Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1336 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-01-10
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, Russian
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 117 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
In the ongoing deluge of comic-book adaptations, Hellboy ranks well above average. Having turned down an offer to helm Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in favor of bringing Hellboy's origin story to the big screen, the gifted Mexican director Guillermo del Toro compensates for the excesses of Blade II with a moodily effective, consistently entertaining action-packed fantasy, beginning in 1944 when the mad monk Rasputin--in cahoots with occult-buff Hitler and his Nazi thugs--opens a transdimensional portal through which a baby demon emerges, capable of destroying the world with his powers. Instead, the aptly named Hellboy is raised by the benevolent Prof. Bloom, founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, whose allied forces enlist the adult Hellboy (Ron Perlman, perfectly cast) to battle evil at every turn. While nursing a melancholy love for the comely firestarter Liz (Selma Blair), Hellboy files his demonic horns ("to fit in," says Bloom) and wreaks havoc on the bad guys. The action is occasionally routine (the movie suffers when compared to the similar X-Men blockbusters), but del Toro and Perlman have honored Mike Mignola's original Dark Horse comics with a lavish and loyal interpretation, retaining the amusing and sympathetic quirks of character that made the comic-book Hellboy a pop-culture original. He's red as a lobster, puffs stogies like Groucho Marx, and fights the good fight with a kind but troubled heart. What's not to like? --Jeff Shannon

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 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.

Customer Reviews

Surprisingly bad
Supernatural thriller in which Ron Perlman plays the 'Hellboy' of the title, a demon who comes to Earth through a portal from hell as a baby and grows up to be a defender of mankind against the forces of darkness. This premise had potential but ultimately nothing much was done with the idea and although Hellboy himself is a fairly interesting character he just isn't given an awful lot to do in this film. Hellboy is supposed to be fighting to prevent the end of the world but there is absolutely no sense of impending Armageddon in this film. On top of this the villains are weak, the climax to the film is a yawn and Hellboy's love interest in this film has abilities that we are given no explanation about. A surprisingly bad film. I expected more.

Not self consistent
Warning - I do tend to reveal plots in my reviews:

What is NOT good about this film is that it breaks a fundamental rule that I think all films need to have to suspend belief. It is inconsistent with itself.

For example the demon fight in the underground. The demons crashes into the front of approaching trains, crashes through walls and ceilings and is unhurt or unphased. But when Hellboy starts whacking it with a telephone it starts recoiling in pain.

The Nazi knife creature can slice through solid stone with his blades but when he fights a line of security guards with them they all just bend over and pass out, bloodless.

There are other examples that were too numerous to mention but it is also worth mentioning the clichés.

Hellboy has a soft heart for a girl in a mental asylum (who's of guessed it), he is actually alone in the world. The extremely young agent served with the task of befriending Hellboy tries to walk away when he feels unappreciated but is stopped in his tracks by `father' saying ..."I'm dying." Oh pleeease.

Anyway - you get the picture. If you watch the DVD note the bad CGI in places and how in fights there are stunt people in big rubber demons costumes. Bit cheap round the edges
I'd also quite like to know why he cuts his horns off. Maybe it is explained later. If so its too late. The questions has already been asked and now I'm turning the DVD off. I see there is a directors cut...for no reason. I also see the director has videod himself doing an introduction. What does this all tell you about the director? You work it ooot.

Buy only if your very very bored.

Perlman is perfect
First off, all those who think this rendition of a comicbook hero fails, have missed the point: Hellboy is very much an ANTI-HERO. How many big-and-bad action heroes do you know who like cats, and eating chillie? Hellboy would rather be eating chillie, and sitting among his many cats, than fighting evil. The juxtaposition of this big softy fighting evil monsters and the undead, accentuated by his comical self-deprecating one-liners which he mutters after vanquishing a villain, is funny. He'd rather be doing anything than fighting evil, and it's this conflict within him which forms the foundation for the film.

'Hellboy', to me anyway, was always a good old fashioned, tongue-in-cheek, good-versus-evil romp and there's now't wrong with that.