Hellboy (2019) Review
First defeated by King Arthur in fifth century England, Blood Queen Nimue (Milla Jovovich) is back and it's up to Hellboy (David Harbour) to stop her.
Yes, it's disappointing. Yes, the critics got it right. Yes, Ian McShane seems to be in everything this year!
For what it's worth, Hellboy has a superbly fun opening scene and that's partly why the rest of the film feels so lacklustre. We're transported to fifth century England, with narration from Ian McShane and we see a brief tale of the first rise and fall of Blood Queen Nimue (Milla Jovovich). McShane's tough-talking, dry voiceover and witnessing Nimue being dismembered is enough to pull you in for what should be a great film. However, it's downhill from here...
Stumbling from location to location without time to breathe, Hellboy is a mess. With no clear sense of direction. Narrative threads are horribly forced together in such quick succession that you can't craft a fully formed opinion on what you just witnessed. So like us, you go with 'it's bad'.
There's so much blood and gore but rarely do you feel like it was necessary and it never makes an impact. Making your way through the heavy action sequences feels like a task. A task not worth the price of a cinema ticket.
The most enjoyable sequence of the whole thing involves Hellboy and three giants with a lust for battle. While it adds almost nothing to the main story, it's a lighthearted distraction from an otherwise disappointing cinema experience. Fans of the comic books and Guillermo del Toro alike are also treated to a blast from the past - with a single hand hitting a glass tank right before the credits roll.
By the end, we have questions... none of them regarding the story but the film itself. Was this reboot needed? No. We already know that Hellboy is a dark, gritty-yet-fun character to explore on the big screen, so, why didn't we see much of that? It's easy to feel cheated. Our advice, see it for David Harbour's performance, forget everything else (it won't be difficult).
Rating: 2/5
Dir: Neil Marshall
Prd: Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Mike Richardson, Philip Westgren, Carl Hampe, Matt O'Toole, Les Weldon, Yariv Lerner
Scr: Andrew Cosby
Cast: David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim, Thomas Haden Church, Stephen Graham
Music: Benjamin Wallfisch
Country: United States
Year: 2019
Running time: 121 minutes
Hellboy is in cinemas now.