Hellboy

The look and feel of the film are the high points for me. I enjoyed the production values, and Ron Perlman is witty as hell, boy.

Otherwise, its story is oddly constructed and leaves out too many connecting points to make it a satisfying movie-viewing experience because it borders on a seductive incoherence (meaning it fun to watch, but you're not quite getting enough information to enjoy what's at stake by the time you get to the end of the film). The moral of the story was ham-fisted at the end (del Toro didn't have enough faith to trust that the audience would get it, I suppose).

The bad guys are never given much in terms of credible reason to exist, except to give Hellboy something to contend with for most of the film. Most of the second act is rendered useless by the time the 3rd act is over, so that was frustating.

I really wanted to like this film (being a life-long comic book fan), but came away feeling a bit let down given the interesting world that was put on celluloid, otherwise.

I'd mildly recommend it for comic fans, and give it a neutral to other folks.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.