I wanted to see Hellboy in the theaters but wasn't able to catch it so I rented it a couple of weeks ago. I'm glad I didn't waste $10 on a popcorn combo for this movie but it was probably worth the price of a matinee ticket (or rental).

I had never heard of Hellboy before the movie was released so I cannot comment on its success or failure in translating the comic to the big screen. What attracted me to it in the first place was the visual feel I saw in the previews and Ron Perlman. I've liked Ron Perlamn since he was in The Magnificent Seven TV series (I never watched Beauty and the Beast). My interest was also piqued after seeing Ron Perlman at Trek Expo 2004 in Tulsa, OK.

After the credits rolled, my first thought was, "eh." It wasn't a bad movie but it wasn't a good movie, either. The action sequences were certainly full of much movement and crashing about but there was no thrill. Part of the thrill is worrying for the safety of the characters and it's hard to worry about a character who can't be killed and knows it. Throughout the movie it appeared that Perlman was playing Hellboy as bored. As one who loves and collects classic movie lines, not even the flatly-delivered one-liners could help. The best part of the movie was as Hellboy sat on a rooftop, eating cookies with a young boy, lamenting his lost love.

I would love to comment on the special features and behind-the-scenes highlights (which I usually LOVE no matter how good or bad the movie might be) but the video store elected to not make the features disc available for rental.

So, in my incomplete way, my recommendation is to rent this movie, check out the visual effects, watch the special features if you can, then decide if it's worth the money to buy it.