Quick Take: Hellboy (2019)

Demons Have Demons Too...

This is a film I desperately want to enjoy, one that hits on all the major plot points, and introduces long time fan favorite characters such as [SPOILERS]. Even David Harbor does a fine job capturing the brooding alcoholic nature of the lead character, and communicating Hellboy's real struggles within himself. For the most part, it is a movie that has all the key elements I could hope for from a Hellboy film, but it’s the added fat, that makes this reboot fall short.

Hellboy (2019) has a hard time maintaining a consistent pacing, or establishing a coherent tone. Drastic shifts in cinematography batter the viewer with jarring transitions, that, when paired with  the blasting hard rock, party anthem soundtrack, feel almost bipolar. Before the viewer can fully appreciate a moment of poignancy, a raucous fight erupts to the tune of 80s hair metal. Not only does it become obnoxious, the tracks they chose aren't even good; they're clearly the bottom of the barrel songs that were the easiest to license.

If only the this reboot hadn't undergone drastic reshoots in retaliation to the negative test screening,  we may actually have gotten a cohesive film. From the color pallet, to the writing, to the music and FX, Hellboy suffers from a mish-mash of ideas, but never fully settles into one. It always just feels rushed and messy.

Final Score: 2.5/5 ⭐

While Hellboy is almost a scene for scene adaptation of The Wild Hunt, it fails to ever become fully realized by being more concerned with fitting "hip" tropes into it's 2 hour run-time, then telling a cohesive story. Easter eggs and fan service abound, but unlike it's predecessor, it never embraces an identity, and will be ultimately forgettable.