The Best Comic Book Movie of all Time

Rating: 9/10 (6 May 2014)

Yes, I know, I know. People will normally have something like Avengers, Dark Knight, Iron Man or one of the Spider-Man movies as their #1. And while I do like all those movies I mentioned, none can pass this powerhouse juggernaut of a comic book movie.
For starters, I must confess. I am a Guillermo Del Toro fan. The only movie of his I didn't give higher than a 7 to is mimic. And even then, I still didn't mind mimic and enjoyed my time watching it. But I can honestly say that this is his best work. It's not quite as serious as Pan's Labrynth, but it's also not as silly as Pacific Rim. It is everything I could want from a comic book movie.
Ron Perlman plays Hellboy, a demon that was raised by the US Government to be a hero, this cross makes for a very interesting anti-hero which often leaves you clueless to just what he will do. Selma Blair plays Liz Sherman, who at first glance just seems like your average, "I don't need anyone else's help," kind of character. But there's more to it than that. She is very original in the fact that the movie doesn't try to make her sexualized in the slightest. People may say this has been done before, but not like this. She doesn't strike you as a female character, she strikes you as a character. And even though I love Black Widow's character from the Marvel Universe movies, I'm constantly reminded that she is a female character. Seth MacFarlane voices Johann Krauss which is moved around by John Alexander and James Dodd. Not only is he an interesting character, but it's my favourite character that Seth MacFarlane has played. He fits so well in the universe that when you first see him, you're surprised for a second and then you think, "well, what do you expect from this universe?" Doug Jones plays Abe Sapien and it is an amazing role. Guillermo Del Toro uses Abe Sapien and another character, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss,) to really bring out his unique character designs. Both look stunning with the loads of make-up covered on them and yet you still believe that they're those creatures, not just actors.
The story is very interesting because it allows what seems like a straight forward, open-and-shut case, show that there's a lot that can be done to these stories within the visuals and experience that makes it unique. For example, there's a scene where Prince Nuada is fighting some guards and ends up killing his father. Now, that sounds straight forward and a bit clichéd, but for anyone who's seen it, if you ask them about it, they'll tell you how fast paced and colourful it appeared. How well the special effects were and just how realistic it was. Sure, you can say that about a lot of movies, but this one does it so well that anyone who hasn't seen it can listen to you and say something along the lines of, "that's how most good movies are," because they haven't lived it like you have.
Guillermo Del Toro does not waste any time, making only a few scenes about 60% way through the movie for comic relief, which is very welcoming as the movie is trying to push a lot on you at once, and the humour isn't only necessary, it's actually quite funny! Such examples as the Hellboy vs. Johann fight or the drunk singing. I also love just how interesting these character designs are. Some characters had so much make up on, I was mesmerized by the way the looked and they only got about 5 seconds of on screen time, which is a truly amazing piece of work. Most movies would only put that much effort into a main character and Guillermo Del Toro makes sure just as much effort is put into characters you could miss if you blink! The Troll Market especially, one of the best scenes in the movie. There's over 60 different looking creatures and you have to pause just to see them all, not even counting the ones that probably walked around and didn't end up walking where the camera was shooting, just there in case they did walk by the camera. It is an amazing amount of effort on Guillermo Del Toro's part and it really gets overlooked.
In conclusion, there are many amazing comic book movies and there are a lot that are very close to how much I like Hellboy 2. But Hellboy 2 stands above them, it is my favourite Guillermo Del Toro movie and my favourite comic book movie. If you haven't checked it out, you have to immediately. It is a must watch, and definitely work the $35 or so for the special edition Blu-Ray.
Score: 9.4