" Beyound What I Expected "

Rating: 10/10 (22 February 2005)

I was totally unknown to this comic book character. When I saw this movie I was swept away by it's tone. It remembered those 90's when I first saw Batman.
Hellboy (Spoilers******)
Based on the comic book series by Mike Mignola, legendary director Guillermo del Toro brings the tale of an usual demon named Hellboy. Del Toro who was famous for his movies like Mimic, Blade 2 takes a new turn in his carrier by following the supernatural adventures of Hellboy (Ron Perlman), a cigar-chomping, horn-filing demonic hero who enlisted to fight evil under the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. It's an undercover government organization where freaks with special powers are raised to fight for good causes.
One such freakish character is Hellboy, a mammoth with horns who was bred by Nazis to unleash evil upon the planet. But under the care of the father-like leader Trevor Bruttenholm, Hellboy is resists attempts to lure him back to the dark side and fights on the behalf of an oblivious society.
But the question is how long? A great movie from the Revolution studios. Scripted by Guillermo del Toro for the story of Peter Briggs and himself, makes the most successful transformation from pulp page to big screen since Tim Burton's Batman in 1989. The story was well written and the way it was treated in the cinematic means was excellent. All credits goes to Guillermo del Toro. It is the best movie from him.
Emotions, narrations, actions, the creativity all are in the perfect balance. Ron Perlman as Hellboy might be the best casting ever of a superhero...he's cooler than the movie. I recall when I found that he was playing Hellboy I thought, what the hell an aged Grandpa doing a superhero action role..it SUCKS! But my thoughts were blown away by his Performance. Wow a great work.
He was born to play Hellboy. He makes me to say he is the Mega, excellent actor than a superstar. His grittiness, rough humor, attitudes, sadness make that character unique. Also I was moved by the mannerisms of Doug Jones as Abe Sapien, also his voiced actor Mr. David Hyde Pierce. It was a stunning visual when Abe was under water.
Both the principal photography and post production teams done a great work in this movie. The creatures, explosions, sceneries were so real in both fast cutting and in close up shots. They build the perfect tone for this movie.
Also the soul of the movie was created masterfully by Marco Beltrami. He injects the mood with his largely orchestral and choral cues that builds up the substantial base. No questions with out that score Hellboy could be a lame chapter. Guillermo del Toro makes the right decision by reuniting with Marco Beltrami. It was his greatest score compared to his early works.
All in all it is a great movie with some touching scenes. My favorite scenes are Hellboy's last look on his father's funeral in the rain, were it's difficult to see whether it was his tears or the rain drops from his eyes. Also the marvelous ending scene with the narration and the eye popping opening credit ("Mr.Karin Fong I loved that opening title, you are the best in title designing").
I give this movie 10 out of 10!
Hellboy=OH, BOY!