A good time at the theater, but probably not at home.

Rating: 6/10 (2 April 2004)

I should first let you all know that I have never seen the Hellboy comic book, nor the source material for many of the comic movies that have come out recently, though some I enjoyed, and others I did not. I certainly did enjoy Hellboy, and don't regret the price of admission... however, I don't expect I'll buy it on DVD.
In its favor is Ron Perlman, as expected, who puts up a flawless performance in his role. Also, a plot that only tells you the absolute basics keeps things moving at a pace too fast to leave you yawning. Working against it is the performance of other actors.. most notably Selma Blair, who simply offended me in her presentation of some of her lines. Did she shoot up tranquilizers before the filming? Also, Del Toro takes absolutely no shot at achieving depth for the story.. making it all like a sort of long cartoon. Finally, the special effects, though heavily relied upon, are flawed enough that they can take away at times.