Helluva Ride!

Rating: 7/10 (26 January 2005)

To the uninitiated, Hellboy is a comic book that has been around for about ten years. I read comics during my teen years and then took the habit up again about four years. In all that time, I had only read one or two Hellboy comics, but even with that limited knowledge, the film is quite easy to follow.
Comparatively speaking, this film was much more engaging than some of the other comic book adaptations which have been done through the years (namely Hulk and Daredevil). The action and pacing is in all the right places. Unlike Hulk and Daredevil, Hellboy's script writers know that good humor isn't something you put in the story when there's a few slow moments or when the character isn't in his superhero guise. Instead, the humor comes out in the most unlikely places (especially in scenes with one of my favorites, Jeffery Tambor). Most of it is natural, even to the point that during one scene that has a humorous tone, there is a juxtaposition of another very tragic scene in Hellboy's life interspersed throughout.
I think that was one of the strengths of the film along with the special effects. The only real drawbacks were that some of the characters seemed to come off as two dimensional (namely Liz Sherman and John Meyer) in the initial part of the film. Even Hellboy is introduced in the modern day somewhat awkwardly, to the point that it takes a while to start liking him. The other drawback is the resolution seems anti-climactic with no explanation as to why certain things happen the way they do.
Still, with those drawbacks, it's definitely a cool film to rent. Speaking of rentals, it would have been cooler to have more features on the DVD explaining Hellboy's makeup process, effects and maybe some outtakes.
Overall, a fun film to watch and not take too seriously. 7/10