For comic fans only

Rating: 7/10 (26 March 2008)

While HELLBOY will hold little appeal outside of the comic fan circle, nevertheless it is a reasonably entertaining movie, much like BLADE, also adapted from an existing comic character. Hellboy comes from another, infernal dimension opened by some Nazis, but is rescued and raised by Americans and grows up to be a crime fighter. Only the criminals he fights are demons and mystics. As he matures, Hellboy does his best to fit in, which is difficult considering he resembles our classic image of the Devil himself. He keeps his horns cut off -- until close to the end, when the legendary villain Rasputin tries to get Hellboy to use his arcane powers to open the gateway to that hellish dimension. You've seen the same premise and a similar device used in STARGATE, LARA CROFT and EVENT HORIZON. The CGI in HELLBOY is plentiful but after awhile it gets boring. Better are the real physical stunts and gags. Ron ("Beauty and the Beast") Pearlman's flip attitude as the Big Red One and his apparent ease in the full-body makeup make the character come alive and the movie work. John Hurt and Selma Blair costar.