Not bad, but...could have been so much better.

Rating: 6/10 (3 April 2004)

This movie really could have been something fantastic, but it turned out to be just "okay." Nothing bad, surely nowhere near as bad as DAREDEVIL or JEEPERS CREEPERS (two of the most atrocious movies I have ever had the misfortune of even knowing of the existance of), but it could have been much, much better.
A lot of the fight scenes were very anti-climatic...like at the end,
SPOILERS-SPOILERS-SPOILERS-SPOILERS-SPOILERS
when Hellboy was swallowed by the beast that emerged from Rasputin's body, and then blew up the grenades...it was just too rushed. In fact, I'd say that there wasn't too much trying to be crammed into the movie; I'd say there was too little. There could have been so many more examples of the kinds of things Hellboy runs into (I mean, he's run into ghosts, aliens, goblins, vampires, gods from various religions/parts of the world, etc. Here it is mostly just self-contained mythos being referred to/used as plot devices.
Then again, X-MEN had its flaws, yet was still good. X2 was better...maybe another HELLBOY would be good.
If there could only be a way to adapt WAKE THE DEVIL. Now THERE's an episode that would make a KICKASS movie.