Hellboy (2 Discs)

"Hellboy" isn't just another comic book movie. The main character, the demonic Hellboy, played by Ron Perlman, isn't so much a superhero. One might call him more of an anti-hero. Hellboy, as an infant devil, was drawn out of Hell by an immortal Rasputin in 1944. Today he works for a secret government agency that deals with the paranormal. Think "Men In Black" with kind of a spiritual slant. Anyway, the visuals are amazing, and the imagery is also eye-catching, but shocking at times. The story is quite good. Maybe a bit far-fetched, but there have been worse along these lines. This is a good movie to see to get the full spectrum of comic book movies.

Hellboy is about a demon who works for the FBI. The plot is generic, bad guys want to unleash Armageddon, good guys must stop them. But what this movie lacks in originality it makes up for in every other department..

Hellboy is genuinely fun and Guillermo Del Toro's eye for good composition makes a movie about a hideous brute, actually very beautiful. The action is well paced; the characters are shallow yet eccentric and interesting. One of my main problems with similar comic book movies is how the makers swamp the screen with enough CGI to sink the Titanic, and throw action sequences at the audience in the hope that some may stick in the mind of Joe Cinema-goer for longer than half a minute. Hellboy didn't have the uber-budget of a Spiderman (a franchise that bores me beyond belief) but Del Toro spent his pennies wisely and all the CGI effects are effective, seamless and limitedly spectacular.

Ron Perlman is excellent as Hellboy; his presence enriches the hero with a sense and genuine power and subtle, childlike wit. There are not many layers to the characters for the viewer to slowly unravel, each character plays to type (the scientist, love interest, annoying boss and so on) but the supporting cast all perform admirably. John Hurt helps the story progress with a fair amount of exposition and Jeffery Tambor is funny-bordering-on-hilarious as Hellboy's insecure and incompetent boss. Also David Hyde Pierce of 'Frasier' fame is perfectly cast as a clairvoyant talking fish.

The bad guys are a sight to behold; Rasputin is menacing but underutilised, Karl Ruprecht Kroenen (aka the gas mask wearing, knife wielding, gimp) is a grotesque creation and perfectly re-created from the rich source material of the comics.

Overall, Hellboy is a smaller movie than its peers, and it's all the better for it

One of the best comic book films in a long time. can't wait fot the second one to come out on dvd!!!!!!!!!!

Hellboy is a great adaption of the dark horse graphic novels, that is brought to life in vivid fashion by the visionary director of the brilliant BLADE 2 and Pan's Labrynth Guillermo Del Toro .
Ron Perlman is amazing as Hellboy as he struggles to be accepted as a person and not as a freak. The cigar Chomping creation is a Bad Ass as he despatches with the things that go bump in the night, but there is also a very real human side to the outcast from hell. The movie also features so many outlandish creations that due to the running time, not enough time is spent with them in this first outing. But with HELLBOY 2 due for release in the summer of 2008, no doubt these will be given extra attention. The film dazzles with it's action sequences, but some times it feels a little repetative with one monster mash after another. But this is a minor flaw to what is without a doubt one of the most imaginitive films in years.
A Hell of allot of fun!

I bought this film for my hubby. I didn't think I'd like it but was quite surprised that I did. The special effects are fantastic and Ron Perlman played a great role. It wasn't a fantastic storyline. However, if you're a fan of comic book films you'll like it. And it's real cheap!!