Stops short of being a great comic-book movie.

Rating: 7/10 (28 January 2007)

As far as most comic-book movies go, they usually follow the same-old path of showing us the origins of whatever hero for about 45 minutes before getting into a real (but usually superficial) plot. This can lead to a never-ending list of deadbeats such Hulk, Spider-Man and Catwoman and rarely ends up with a good movie (Batman Begins is one rare example). Guillermo Del Toro seems to make a compromise of introducing Baby Hellboy during the end of WWII and then flashing forward 60 years to adult HB (though genetically he's barely out of his 20s) working for the Government.
The Beurau of Paranormal Research uses Hellboy as a weapon against the forces of evil. Being a demon from Hell himself, but preferring to fight for the good side, HB works with Abe Sabien (a very likable sort of fish-man) and his pyro-kinetic would-be girlfriend Liz. Raised by Professor Broom (John Hurt) he regularly has fallings out with his human father and even hides his cigarette smoking from him. I find the stroppy teenager attitude a unique character quirk that works well. What's even cooler is HB fondness for cats. Which not a typical characteristic of a demon born in Hell.
The world's last living super-evil Nazis resurrect the mad-monk Grigori Rasputin and aim to bring about Armageddon by awakening sleeping Lovecraftian Gods, frozen in time at the edge of the universe. A tough job, even for HB, but it's all in a days work for the Beurau of Paranormal Research.
Del Toro works wonders in bringing to life atmospheric sets (check out the flooded subway station) and horrific creatures but stops short of making Hellboy a dark epic. The CGI is impressive and the visions of Hell are interesting but there's just some intangible element that seems to be missing and the film feels incomplete. Even the Director's Cut still feels a bit alienating.
However the action and humor is quite entertaining and the villains (especially 107-year-old, crazed assassin Kroenen) are definitely the kind you want to see die horribly. Enjoy it for what it is, even if you feel it's not entirely wholesome by the end.