Review of Hellboy

Hellboy (2004)
6/10
love Guillermo's style, characters lack depth
22 September 2013
The Nazis with Grigori Rasputin tried to raise hell but instead raised Hellboy (Ron Perlman) when US forces intervened. Prof. Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt) becomes his adopted father figure, and heads a group of strange freaks including Abe Sapien (Doug Jones/David Hyde Pierce) and the frail Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). They are joined by a naive new agent John Myers (Rupert Evans).

And together they must take on Nazis yet again. On the face of it, there's a lot to like about Guillermo del Toro's unique visual style. Ron Perlman is perfect as a bigger than life sarcastic hero. But everybody is a 2-dimensional cut out. Sure it's supposed to be a comics but it has to be a movie too.

The most disappointing is the John Myers character. There is no charisma. I think there's supposed to be some chemistry between him and Liz Sherman. Not even close. We're supposed to see the world through his eyes. Rupert Evans just isn't good enough.
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