Hellboy

Another big screen adaptation of a comic book, but one I had never really heard of before.  Overall, the movie succeeds in terms of being interesting and original, but its super hero is neither memorable nor particularly remarkable.

Ron Perlman stars as the titular hero, an alien raised by the scientist who found him as an infant.  Now all grown up, Hellboy is called upon to fight against many evil forces, especially those of a supernatural kind, but his existence is deemed too explosive to be revealed and therefore kept hidden from the public.

Perlman does a good job in a role that seems tailored to his persona but I personally found Doug Jones’s Abe Sapien (the fish like creature) more intriguing.  Both John Hurt and Jeffrey Tambor are very good in their roles and Karel Roden as Rasputin is a sufficiently mean villain.  Selma Blair as Liz Sherman, Hellboy’s romantic interest, is the only main character that doesn’t really leave a mark.

While not as entertaining or engaging as a Spider-Man or a Batman movie can be, Hellboy is watchable and fun.

Grade: 6