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MOVIES / ON DVD / HELLBOY
Hellboy

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Hellboy (2004)

79%
100%
76%
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79 %
Reviews Counted: 182 Fresh: 144  Rotten:38 Average Rating: 6.7/10
 
Consensus: Hellboy is pretty derivative, but there's enough wit and humor here to keep it entertaining. Hellboy is pretty derivative, but there's enough wit and humor here to keep it entertaining. more
 
Runtime: 2 hrs 12 mins
Synopsis:
Based on the comic book series by Mike Mignola, Guillermo del Toro's gleefully eccentric film follows the supernatural adventures of Hellboy (Ron Perlman), a cigar-chomping, horn-filing demonic hero enlisted by an occult scholar (John Hurt) to fight evil in the Bureau of Paranormal... [More]
Based on the comic book series by Mike Mignola, Guillermo del Toro's gleefully eccentric film follows the supernatural adventures of Hellboy (Ron Perlman), a cigar-chomping, horn-filing demonic hero enlisted by an occult scholar (John Hurt) to fight evil in the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. Along with the fire-throwing Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and the amphibious psychic Abe Sapien (Doug Jones, with the voice of David Hyde Pierce), Hellboy is joined by new recruit John Myers (Rupert Evans), a squeaky-clean FBI agent assigned to keep the big red devil's exploits in check. Things get out of hand, however, when a vicious monster is unleashed by the villainous Rasputin (Karl Roden), leading to events that may set off an apocalyptic nightmare for humanity. Echoing Peter Jackson's passion for THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, HELLBOY is a labor of love from del Toro, a longtime fan of the comic and its creator. The director's enthusiasm shows, since HELLBOY is a wondrously strange slice of pulpy adventure, mixed with horror and humor, and enhanced by stunning visual effects. In the title role (and lots of red makeup), Perlman is pitch-perfect, giving the good-natured misfit a powerful--yet surprisingly sensitive--presence. Blair, Evans, Hurt, and other actors are similarly well cast, rounding out an ensemble intent on retaining the movie's dark yet superbly entertaining tone. [Less]

Genre: Action/Adventure

Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Rupert Evans, John Hurt, Jeffrey Tambor

Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Screenwriter: Guillermo Del Toro
Story: Peter Briggs
Producer: Lawrence Gordon, Mike Richardson, Lloyd Levin
Composer: Marco Beltrami

DVD Info

Release:

May 6, 2007

[DVD Details]

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image

Del Toro, in love with his source but never overawed by it, keeps things moving; Perlman ties it together with some of the driest witticisms this side of Indiana Jones. Like we said: fun.

Full Review | Comment
06/24/06 03:39 AM
Time Out
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Succeeds because it brings the visuals from the page to life with a beating red heart.

Full Review | Comment
09/07/04 10:18 PM
Kim Newman
Sight and Sound
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Most effective as a brief window into an era. It captures the bitter aftertaste of a counter-cultural movement gone stale

Full Review | Comment
09/07/04 03:13 AM
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
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A briefly entertaining but forgettable adventure.

Full Review | Comment
09/05/04 10:17 PM
Dan Chant
FilmFocus
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It hasn't got the breakout potential of less eccentric comic book heroes, but fans will thank the dark squid gods for del Toro's admirable loyalty to the source material.

Full Review | Comment
09/04/04 10:39 PM
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
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Extremely enjoyable comic-book romp -- impressively directed with a witty, imaginative script and a terrific central performance from Perlman.

Full Review | Comment
09/04/04 10:39 PM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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A richly imaginative comicbook world is unveiled in Hellboy. If only the story was as strong.

Full Review | Comment
08/03/04 08:16 AM
Nev Pierce
BBC
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Depths of character draw us in and make the film much more than an exercise in eye-poppingly inventive design, make-up, effects and action.

Full Review | Comment
04/18/04 08:16 AM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
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An enjoyable, wide-ranging and well-crafted film.

Full Review | Comment
09/30/03 05:15 PM
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
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Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
12/27/07 03:15 AM
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
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Perlman, at age 53, strides in like a hungry young actor itching to prove something, only with 22 years of experience lending him charisma and confidence.

Full Review | Comment
09/17/07 06:44 PM
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
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Played by Ron Perlman, he's the most magnetic action hero I've come across in a long while, though I couldn't make heads or tails of this story.

Full Review | Comment
04/18/07 11:23 AM
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
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Unfortunately, after setting up this fresh blue-collar scenario in the movie's first hour, Del Toro wallows in pyrotechnics.

Full Review | Comment
04/18/07 10:58 AM
David Germain
Associated Press
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As expertly played by Perlman, even with tons of make-up and prostheteics, our hero is a good 'monster' whose origin haunts him to the bone.

Full Review | Comment
09/29/06 06:26 AM
Eric Melin
Lawrence.com
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Del Toro’s energized adventure has humor, excitement, and soul to burn.

Full Review | Comment
05/04/05 10:14 AM
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
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Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
04/02/05 11:00 PM
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
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Aside from some of the specifics, we’ve seen all this before. The film steals from everything from Batman to The X-Files and while there’s lots and lots of good violent fun...

Full Review | Comment
01/15/05 10:38 PM
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette
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... a dull, derivative, poorly plotted movie. Hellboy's enemies are interesting at first, but they wear out their welcome quickly.

Full Review | Comment
12/31/04 02:38 PM
Jeffrey Overstreet
Christianity Today
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Perlman has not only the towering body, sculpted face, and commanding voice for such a role, he exudes a very humane heart.

Full Review | Comment
10/13/04 10:00 PM
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan
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Hellboy sometimes pumps new life into the shopworn conventions on which it is based, but never entirely manages to transcend its pulpy origins.

Full Review | Comment
09/23/04 10:57 AM
Thomas Peyser
Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)
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News

Del Toro Says Hellboy Can't Count Past Three
posted by Joshua Tyler April 24, 2008
Guillermo del Toro has told reporters that he'd only do a third Hellboy film on the condition that it's the franchise's...


Trailer Bulletin: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
posted by Jeff Giles April 04, 2008
On July 11, Guillermo del Toro brings Hellboy back to a theater near you, with Hellboy II: The Golden Army -- and he's just...


New Hellboy II Images Online!
posted by Jeff Giles January 30, 2008
It's been a few months since Guillermo del Toro gave us a peek at what's going on behind the curtain with Hellboy II: The...


More "Hellboy 2" Tidbits to Whet Your Whistle
posted by Jen Yamato July 05, 2007
Another smattering of whimsical "Hellboy 2" set reports from Budapest, plus a handful of potential script...

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