Hellboy

Outside Marvel and DC Comics, separate comic book publishers focus on different types of superheroes in bizarre circumstances. In this case, comics artist Mike Mignola created Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics in 1993 and his supernatural adventures wouldn't reach the big screen until director Guillermo Del Toro and actor Ron Perlman brought on the film adaptations in 2004 and 2008. While these films were good and entertaining, they were never big audience hits (in terms box office) when they were released and were distributed by different studios. After disagreements over what was supposed to be a third film, Del Toro left and it became this new reboot, Hellboy, which was directed by Neil Marshall and written by Andrew Cosby & Mike Mignolia. The marketing wasn't inspiring much confidence and when it was released, the film was bashed by critics. I entered the auditorium ready to give it a chance having seen both of the Del Toro movies and left it surprised that I enjoyed it more than I thought I would but recognizing the big problems holding it back.

Production problems: It's no secret that there have been behind the scene troubles plaguing this reboot and the reports about it help build what happened here. Plenty of stories about disagreements between the Neil Marshall, the producers, and David Harbour regarding details have been reported. Apparently the director turned in his cut of the movie but the numerous producers took control and over-edited it into a weird kind of mess. However, regardless of what's true and false, it's clear what kind of damage affected the final version to the point where the director didn't attend the red carpet opening of it.

What's it about? The story follows the title protagonist as he must find a way to stop an ancient witch from bringing about the apocalypse. The best way to describe the approach to this would be a fun but dumb 1980s feature that's attempting to have a bloody good time. There are enjoyable chunks of that certainly work with aspects of the dialog that works and an intriguing view on the world building. The potential of this type of universe is on display at times where the curiosity regarding the beings that dwell within are there.

However, the tone is very inconsistent as the series of scenes that were patched together are fighting between trying to have some type of depth, dark violent material, cramming in jokes could have been cut out, etc. With so much exposition that the characters are dealing with, it becomes an annoying task on what's more important and what's useless filler. The source material the film is adapting had the potential to become something unique that it was squandered by the result of the scripts ambition. The biggest area that this is most present is the second half of the movie as these problems are magnified to the point where the climax is bizarre and clunky (though the first half isn't as rough).

How's the violence? The bloody nature of the action is pretty exaggerated with how much blood and gore its injecting. The battles that take place are quite entertaining in the first half such as Hellboy taking on 3 giants and a vampire creature where the physical weight can be pretty fun to watch. However, there are moments where that R rating is being exploited to the point where the disgusting aspects are tough to watch. The action is a mixed bag with some being cool in execution and others just feeling like throwaway filler.

How's David Harbour as Hellboy? Given how problematic the script is, the talented David does a good job with the material he's dealing with. The personality he's channeling helps to bring some life to the world but that has its limits considering how patched up the scenes are. Let's get this out of the way: he's not as strong as Ron Perlman in terms of their respective portrayals of the character and considering how the screenplays were treated with both men, it's easy to see why. For a role that could have completely sunk the film, David is a highlight helping out the quality (despite the aforementioned issues).

How's everyone else? As for the other actors, the standouts that offer something to this weird B-movie are Vivian Nimue (Milla Jovovich) and Alice Monaghan (Sasha Lane). The former is having fun hamming it up for a lame villain role where she's over-the-top in the acting to try and salvage something out of it (plus it helps not having her husband direct her for once). The latter is decent enough for her minor role that feels a little bit lively at times. A dishonorable mention goes to Ben Daimio (Daniel Day Kim) for primarily being an unnecessary forgettable minor character whose removal wouldn't affect the story and for wasting the actor.

Overall Consensus: Hellboy is a B-movie suffering from production nightmares resulting in an inconsistent tone, clunky storytelling, and lack of identity, but has some good acting, some cool action, and interesting visuals of its potential. ⭑⭑1/4💻 Runtime: 2 hours 1 minutes R

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You have read the comics or have seen the 2 Del Toro films and want to see how the reboot compares to them with your taste. You aren't sensitive to excessive blood and gore.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You have read the comics or have seen the 2 Del Toro films and don't want to see how the reboot compares to them with your taste. You are sensitive to excessive blood and gore. You hate modern reboots on principle.