**1/2 (out of ****)

Rating: 7/10 (3 April 2004)

Guillermo del Toro always has a role in store for Ron Perlman in movies like Blade II and Cronos. The Mexican born director is really trying to put him on the screen more than anyone else would. Perlman never seems to find the right role that will put him in the spotlight and hopefully help him become a bigger star. Finally we see him in a leading role in a movie called ?Hellboy?. Perlman is Hellboy, a demon who was sheltered by Professor Bruttenholm (John Hurt). He raised him to do good instead of evil. Perlman seems to have fun with his role. His enthusiasm as Hellboy makes the character likeable and fun to watch instead of unpleasant and ugly as it could have been in the hands of another actor, and director.
Instantly there is an explanation of how this demon came about. It is WWII at the start of the movie, and the Nazi?s try to open up a portal to the dark side. They have failed their cause. What came out of the portal was a
red baby demon who Professor Bruttenholm named Hellboy. Cut to the present time where Hellboy is now all grown up, and he is fighting everyday to protect human kind. His appearance is very human like. He has two arms, two legs, and a body. He has horns, which he had filed down to a very low length to fit in with the human crowd. Lastly he speaks fluent English.
Hellboy is not just some tough demon that wants to do nothing but kill every monster that crosses him; he has quite a bit of tenderness in him. He is in love with a paranormal named Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). He also has a since of humor. His one-liners are cheesy and laughable, but it?s fun and appealing. Also, there are some other interesting characters in the movie such as Abe Sapien played by Doug Jones, and voice by David Hyde Pierce. This human like creature is able to swim and breathe in the water. He?s able to breath out of the water with a device that helps him. There is also one character that can do some cool moves with sharp objects. There is a lot to like about this movie. The special effects are top notch. The images jump right off the screen. The monsters look amazing. The Hellboy character looks great. The action scenes are well made. The laughs are right on point. The story line just isn?t easy to follow. I was scratching my head at some points. Why would the Nazi?s want the apocalypse? It just didn?t make since to me. Maybe I?m just slow, and closed-minded. I can?t find it in my heart to recommend this movie. Even though I had mostly good things to say about it. The implausible story line just took away from everything that was good about it. I definitely would like to see a sequel. Hellboy is an interesting character, and I want to see more of him.