My first intro to the Dark Horse character Hellboy was with the 2004 film by Guillermo del Toro. While not the first hell-spawned hero, he stood out from the rest, largely due to Ron Perlman's performance and the world he inhabits. It spawned a sequel as well as two animated features, all solid watches. It's a shame a third for each series was never made because this time we were given the first reboot directed by Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers). Needless to say, it left me and plenty of others begging for the OG Hellboy's continuation.
Plot: Hellboy (David Harbour), a demon turned paranormal agent, begins to question his place in the world and his relationship with his adopted father Professor Broom. This internal conflict escalates when he is tasked with tracking down the Blood Queen (Milla Jovovich), who takes a special interest in him for her diabolical ambitions. Together, Hellboy and his band of supernatural misfits must battle their way through all sorts of things that go bump in the night in order to stop the evil witch.
The film adds more stuff from the comics as well as blood + gore to stand out from previous films, a valiant attempt that feels wasted. When I saw the trailer to this reboot, I could tell that it was damned from the start. In fairness, the action is pretty good, the creature designs and visuals are cool, there are a few clever lines/jokes, and there are decent performances (Harbour is OK, just not Perlman). I daresay the story had a potential, challenging Hellboy's beliefs of whether or not he's just a weapon and if monsters really deserve to die. However, it's one thing to have the ingredients, knowing how to properly mix them is another. There are many pointless elements like the fight with the giants and Hellboy's stone right hand. The attempt at moral ambiguity and existentialism isn't resolved in a satiating way and exposition gets repetitive. Much of the humor is flatter than paper and the constant swearing gets old fast as if a thirteen year old wrote this. The quality of the CGI ranges from adequate to downright awful (like late 90s bad), opposed by practical effects that are more consistent. Did I forget to mention that this film loves flashbacks because, holy crap, there's a lot of them, and their scattered use messes up the pacing. Don't even get me started on the blatant sequel-baiting finale and end credit scenes.
If there's such a thing as purgatory, then it looks more like a pleasant day off compared to this. Not the worst superhero ever made (*cough* Catwoman), but Hellboy 2019 is a mediocre film at best. Back to the drawing board.
Plot: Hellboy (David Harbour), a demon turned paranormal agent, begins to question his place in the world and his relationship with his adopted father Professor Broom. This internal conflict escalates when he is tasked with tracking down the Blood Queen (Milla Jovovich), who takes a special interest in him for her diabolical ambitions. Together, Hellboy and his band of supernatural misfits must battle their way through all sorts of things that go bump in the night in order to stop the evil witch.
The film adds more stuff from the comics as well as blood + gore to stand out from previous films, a valiant attempt that feels wasted. When I saw the trailer to this reboot, I could tell that it was damned from the start. In fairness, the action is pretty good, the creature designs and visuals are cool, there are a few clever lines/jokes, and there are decent performances (Harbour is OK, just not Perlman). I daresay the story had a potential, challenging Hellboy's beliefs of whether or not he's just a weapon and if monsters really deserve to die. However, it's one thing to have the ingredients, knowing how to properly mix them is another. There are many pointless elements like the fight with the giants and Hellboy's stone right hand. The attempt at moral ambiguity and existentialism isn't resolved in a satiating way and exposition gets repetitive. Much of the humor is flatter than paper and the constant swearing gets old fast as if a thirteen year old wrote this. The quality of the CGI ranges from adequate to downright awful (like late 90s bad), opposed by practical effects that are more consistent. Did I forget to mention that this film loves flashbacks because, holy crap, there's a lot of them, and their scattered use messes up the pacing. Don't even get me started on the blatant sequel-baiting finale and end credit scenes.
If there's such a thing as purgatory, then it looks more like a pleasant day off compared to this. Not the worst superhero ever made (*cough* Catwoman), but Hellboy 2019 is a mediocre film at best. Back to the drawing board.