Hellboy (2019)
Rising near the top of the list of reboots that few people have been clamoring for is the 2019 incarnation of iconic half-demon Hellboy, without the formidable presence of Ron Perlman or the stylishly playful direction of Guillermo del Toro to buoy it. Filling in Hellboy’s boots is David Harbour, another fine actor, but one that doesn’t quite command the same screen presence, despite, towering at 6’3″ in height, is a couple of inches taller than Ron Perlman’s seemingly more imposing frame. In place of del Toro, whose wild ideas for his proposed third entry were nixed as too financially and conceptually ambitious, Neil Marshall, who showed early promise in his career thanks to his intense and gory horror flicks like Dog Soldiers and The Descent, but who hasn’t quite had that kind of breakthrough hit that would allow him to cross over from independent darling to mainstream success. Unfortunately for Marshall, while his direction is energetic and visually impressive, he’ll have to wait a bit longer for that smash that will put him on the radar for most filmgoers.
In this film, we already have the scarlet-bodied Hellboy established as part of the B.P.R.D. (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense), working for his adoptive father, Professor Trevor “Broom” Bruttenholm, in corraling and eradicating malevolent supernatural menaces wherever they may arise around the world. Hellboy reunites with Alice Monaghan, a powerful medium, and a cat-beast man named Major Ben Daimio, in order to prevent the Blood Queen from Arthurian times named Nimue from taking a mate and growing powerful enough to finally take over the world and eliminate the human presence upon it once and for all.
The decision to reboot the entire franchise seems unnecessary. This could easily have been a B.P.R.D. film offshoot from the original work, even without the original talent from the del Toro saga, and fans might have been more accepting. Not that there may have been enough fans to justify plunking down big money for another effort, as the prior two entries made a respectable but far from confident $260 million combined worldwide, a good percentage of that coming from del Toro’s film-making cred. Nevertheless, by restarting a franchise that hadn’t actually petered out in quality until the fans lost interest, it suffers from the comparisons to the original work, especially as there exist more fans of the film Hellboy than the Mignola comic (which was respected but never a top seller). Those who watch 2019’s Hellboy are primarily those who they first were introduced to fifteen years prior. Most fans can accept a new director and actor to lead the film if they have grown to like the characters and momentum of the story, but with great characters comes great responsibility. By going back to square one with a talented but less visionary director, as well as a talented but less fitting actor for the role, it’s an endeavor that feels destined to be a disappointment to those who might care.
Problems with Hellboy start with its script, credited to Andrew Cosby (though studio meddling has been reported to be in play), who is lifting most elements from Mike Mignola’s comic book series, most specifically, parts of the 2009 series, “Hellboy: The Wild Hunt”, and the 2010 one-shot, “Hellboy in Mexico”, among others. Much of this material was released in print after Hellboy II, offering the makers of 2019’s Hellboy virgin narratives to explore. Unlike del Toro’s take, this iteration of Hellboy doesn’t get us on board with any of the characters before taking off on their wild and eerie adventure, leaving us little to do but marvel at the visual effects and fine makeup work. We’re still left wondering why we should truly care about any of what we’re seeing, or where any of them are going to by the end. A jukebox of rock tunes accompanies Hellboy as he kicks into battle mode, which does feel brisk and potentially invigorating if only we grew to care about him at any point, and if we really cared about what happens at the end of that battle. We feel akin to Hellboy during a poignant scene in which he questions what good they are all doing if the battle against evil is neverending, asking, “And then what?” for every positive outcome. That’s precisely how the film plays: a collection of conflicts to resolve for no particular purpose, other than to, perhaps, do it all over again.
The makers of the film try to differentiate this outing from the prior two by going for an R rating. The language is pottier and the gore much, much more graphic. It’s a curious choice, given that few, if any, fans ever looked at Mignola’s comic book or del Toro’s films and thought, “Hmmm, this would be so much better if Hellboy threw in more F-bombs or we could see random people exploded with CG blood and viscera while torn in two by giant, monstrous creatures.” It can be moderately comical at times, but it’s also ultimately meaningless, chopping out the juvenile audience for this silly, jokey property that adults have likely seen too many properties just like it to find refreshing or absorbing. As this film will likely play better to those who aren’t familiar with the two prior efforts, it seems utterly futile to make a movie only for those who are old enough to remember and have seen them multiple times. Despite its more adult take, the property that this version of Hellboy is most reminiscent of is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, especially in the snarky banter and very cartoony monster-villains for the antihero to grapple against.
While the pacing is fine, the repartee potent, and the music-video-worthy action kinetic, Hellboy feels like a film made by those who care more about the mechanics than the substance of what they’re making. Contrast this to the uber-fanboy Guillermo del Toro, who is a passionate fan of Mignola’s work, and you will likely easily spot what’s missing from this Neil Marshall reboot: inspiration and personal vision. It’s OK to go back to the source material for the blueprint on how to make the movie palatable to the pre-existing fan-base, but that’s Mignola’s inspiration and personal vision. Just lifting it from comic panel to screen doesn’t carry those facets over, any more than another artists interpretation of the Mona Lisa would inspire as much awe or respect as Da Vinci’s original work. The creature designs and make-up work are certainly worthy of a major motion picture effort, but a movie isn’t exciting if you just dress everyone up and give them nowhere to go.
Qwipster’s rating: C
MPAA Rated: R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, and language
Running time: 120 min.
Cast: David Harbour, Ian McShane, Milla Jovovich, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim, Penelope Mitchell, Thomas Haden Church
Director: Neil Marshall
Screenplay: Andrew Cosby (based on the comic book by Mike Mignola)