Good, stylish and different, one of the better "super-hero" movies...

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2004)

"Hellboy" is based on the underground comic book about a demon called from Hell by Nazis in the 40s, but then "rescued" by American soldiers and raised to become an investigator of paranormal activity, and, well, a super-hero. It is now the present day, and Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his "father" (John Hurt), the scientist who rescued him, are joined by a colorful group of avengers in their crime fighting activities. The list includes pyrokinetic Liz (Selma Blair), fish-man Abe Sapien (voiced by David Hyde Pierce), and FBI agent Myers (Rupert Evans).
When the Nazis who took Hellboy from Hell - led by Rasputin (Karel Roden) - resurface...well, all Hell breaks loose (no pun intended). Characters you like die, questions arise, and there are lots and lots of fight scenes.
Overall this is a good movie. The characters are cool and fun to watch, the style is great, there are some awesomely cool lines and its just on a different level from other comic book movies. Ron Perlman is great as the red hero, very cool and collected, speaking dry, witty lines while fighting devilish monsters. The other actors all put forth, John Hurt and Selma Blair playing the most interesting characters, and Jeffrey Tambor giving a funny touch to his no-nonsense director of the Bureau.
Nonetheless, `Hellboy' is not a perfect film. The action is at times hard to watch, the climax and last five minutes are  I have to say  pathetic, and many questions are left unanswered. I guess if I read the comics I would have a better understanding, of it, but the best super-hero movies make sense to readers of the comics and to new fans. Some stuff in this movie just didn't make any sense. For instance, the Nazi woman is young and blonde in the forties at the beginning of the film, and still young and blonde sixty years later when the rest takes place. Same with Kroenen (Ladislav Beran), a villain who's been shot, stabbed, castrated, and had is eyelids and bottom and upper lip torn off, his blood is dust, and he still manages to live. How this happens is not explained.
But, you really don't care; it's obviously not a movie to be taken seriously. In the end it's nothing more than a fun, exciting super-hero flick, 7.5/10.