Quite Possibly The Greatest Comic Book Adaptation Of All Time

Rating: 10/10 (15 August 2004)

All of my friends told me to stay away from this film.
All of my friends were wrong.
HELLBOY is quite possibly the greatest comic book adaptation of all time. And a solid film in it's own right. Guillermo Del Toro's visual style was perfect for the world of Mike Mignola. The characters came alive, three-dimensional, complete.
I have made it a habit to see all of the recent comic adaptations. I do this more as a show of support to something of my childhood than in expectation of quality or pathos. I was disappointed in the Schumacher Batmen. I was revolted by Berry's Catwoman and the new Punisher and Hulk movies. I enjoyed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen even though they took a brilliantly crafted work and watered it down so thin its taste was barely recognizable. I thrilled to see my X-men on screen - even though it wasn't them and the nobility of Erik Lehnsherr had been stripped of him and for some reason Bryan Singer had decided to adapt an adaptation rather than actually work from source. X2 was a little better. Though I encourage you to skip it and read Chris Claremont's novelization instead. Still, it was nice to see Collossus. Blade 2 was a farce. Spiderman surprised me. Spiderman 2 was a complete waste of time. When I read that Bryan Singer had signed to direct the new Superman movie I breathed a heavy sigh of discontent. I eagerly anticipate the new Batman film, even though the changes they have made to the storyline. I trust Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker even though I did not appreciate Memento. Following and Insomnia were good films. He has the proper temperament for a Batman film. The idea of a Fantastic Four film directed by the same man who directed Barbershop frightens me. The idea of a Tom Cruise Iron Man excites me. The idea of a Nicholas Cage Ghost Rider... whatever. Call back when you decide to go back to acting. I thought the idea of making Hellboy into a live action film was a terrible idea, doomed to failure. I'd always thought it would make a good anime but not a live action. I can admit when I am wrong.
Beautiful cinematography. Creature effects that utilized CG only when necessary. Lovecraftian references. References galore to the real world occult. A painstaking replica of the Spear of Longinus, in reality on display in the Hofsburg Treasure House in Vienna. Such detail. Such an epic feel. And yet such simple emotion underlying each character.
I understood John Hurt.
I understood Abe Sapien.
I understood Hellboy.
I even understood Grigory Rasputin, a man who has lived so long that he has actually come to believe that the world would be better given a fresh start and in his hands. I know people like him. I understand the mindset. The best villains aren't truly villains when you scrape beneath the surface.
Hellboy was a much more three-dimensional film than Spiderman 2 which has gotten so much press lately and been called the greatest comic film ever made, just as last year X2 received the same accolades. They had more action. Perhaps they were more kinetic. Hellboy had more depth and more visual texture making it more cohesive as a story and as as an exercise in the visual medium of film.
A good film.