Lacks the depth and darkness of the comic book.

Rating: 3/10 (17 October 2005)

Warning, this a very poor translation of the comic. Without the subtlety, craft to the narrative and the emphasis on mythology/religion that the comic did so well, this is a flat clichéd affair. We certainly didn't need the dull X-Filesque conspiracy focus.
Hellboy himself is portrayed well by Perlman. Abe is well conceived also, but the plot is to static and lacks the comic's ethereal mix of intelligent narrative and deep characters. Certainly Rasputin comes off the worse lacking strength, depth and presence.
If you've read the comics, aside from the visual impact of Perlman, you'll find this lacks the atmosphere, presence and maturity. If you've not read the comics, you'll be fooled into think Hellboy is a silly concept. It probably is - if you don't know how to craft it into something special. That's the mistake of this movie; it takes a complicated and atmospheric comic and straightens out all the twists and turns. Not good.