences were kind of fun. As Reinhardt, Perlman is that bad guy that you can’t bother to like since it comes off as such a pain the ass that it’s impossible to feel anything but contempt for him. But his final confrontation with Blade is somewhere between laughable and cringe-worthy since had they put Donnie Yen up against Blade it might have been a good fight, but maybe the budget didn’t have enough left over for this, because it’s kind of doubtful that Reinhardt could have taken Whistler when the old man was ready for it.
3. Alien: Resurrection
I can already see eyes popping and hear jaws dropping because at one point people thought Alien 3 was bad, and then the franchise just had to top itself. Joshua Winning of Digital Spy rises to the defense of this movie in a way since there were moments when it was actually watchable thanks to interesting action scenes. Perlman’s character, Johner, is kind of the alpha jerk of the crew since he’s got a short temper, figures that he’s the man, and is basically antagonistic to everyone he meets at first. Perhaps one of the best scenes in the movie is when Ripley humbles him just to shut him up for once. It definitely gives Johner a different outlook throughout the rest of the movie.
2. Pacific Rim
When monsters threaten the world humanity builds their own monsters to defend it, that’s the basic gist of this movie. But as you can guess there are always going to be those that are barely thought of when it comes to the ultimate battle since Perlman’s character is a king among scavengers that sells kaiju byproducts on the black market. This kind of begs the question though as to what kind of effects biological products would have on a human being and why it wasn’t considered enough of a problem when merely touching the minds of the other beings sent one of the scientists over the edge and into their clutches.
1. Hellboy
What’s curious about Hellboy is that a lot of people were willing to criticize this movie when it came out, only to turn around years later and criticize David Harbour’s attempt while holding up Perlman’s version as what it should have been. This is more proof that you can’t please anybody let alone everybody. This version of Hellboy was definitely lighter, had more of a playful feeling to it, and didn’t seem nearly as dark, but there were moments when the plucky comic relief that was so evident could have easily been kicked aside in order to just get down to business.
He’s great when you need someone that looks like he’s going to do some damage.
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