It's Fun and Unique, But Just Doesn't Cut It

Rating: 7/10 (23 January 2006)

Let's face it, the 21st century is the year of movies based on famous comics, like Spiderman, The Hulk, X-Men, The Punisher and then there's Hellboy, which takes a different approach from what you may expect out of it. Hellboy's mood is darker than movies like Spiderman and The Hulk and attempts to be a bit more than just a typical action movie with a plot that's supposed to be interesting. While I appreciate and admire how the movie tried to be an interesting and different kind of movie there's one problem, the attempt backfires. The plot in the movie is good, but the movie presents it in a sloppy way, sometimes as if it were a sequel and most of the time the moments that try to let the audience develop a connection are screwed up by an awkward mood in those moments that make the movie seem as if it can't decide between certain ways to present itself. This is Hellboy's major downfall and makes it a less recommendable movie. But with that aside Hellboy is a pretty enjoyable movie and at times fun to watch. Ron Perlman makes a great Hellboy, he makes the big red demon-like creature that Hellboy is the most lovable character in the movie. The other performers in the movie don't do that great, with the exception of Hellboy's "father" and the main villain who looks similar to Rob Halford with a facelift. The action in this movie isn't used too much until the end but all of it is satisfying for the most part. As for the plot, while it is at least interesting, it just isn't as good as I'd have liked to be. All-in-all this is a good movie, but it's nothing special compared to what we've seen from other movies the past few years.