Hellboy

It reviews better than it plays — admired more than it is enjoyed.

• “Del Toro moves his story along with unrelenting energy and wit while introducing the opposing parties with admirable efficiency.”

  Richard Harrington, Washington Post · 90

• “A perfect fit in the category of instant classic, and, not incidentally, fits the profile of super-profitability. Bursting the bonds of its genre, Hellboy fills the screen with gorgeous imagery, vertiginous action and a surprising depth of feeling.”

  Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal · 90

• “Surprisingly smart, graphically faithful live-action adaptation of the Mike Mignola series”

  Ann Hornaday, Washington Post · 90

• “One of the most poetic comic-book adaptations to come along in years, yet it never loses its sense of lightness and fun -- del Toro gives it just enough screwball nuttiness to keep it from bogging down.”

  Stephanie Zacharek, Salon · 90

• “Guillermo del Toro is in a class with Peter Jackson as a fan-boy who gets it--a brilliant filmmaker who has a kind of metabolic connection to horror and sci-fi that helps him transform secondhand genre material into something deep and nourishing. Del Toro reaches into himself and finds the Wagnerian grandeur in schlock.”

  David Edelstein, Slate · 90