If you liked Blade II, don't bother with this.

Rating: 3/10 (14 April 2004)

Perhaps I should have guessed this one would be a let down, but in general I like comic book adaptations as long as they are somewhat dark and edgy a la Blade, Blade II, first Batman, etc. I also like Del Toro's previous work, and I have to say that a big reason I had high expectations was Del Toro and Ron Perlman teaming up on this one. Alas, this is a dumbed-down, PG-13 flick with vanilla dialogue and very cartoonish special effects.
Maybe if I were well-versed in the actual HellBoy comics I would've expected this kind of treatment, but again my assumption was that the character was pretty dark and that the plot would appeal to adult fantasy/sci-fi buffs.
Aside from Perlman, who is perfectly cast and reasonably amusing, the acting by the rest of the cast was akin to watching a bunch of sleepwalkers. Selma Blair is particularly lifeless and totally un-engaging. Doug Jones is the only other mildly interesting character as Abe Sapien, but he literally disappears 2/3 of the way through the movie and is never seen again.
I'm still amazed that this was written and directed by Del Toro -- the same guy who brought us Cronos, Mimic, Devil's Backbone and Blade II.