Movie · 2004 · Fantasy, Action · 2h 2m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 4.8/10 (689.7K ratings)
From the dark side to our side.
Overview
In the final days of World War II, the Nazis attempt to use black magic to aid their dying cause. The Allies raid the camp where the ceremony is taking place, but not before they summon a baby demon who is rescued by Allied forces and dubbed "Hellboy". Sixty years later, Hellboy serves the cause of good rather than evil as an agent in the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense, along with Abe Sapien - a merman with psychic powers, and Liz Sherman - a woman with pyrokinesis, protecting America against dark forces.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.8/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.43/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Metacritic: 72
TMDB: 6.7/10
Director
Guillermo del Toro, Mike Mignola
Production
Revolution Studios, Dark Horse Entertainment, Lawrence Gordon Productions
Cast
Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Hurt, Rupert Evans, Jeffrey Tambor, Ladislav Beran, Bridget Hodson, Karel Roden, Brian Steele, Corey Johnson, Kevin Trainor, Brian Caspe, James Babson, Stephen Fisher, Garth Cooper, Angus MacInnes, Jim Howick, Mark Taylor, Daniel Aarsman
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A warm, weird, very handmade superhero fantasy with monster-movie charm, rich production design, and a surprisingly tender romantic core. It’s a little overlong and the human-side plotting can drag, but the creature effects, worldbuilding, and Ron Perlman’s performance make it easy to recommend.
Best for
fans of practical effects and creature design
viewers who like superhero stories with a gothic/fairy-tale tone
people who enjoy Guillermo del Toro’s empathetic monster narratives
audiences looking for action with romance and melancholy
comic-book adaptations that feel distinct from the usual studio formula
Skip if
you want a fast, streamlined action movie
you dislike camp, pulp, or comic-book oddness
you prefer grounded realism over supernatural mythology
you’re impatient with side characters who slow the pace
Overview
Hellboy is one of those comic-book movies that feels built from texture as much as plot. Guillermo del Toro loads every frame with pipes, soot, occult symbols, and lovingly grotesque creatures, then anchors it all with Ron Perlman’s gruff, wounded charm. The result is less a conventional superhero origin story than a monster romance with jokes, bruises, and a lot of heart.
Worth noting
What makes it endure is the film’s affection for outsiders. Hellboy, Liz, and Abe are all misfits trying to do good in a world that fears them, and del Toro treats that emotional setup with real sincerity. The action is fun, but the movie’s best quality is its mood: melancholy, playful, and a little romantic in the strangest possible way.
Bottom line
It does run long, and the standard-issue human surrogate character is the least interesting part of the package. Still, the practical effects, production design, and creature imagination are so strong that the film keeps finding new pleasures. If you like your blockbusters handmade and a bit haunted, this is an easy one to revisit.
Top Letterboxd reviews
karen h. (4.5★) · 2117 likes
you: the hellboy movies are great monster movies
me, an intellectual: the hellboy movies are the greatest romances of our time
˗ˏˋ suspirliam ˊˎ˗ (4★) · 1641 likes
hellboy risking it all for some kittens yup we do not deserve him
lucy (3★) · 1213 likes
why does GDT have an obsession with doug jones, eggs, and doug jones eating eggs is the question i find myself asking
adambolt (3★) · 1062 likes
What is it with Del Toro and sexualising fish people
Matt Singer (2.5★) · 938 likes
Surely on my personal Mount Rushmore of movies that I feel like I should love and just ... don’t. It’s got Ron Perlman and that incredible makeup as a very likable Hellboy, terrific Guillermo del Toro direction, and imaginative production design. So what’s the problem?
There’s a few. After Hellboy and his beloved Liz (Selma Blair), the most important character is John Myers (Rupert Evans), the newest member of the BPRD. He's supposed to be the audience surrogate that we… more