A Decent Comic Book Film

Rating: 8/10 (28 August 2004)

Hellboy is easily one of the better movies that have been adapted from a comic book. Most of Hellboy's strengths are the result of director and co-writer Guillermo Del Toro.
Hellboy begins in the 1940's. A group of Nazis led by a mysterious sorcerer is trying to open a portal so that paranormal beings may enter to aid the Nazis in the war. However, soldiers stop the Nazis before they can complete their scheme. Afterwards, when the soldiers investigate, they find out that something has indeed entered through the portal before it was shut. They give that something the name: 'Hellboy'.
Fast forward to present day, Hellboy is now fully grown and works for the Paranormal Division, a secret unit of the FBI. This unit is led by Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm, the man who found Hellboy and serves as his father figure. Together with the rest of his unit, Hellboy battles evil supernatural forces. This is where the movie really begins, as an evil power seems to be rising.
The film itself moves at a nice pace. The focus is obviously on action, but there are comedic moments, that generally work. There is even some drama in the film, but while the attempt to include drama is praiseworthy, it does not work too well. Despite the fact that the plot is good, it does contain some holes that may frustrate the audience.
The direction of the film is definitely its strongpoint. Praise for this must go to Mr. Del Toro, as this is arguably his best film to date.
Ron Perlman as Hellboy seems to be an inspired piece of casting. Perlman is never brilliant in the role, but does what is required for the part perfectly. He also delivers some one-liners, most of which are funny. John Hurt also gives a creditable performance as 'Broom', Hellboy's father figure. Abe Sapien's (Doug Jones) scenes are enjoyable to watch, mainly because he sounds like supercomputer HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The rest of the cast give average performances: no one really stands out, but no one brings down the movie either. The weakest character in the film is Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). Blair plays her as a confused and emotional wreck throughout the film. Further Ms. Blair and Mr. Perlman have no on screen chemistry, which makes all the scenes they share feel awkward.
Visually Hellboy is brilliant. This is true especially in the wonderfully shot outdoor scenes, the best of which are the snowy ones. In fact, all the environments used are nice. The CGI effects also work well, with the exception being the evil monsters that Hellboy faces. Instead of being scary, most of them look as though they had been pulled straight out of a Men In Black film.
Overall, Hellboy is an enjoyable motion picture. Some good direction, a good performance by the lead actor and the occasional humorous moment help to cover up the film's flaws.