: In a remote, rain-soaked location in Scotland, a group of Nazis are attempting to change the tide of World War II and in the process doom the world. Through the evil working of Grigory Rasputin (Karel Roden), a portal to a dimension of darkness and evil has been opened in order to allow the dark forces that lurk within to walk the earth unleashing destruction and chaos.

This plan is thwarted thanks to the intervention of American troops under the guidance of Professor Bruttenholm (John Hurt), a specialist in the paranormal who knows the menace that the Nazis are attempting to summon.

While the Nazis are defeated in their attempt, the portal was open long enough for something to pass through, in this case, a small creature that the soldiers name Hellboy. The film moves forward to the modern day where Hellboy (Ron Perlman) has become the stuff of urban legend and tabloid fodder. Working for an agency based on paranormal defense, Hellboy is dispatched to combat all manner of supernatural foes whenever they should arise. Assisting Hellboy is a mutant named Abe Sapien (Doug Jones & David Hyde Pierce), who is able to decipher all manner of texts and is a great analytical for the organization.

A series of events soon reveal that Rasputin has returned and is preparing to once again open the portal and destroy earth. In a race against time to save the day, Hellboy, Abe Sapien and pyrokinetic Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), are soon forced to battle for their very survival as well as for the future of the Earth as well.

Sadly for viewers, there is not much to “Hellboy” after the promising opening to the film. There are fleeting moments of promise such as an early mission for Hellboy and a very good Nazi assassin who comes complete with a gasmask visage and a deadly array of bladed weapons. Sadly the few good moments come early in the film and viewers are left with long spans with little to fill the time aside from Hellboy bemoaning his inability to confess his affections for Liz. When the finale of the film arrives, it is a very matter of fact fashion that is completely void of any suspense as there was no grand lead up or event, it just happened.

As under-whelming as the finale was, the FX in the film left a lot to be desired. The CGI creatures were very obvious and they stood out for all of the wrong reasons. I am not expecting CGI demons to be lifelike but I do not think it is too much to expect them not to look like pixilated cartoons. Perlman does his best to infuse some humor into the role, but the script and direction by Guillermo del Torro is so stagnate that many of the jokes and puns fall painfully flat. More than a few people in the press screening uttered many of the same complaints upon the films completion leaving me to conclude that “Hellboy” is at best a renter and for the average movie viewer, something that should be banished to another dimension.

2 stars out of 5

gareth@nwlink.com

Rating Scale: 1 Star: Dismal Little to no Entertainment.

2 Stars: Fair Has issues, but does have its moments.

3 Stars: Good Entertaining with some nice moments.

4 Stars: Very Good Solid, well made, and entertaining.

5 Stars: Outstanding Very entertaining, well made, or a classic in the genre.

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