This is a fun movie. Well worth it for anyone that loves action. And it is an action movie but I would define this as a fantasy movie instead. Yes, a fantasy movie that takes place in the present, but fantasy's don't have to take place in a particular time. Fantasies just need elements that only our imagination can come up with. And boy did someone have an imagination.

Hellboy was originally another comic book character. He is one of many abnormal/unique individuals (both human and non-human) that work for the U.S. Government. This group of individuals protect the public from things that only exist in one's imagination. Some examples are demons, vampires, goblins, etc. In this movie this group is called upon to investigate a crime scene, which eventually leads them to the antagonist of the story. Hellboy is the lead in this story and the one that does the most bashing. He's not too smart though so he definitely needs his pals.

The make-up artists worked overtime putting the creatures you see in this movie. It is so cool to see what they can do with make-up. The creatures you see just come alive and make the illusion complete. And boy do I like to be immersed in someone else's world. I couldn't even tell where the computer graphics began and the make-up ended, it was seamless. I just sure hope the DVD extras are plentiful when this comes out cuz I'm dying to know how they did it.

Another gem is the choreography of the fight scenes. They were like dance. Each character had his/her own style. And each fighting sequence was unique. I hate movies that do the same thing over and over. I'm not interested in seeing just brute force, I want to see finesse. The best of these is the “bad guy” of the film(played by Luke Goss). I don't know if he ever took dance classes, but it sure seemed like it.

The story was good and intriguing. You could boil it down to good guy goes after bad guy if you wanted to, which is why I don't think the story is too original. But its originality comes from all of the side plots that develop. Those side plots are interesting and well done. And no I'm not gonna tell you and spoil the whole thing.

Another reason to see it is in the pacing. The movie was almost 2 hours but it didn't feel like it. You were entertained throughout the entire movie. There was only one slow part that I think could have been improved. In fact that slow scene could have been a lot funnier than it was.

The writing was good but not deep. I can't point out any blunders in the script. The only criticism is the lack of depth or linguistic intricacy. No real philosophical things to plunder, no moral issue to discuss with friends. It took no risks and the writers seemed to play it safe.

The acting overall was pleasing. Ron Perlman plays Hellboy. He does an excellent job in that I feel like I'm looking at a real devil, and not a vampire or space pirate. While I feel in a way that this role is type cast, it really isn't. Perlman does turn Hellboy into a unique creature from his other roles and makes my fantasy complete. When I look I see Hellboy, not Ron Perlman.

Selma Blair played the role of Liz Sherman and Doug Jones plays Abe Sapien . Both of these are great supporting actors for Perlman. They played their parts as players in this secret organization beautifully. The reason is because they brought out emotions and dialog from Hellboy that could not have been produced without their interaction. Their performances made Hellboy a much better and more rounded character. Hellboy became more real to me because of their friendship and interactions. It was a pleasure to watch.

The role of Dr. Tom Manning was played by Jeffrey Tambor, and I absolutely hated his role. Imagine fingernails on a chalkboard and you get my feeling every time he opened his mouth. The character was also one dimensional and had more dialogue then he deserved. Imagine Jar Jar and you can feel my pain.

As with the role of Tom Manning, the rest of the characters are one dimensional. That's probably a good thing because the time spent developing the Hellboy character was well worth any sacrifice of screen time for the other actors.

The music was by Danny Elfman. I like his style and consider myself a lukewarm fan. I worship the Edward Scissorhands soundtrack but other soundtracks are just too similar and lack originality from film to film (with some real gems now and again.) The soundtrack wasn't all that interesting, and it seemed like Danny Elfman just phoned this one in. Now there wasn't anything bad about the music, it just is not his best work nor did it inspire me.

The weakest part of this movie is the emotional aspect. I really felt no sympathy for any of the characters. I could care less for the individuals that die and those that are injured. The movie just did not pull on my strings like so many other movies out there. This, and the lack of true originality, kept this movie from getting a higher score from me. Everything else was there.


Do you have to see the first movie?
No, the movie does a great job of getting everyone up to speed within the first 20 minutes.

The players
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Story by: Mike Mignola & Guillermo del Toro
Screenplay: Guillermo del Toro
Music: Danny Elfman

Ratings-As of 07-11
Yahoo users: B+
Yahoo critics: B
Metacritics users: 9.0
Metacritics critics: 78
Rotten tomato: 7.2
My score: 4.12

MPAA rating: PG-13

Running time: 110 minutes


Other reviews.
Hellboy: Blood and Iron
The One
Iron Man


Recommended: Yes