Hellboy 2004

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Far be it from me to endorse yet another franchise, but thanks to del Toro and a smart script, Hellboy is so entertaining that you long to see what further heck this gang can raise. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Despite its shallow feel, Hellboy still succeeds as a piece of relentless pop entertainment. Read more

Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times: A triumph of design over meaning. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: While the character of Hellboy is entertaining, the film in which he appears is largely an exploitative jumble. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Faithful to its pulp roots and lacking the cumbersome self-seriousness of many a comic-book adaptation, Hellboy is, well, hellacious good fun. Read more

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune: The movie feels at odds with itself, embracing the comics' idiosyncratic creations without an idiosyncratic worldview. Read more

Jonathan Foreman, New York Post: Surprisingly enjoyable. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: 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. Read more

Mark Rahner, Seattle Times: [del Toro] doesn't quite knock it out of the park like X2 or Spider-Man, but that's not because of a weak swing. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: ... I loved about 49 percent of this movie but I hated 51 percent of it so I'm going to give this film thumbs down. Read more

Chris Garcia, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Guillermo del Toro's above-average if not-quite-spectacular adaptation of Hellboy sticks to this expectation-flipping recipe and retains the comic's cheeky, po-mo spirit. Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: Comic fans should enjoy the movie, but those with only a passing interest won't be as enthralled. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: An action movie with a brain, a heart, the nerve. Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: Hellboy can be a kick -- even if you're not a devotee of the comics. Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post: Del Toro clearly knows exactly what he's doing. With the big budget of Hellboy, he was given the tools to do it well, along with the freedom to do it right. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: I enjoyed myself for most of Hellboy, yet the movie, a highly derivative compendium of geek dreams, is little more than a well-executed contraption. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Making no apologies for the source material, director Guillermo del Toro lets his picture gorge on power bars of pop energy, sugared with sprinkles of playful humour. Read more

Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News: Comic book-based superhero movies are a dime a dozen these days, but few are quite like the quirky Hellboy, full of dry wit and humanizing touches that balance the requisite slam-bang action. Read more

John Patterson, L.A. Weekly: One of the sturdier superhero movies of the last couple of years, with monsters and effects and diabolical baddies to spare, a heart as big as a house and a love story that actually gets its hooks in you. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: A fully formed, funny, smart and briskly entertaining horror show. Read more

Bruce Diones, New Yorker: 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. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: For all the monstrous eviscerations, there's no real heart here. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: I don't know if Hellboy has had a Beauty and the Beast relationship in his comic-book life, but if he did, the filmmakers did right by him in casting Ron Perlman. Read more

Elvis Mitchell, New York Times: Guillermo del Toro lets loose with a vaudevillian rambunctiousness that makes his adaptation of the Hellboy comic book series daffy, loose and lovable. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Despite several drawbacks, Hellboy nevertheless succeeds in entertaining. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Hellboy is one of those rare movies that's not only based on a comic book, but also feels like a comic book. It's vibrating with energy, and you can sense the zeal and joy in its making. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Hellboy is on fire with scares and laughs and del Toro's visionary dazzle. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: This is the kind of movie you watch for its aura, for its appealing characters, for its marvelously sustained seriocomic romantic mood. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: If you don't normally go to films where the lead characters look like giant Pez dispensers, the slogging fights of Hellboy may seem like purgatory. But there's enough going on in between the big action sequences to save the movie from mediocrity. Read more

David Edelstein, Slate: It might be hell on earth, but in del Toro's hands it's schlock heaven. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A welcome change of pace from the senseless sensibilities of most Hollywood comic-book spectacles. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: Unfortunately, after setting up this fresh blue-collar scenario in the movie's first hour, Del Toro wallows in pyrotechnics. Read more

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star: Easily the most adept comic book adaptation since Ghost World. Read more

Time Out: 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. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: A fiery action picture destined to please fans of other comics-turned-adventure flicks such as X-Men. The rest of us will find ourselves left out in the cold. Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: You don't have to be a geek to appreciate the hard work and inspired choices of craftspeople who brought Hellboy into a new dimension, from page to screen. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: To his credit, del Toro does not flinch from the ridiculous. But he is equally sensitive to Hellboy's pulp poetry. Read more