The 2004 movie Hellboy was directed and adapted for film by Guillermo del Toro (Blade II). The movie is based upon the comic book by Mike Mignola. The story is about a government funded program that uses a half-demon, half-man in the war against terror. As an overall film, I found the movie to be decent, but slow going at times. For more thoughts and opinions about Hellboy, refer to DVD Talk's reviews of the movie: DVD special edition, DVD director's cut, and Blu-Ray. Also note that this review covers the director's cut.

Hellboy begins with a short prologue set in the 1940s, during World War II. A young professor named Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt) leads a small unit of United States soldiers to stop a group of Nazis from channeling the very depths of hell. The Nazis have created a device that will open a portal into hell and unleash savage, vicious demons upon mankind. Obviously, such a thing would be bad. The efforts of the soldiers are not in vain, as they are able to stop the bad guys from fully opening the gate. Unfortunately, the gate opened for a short period. The good guys fear that something got through... and something did.

In the aftermath of the battle with the Nazis, the U.S. soldiers uncover a gruesome looking creature that is half-demon, half-man. Bruttenholm takes the demon child into his care and names him Hellboy (Ron Pearlman). Moving ahead into the present, the U.S. Government has employed Hellboy's talents to battle the paranormal -- since the Nazi-demonic ceremony, odd creatures having been appearing and wrecking havoc. Behind the scenes, the Federal Bureau of Investigation manages a program called the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. It is a highly covert division under the guise of a waste management company.

Joining Hellboy are Abe Sapien (played by Doug Jones, voiceover by David Hyde Pierce), a half-fish, half-man with intense psychic ability, and Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), a firestarter and Hellboy's love interest. At their side is the FBI, which includes liaison agents Clay (Corey Johnson) and John Myers (Rupert Evans). Myers is a recent graduate of the FBI academy and newly assigned to be Hellboy's new liaison. He is green and not quite sure how to handle his new job.

Just as Myers is getting acquainted with Hellboy and his role as the FBI liaison, three dark figures return from the past. They are Grigori Rasputin (Karle Roden), Ilsa Haupstein (Biddy Hodson), and Karl Rupert Kroenen (Ladislav Beran). Rasputin was the man responsible for the demonic ceremony that brought Hellboy into the human world. His original intent was to use Hellboy to unleash the ancient demonic beings known as Ogdru Jahad. Ilsa is a former Nazi officer; she has pledged her undying loyalty to Rasputin's cause. Kroenen is another Nazi officer; he is a deadly assassin with a surgical addiction who can't die by normal means. He is a real gruesome looking fellah. They start a chain of events that lead to the freeing of the ultimate evil, which Hellboy and company are determined to stop.

As the movie progresses, the general premise touches upon several plotlines (beyond the overarching storyline about good versus evil). First, Myers adapts to FBI life and develops a rocky relationship with Hellboy. Second, Hellboy deals with his personal anguish. He is in love with Liz and recklessly tries to reconnect with her. Third, Liz tries to find herself. While she has been a part of Hellboy's paranormal strike team, she is currently in a psycho-ward trying to learn to control and understand her special talent. She wants to live a normal life. Fourth, FBI bureaucrat Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) wants to shut down the program. Hellboy's reckless behavior and gruff attitude does not help the situation.

As an overall movie, I thought Hellboy had its moments, but at the same time it moved a little too slow for my tastes. What I liked about the movie were the action sequences and the Hellboy character. Hellboy's action sequences delivered some kick ass content with solid fisticuffs and gunfights. Both Hellboy and Kroenen brought a lot of "punches" to the screen. The Hellboy character was also a real strength. In addition to the action that the character brought to the movie, there was a fine subtext of dark comedy. His gruff demeanor as an unlikely hero made for a fun mood. His relationship with adopted father Bruttenholm was also a nice characteristic.

What I did not really care for were the in-between moments. For instances, the love story is slow-going and I thought it put the movie's tone at the wrong. At the same time, it is a key development because the love and the compassion humanize Hellboy. This is important because he is supposed to be an agent of evil. Despite, I think the movie would have been stronger with less focus on the dramatic aspects.

In the end, Hellboy is a decent movie that has some strong elements, such as the Hellboy character and the action sequences. While I was not really in love with it, I did not find the experience a waste of time either. The movie has its moments and will make for a solid rental.

The Blu-ray Disc

Video
The video is given in a high definition format of 1.85:1 ratio widescreen color with a 1920x1080p resolution. The picture quality is very impressive. The video transfer looks absolutely superb, providing a near-flawless visual experience. The majority of the scenes are very dark and there is no noticeable grain. With standard-definition videos, visual defects are more noticeable during darker scenes. Hellboy, however, looks great during its darker scenes. The scenes with bright colors also look good.

Audio
The audio is given in multiple formats. There are two uncompressed PCM 5.1 tracks in English and German. There are also 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound tracks in English, French, and German. The sound quality is topnotch. Dialogue comes off very easy to hear, with dynamic sound effects and music. The sound effects take full advantage of the surround sound setup and help set the proper tone for the film. There are also subtitles in English, French, Arabic, Czech, Dutch, German, Greek, Croatian, Bulgarian, Korean, Polish, Turkish, Romanian, Hungarian, English SDH, and Slovene.

Extras
The movie is supplemented with several extras, including an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a documentary, and featurettes. The special features are not provided in high-definition format, and are similar to those included on the standard-definition releases. Here is the breakdown of the extras:

• Audio Commentary: is included for the movie. Director Guillermo del Toro
• Hellboy: Seeds of Creation (2:23:08): is a long running documentary about the making of the movie. It is divided into six parts, which can be watched in a sequence of individually. Part 1 begins with an introduction and overview to the movie with key players responsible for its production. Part 2 begins with day 1 and follows select developments in the beginning of the film. Part 3 begins with day 35 during the filming at the Abbey Ruins and continues with special effects make-up/costume design with Abe Sapien. Part 4 begins with day 75 and focuses on the Abandoned Shower Room scene, where Hellboy led a task force into the abandoned subway system and Abe went swimming. Part 5 begins with day 109 and looks at the underground tunnel cavern scene. Part 6 picks up five months after the end of principal photography. It provides a behind-the-scenes look at adding in music, voiceovers, and editing. For those who enjoyed the movie, this comprehensive documentary provides a very good and in-depth look at how the various special effects and make-up were put together.
• Deleted Scenes: are included with optional commentary by director Guillermo del Toro. The scenes include "Breaking the Ice Wall" (0:30), Kroenen breaks down an ice wall, "Cab Ride" (1:24), Liz and Myers bond during the cab ride to the bureau, and "Russian Warehouse" (2:33), Rasputin and Isla meet the Russian general at the Topockba Military Base.
• Visual Effects How-To's:
  • Bellamie Hospital / B.P.R.D. Lift Miniatures (5:49): stars visual effects supervisor Ed Irastorza. He talks about the team hired to do the special effects for Bellamie Hospital scene. The team responsible is the Warren family, which is made up of multiple generations of visual effects experts. They discuss the miniatures and models used to set up the scene.
  • Computer Generated Sets / Behemoth (4:01): features visual effects supervisor Ed Irastorza. He talks about the special challenge of developing the Behemoth, which was digital. It continues with others talking about the process and challenges of making the computer-generated Behemoth life-like.
  • Liz's Fire (2:54): begins with writer/director Guillermo del Toro giving a brief background to Liz Sherman. It continues with various crew members talking about the complexity of generating fire from Liz's hands.
• Make-up And Lighting Tests (7:21): is a sequence of different lighting tests. The purpose was to get the right look and feel between lighting and make-up. Guillermo del Toro provides commentary for the entire sequence; he talks about the process.
• A Quick Guide To Understanding Comics (12:19): is a featurette with Scott McCloud. He talks about the history of comics and its development/effect in past and present media.

Final Thoughts
Hellboy is a sci-fi fantasy movie based upon the comic book of the same name. The movie follows a half-demon, half-human turned government-sponsored agent in a massive battle between good and evil. As an overall, it fairs pretty well with a decent plotline, a strong leading character, and enticing action sequences. In the end, I thought Hellboy was a good watch, albeit it had a few too many dry spots and could have eased up a tad on the dramatic portions. Nevertheless, it should make for a solid rental. In addition, this Blu-ray release is technical impressive with great visuals and sound.