Before seeing this movie I endeavored to avoid spoilers, reviews, and even ratings of the movie only indulging myself in the awesome ads that my friends sent my way. So it was with high expectation and a clean slate that I walked in to see this movie on Saturday July 12th.
The movie starts off feeling like you are going to get a reprisal of the fabulous, funny cult hit that was the original Hellboy dropping you into an already established world and cast of characters makes the reader feel like they are in for another roller coaster ride of weirdness with some funny along the way. Above all else this movie was gorgeous, Guillermo Del Torro definitely has a talent for making the fantastic beautiful, haunting, and disturbing.
However, while I love Ron Pearlman and would not have missed this movie for the world and while I recommend that people see it because of the visual stimulation, I was disappointed by the plot and general writing of the movie. In a summer of spectacular new properties ( Iron Man and Wall-E) and some really promising sequels (the eagerly awaited Dark Knight), Hellboy stands out in its attempt to make something wonderful on all fronts and succeeding only on one.
There are many wonderful plot ideas presented in this movie, so many in fact that there isn't enough time to properly introduce or resolve any of them. Also, while the first movie felt like it captured the essence of the comic and translated it to the screen this one feels almost campy in its humor and relation to the comic book and often just uses the fantastical elements that make this series so intriguing as an excuse for more visual affects.
Overall while this was a beautiful movie I don't think that it stands up to the legacy of the first movie and the comic. So while I hope that there is another movie, so that the franchise can be saved, I also hope that Mr. Del Torro gets a better screenwriter and flushes out his plot better before creating his visual affects.
Grade: C+
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