visually fantastic but no substance

Rating: 6/10 (14 July 2008)

I have never felt compelled to write a review on this site in the past due to the fact that i usually find that users get it right and i rely on this site for all my info on movies except unfortunately for this one.Now,i understand that tastes vary from one person to another but like i said i usually agree with the vast majority of the users on this site,so i went to see hellboy with great expectations but alas i was extremely disappointed both about the film and the user comments that i read before i went to see it.Let it be known that i loved the first movie and i am a big fan of the director and that this is the type of movie that i usually love and always have an opened mind about.First:The story just does not flow well at all, and events do not get explained or resolved all through the movie and the little info you get is done in a quick and dismissive manner which is odd considering the director which is a master at storytelling in my opinion.All the relationships in the film fell flat and lacked believability,from red and liz to abe and the princess to kraus and the team.All the performances were poor because most likely the actors could not know how to react to situations that were not fleshed out.The real stars of this movie are the special effects which are great but again they don't have a reason to be there other than to look good and make a great trailer.It seems Del Toro spent so much time creating these effects that he did not bother to flesh them out and be concerned with the main characters and the story.Second:The story is absolutely unbelievable and in many parts seems rushed to leave room for creatures that have nothing to do with the main storyline.The slapstick humor in the movie fell flat for me because it has no place in a hellboy movie.I mean come on ,the scene with kraus and Hellboy in the locker room is simply ridiculous as well as a missed opportunity for a show down of epic proportions between 2 very worthy opponents.I wont go through them all but all i can say is that if i wanted to see the 3 stooges i would certainly not go see hellboy which is by the way the son of the devil and is about destruction and death and the end of the world ,which is not really a funny matter as far as i am concerned.The love stories to me were pointless and unnecessary because again,people do not want to see love stories when they go see an action movie,a little is OK i guess but to have all team members being lovesick at the same time is a bit much.Finally:Well what can i say about the movie other than that.To me the whole thing was a mess,from the story,the pacing,the acting,the directing and the ending which again was thrown together like the rest of the story as well as very predictable.So there it is folks,my first review and ill leave you with this.Consider this film to be more about the director than the characters and expect great eye candy with no respect for the audience and its characters and you might enjoy this as much as Del toro's massive ego but if i were you i would wait for the DVD and hope that they have a killer uncut special edition to tie up all those loose ends.