Opening

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—— A Green Story May 24
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Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
88% The East May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31

Hellboy (2004)

tomatometer

81

Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 195
Fresh: 157 | Rotten: 38

With wit, humor and Guillermo del Toro's fantastic visuals, the entertaining Hellboy transcends the derivative nature of the genre.

88

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 42
Fresh: 37 | Rotten: 5

With wit, humor and Guillermo del Toro's fantastic visuals, the entertaining Hellboy transcends the derivative nature of the genre.

audience

63

liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 417,538

My Rating

Movie Info

Mike Mignola's acclaimed comic book series about a creature from Hades who joins the battle against evil arrives on the screen in vivid form in this adaptation directed by distinctive horror filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. During World War II, the Third Reich has joined forces with the evil Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden), who has used his occult powers to summon up a young demon from the depth of Hell to be used as the ultimate Axis weapon. However, the demonic creature is captured by American

Jul 27, 2004

$59.0M

Sony Pictures - Official Site External Icon

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All Critics (195) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (166) | Rotten (39) | DVD (49)

When the movie's story line concentrates on the character of Hellboy and his relationships with those important to him, the film becomes a unique romp, with an exciting yet vulnerable superhero at the center who just happens to be the spawn of Satan.

April 14, 2013 Full Review Source: New Yorker
New Yorker
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

April 18, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Unfortunately, after setting up this fresh blue-collar scenario in the movie's first hour, Del Toro wallows in pyrotechnics.

April 18, 2007
Associated Press
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

To his credit, del Toro does not flinch from the ridiculous. But he is equally sensitive to Hellboy's pulp poetry.

April 6, 2004 Full Review Source: Village Voice
Village Voice
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is the kind of movie you watch for its aura, for its appealing characters, for its marvelously sustained seriocomic romantic mood.

April 3, 2004 Full Review Source: Salon.com
Salon.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The screenplay has flashes of real wit, and Perlman is perfect in the title role.

April 14, 2013 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor
Christian Science Monitor

Somewhat entertaining, but too scary for many.

December 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment (1)
Common Sense Media

Inventive but derivative, well performed yet slightly hokey, visually lush yet over-stylised.

July 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Dark Horizons
Dark Horizons

Anyone can send an immense, computer-generated vegetable monster rampaging at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, but it takes a special kind of imagination to do it in a way that's thrilling, emotionally complex, and rapturously beautiful all at once.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: NPR.org | Comment (1)
NPR.org

High concept fantasy through the eyes of creative genius of Guillermo del Toro

August 25, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile
Urban Cinefile

Hellboy both kicks butt and falls in love, in an adventure that is thrilling, funny and touching.

August 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review
Sacramento News & Review

A strong anti-superhero movie that turns the genre sideways.

July 22, 2008 Full Review Source: Cinema Sight
Cinema Sight

Del Toro and Perlman essentially make you forget that Hellboy's this bizarre creature because Perlman invests him with such humanity. And maybe what makes him most human are his flaws.

July 10, 2008 Full Review Source: KPBS.org
KPBS.org

Ron Perlman--the Lon Chaney of our time--plays Hellboy with grit, humor, and a depth of feeling which, barely, grounds the movie.

July 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews
Groucho Reviews

They say the devil gets all the best tunes and, on the strength of this latest comicbook adaptation, he gets all the good one-liners, too.

June 13, 2008 Full Review Source: Eye for Film
Eye for Film

Artistically resonant even as it deliberately follows a contemporary narrative structure.

June 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Projection Booth
Projection Booth

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.

September 17, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com
eFilmCritic.com

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.

September 29, 2006 Full Review Source: Lawrence.com

Stylish sci-fi director Guillermo Del Toro brings Mike Mignola's stone-fisted, horny (literally!) cult comic book hero to life in this wry, glossy adventure.

August 31, 2006 Full Review Source: Hollywood.com
Hollywood.com

Audience Reviews for Hellboy

"In the absence of light, darkness prevails. There are things that go bump in the night, Agent Myers. Make no mistake about that. And we are the ones who bump back."

A demon, raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness.

REVIEW
Based on the works of Mike Mignola, "Hellboy," written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, is a better-than-average comic book adaptation that boasts a refreshing sense of humor amid all the customary action sequences and first-rate special effects. The story begins in 1944, near the end of World War II, with the Nazis attempting to open a portal between earth and a hell-like dimension where seven evil deities have been lying in wait for just such an opportunity to come in and take over the world. One creature from the other side makes it through before the Nazis' scheme is thwarted, a young "boy" who is adopted by an American expert in the paranormal and groomed to become a superhero who can do battle with all the supernatural creatures who apparently exist in an abundance undreamed of by the vast majority of the human race.

The makers of the film have wisely chosen to keep Hellboy life-sized and believable in both his physical and psychological dimensions. Despite his red skin, stone right hand and ability to leap from rooftop to rooftop with gravity-defying ease, Hellboy is really just an Average Joe-type, with a bit of an ego, a sardonic sense of humor, a strong sense of loyalty, and a really good heart. Heck, he even has problems in the romance department not much different from what all the rest of us go through at one time or another in our lives. The movie is overlong and the screenplay probably includes one or two monsters more than it needs to in order to get the job done, but Ron Perlman, even under all the heavy makeup, makes Hellboy a three-dimensional, sympathetic character, while John Hurt brings warmth and authority to the role of Professor Bruttenholm, the "father figure" who raises him.
December 5, 2008
LorenzoVonMatterhorn
Lorenzo von Matterhorn

Super Reviewer

Hellboy is a memorable character that brings humour to the overdose of action sequences in the film. I dont like super hero films that make an overdose of explosions but it did have some witty moments that helped me enjoy the film.
October 29, 2011
Directors Cat
Directors Cat

Super Reviewer

    1. Von Krupt: Five years of research and construction, Grigori, five years! The Fuhrer does not look kindly on failure!
    2. Grigori Rasputin: There will be no failure, General. I promised Herr Hitler a miracle. I'll deliver one.
    – Submitted by Typhon Q (3 months ago)
    1. Prof. Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm: In the absence of light, darkness prevails. There are things that go bump in the night, Agent Myers. Make no mistake about that. And we are the ones who bump back.
    – Submitted by Typhon Q (7 months ago)
    1. Hellboy: I can promise you two things: One, I'll always look this good, and two I'll never give up on you.
    – Submitted by Andrew O (12 months ago)
    1. Hellboy: [referring to the Hellboy comics in John's hands] I hate those comic books. They never get the eyes right.
    – Submitted by Kris R (15 months ago)
    1. Hellboy: Red means stop!
    – Submitted by Kameron M (18 months ago)
    1. Hellboy: I'm gonna be sore in the morning...
    – Submitted by Kameron M (18 months ago)

Discussion Forum

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Latest News on Hellboy

April 8, 2013:
Hellboy 3 Isn't Going to Happen
And creator Mike Mignola is really tired of having to talk about it.

July 16, 2012:
Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman Tease Hellboy 3
No details yet, but they've confirmed they're trying to get it made.

July 22, 2011:
Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman Talk Hellboy 3
If you have Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman in the same room with some reporters, inevitably...

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