HELLBOY: A Violent, Trashy Reboot Devoid Of Charm

Sequels, prequels, reboots, sequel-reboots, prequel-sequels – if there’s anything that people know about Hollywood, it’s that they like to keep tried-and-true franchises alive. This is especially true in the superhero genre; just look at this month alone for an example – including the huge success of DC’s latest Shazam and the already breaking records Avengers: Endgame.

Adding to this stream is Hellboy, Neil Marshall’s reboot of the franchise first popularized by Guillermo del Toro. This new R-rated film is almost the polar opposite of Del Toro‘s version: it’s violent, loud, crude, nasty, and vulgar. And, as another key difference, they forgot to make it fun as well.

Reboot with an “R”

Hellboy begins first with an ancient legend concerning an evil woman named Nimue (delightfully played by Milla Jovovich). After delving into her fate, in which she is chopped up into tiny pieces and hidden away, it then fast-forwards to the present day, where Hellboy (David Harbour) is already a major agent in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Though he doesn’t quite know his origins yet, he harbors resentment towards his adopted father Trevor (Ian McShane), who he believes has used him all his life simply to make him into a weapon.

Soon they learn of the rise of Nimue, whose plan is to bring about the end of the world. Along with spirit talker Alice Monaghan (Sasha Lane) and the less-than-inviting Ben Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim), the team set off to stop her at whatever cost, encountering multiple obstacles and additional bad guys along the way.

The first thing to know about Hellboy going in, and something that the film will be sure to remind you of at every turn, is that this is not for kids. And by that I mean, it is a hard R-rating. Characters swear and the humor is occasionally crude, but where this film really pushes its limits is through violence. When characters are killed, they are killed in brutal fashion; you can often see their entrails and guts, in addition to gushing blood, loud, cracking bones, and more. Basically, if you can imagine it, this film will do it. And the result, far from being the gory, over-the-top experience you would hope it to be, is instead just flat-out gross.

It’s not that an R-rated superhero film is an impossible task; we’ve seen it multiple times before in the Marvel X-Men franchise, such as both Deadpool films and in the conclusion to the Wolverine saga, Logan. Yet, Hellboy lacks both aspects that make those films work: it has neither the irreverent, self-aware humor of Deadpool nor the grittiness of Logan. Instead, with fountains of spewing CGI blood, you’re far more likely to just be turned off from the violence happening onscreen then be entertained by it. As a result, since the film is clearly not for kids, yet also not particularly fun for adults, it ends up being for nobody in particular.

To be fair, there are a few set-pieces within Hellboy that show the potential the film could’ve had. By far the best is the ending scene, which has Hellboy, Alice, and Ben in full attack mode on a horde of bad guys, all while Mötley Crüe’s “Kickstart My Heart” is amped up in the background. It’s a fun onslaught of violence that, if used more prominently throughout the film, could’ve come closer to saving it. Instead, what we’re left with is giant monsters eviscerating innocent people in brutal, disgusting ways; and I’m not sure who really needed to see that.

Underdeveloped, Formulaic Plot and Characters

Even if the action scenes were improved, though, the film also needed much more fine-tuning in the writing department. The plot, though thankfully not a carbon copy of the original film, still feels very reminiscent of it at the same time. It shouldn’t be unexpected that the film would somehow deal with the conflicted identity of Hellboy, since he is a devil with a human upbringing, yet here it leads to almost the exact same arc as del Toro‘s film, just with some King Arthur folklore instead of dealing with the Nazis.

What’s also lacking here, though, are any empathetic qualities for Hellboy himself. Once again, he didn’t need to be the same version of the character as the one played by Ron Perlman, but what del Toro and Perlman manage to achieve with that character is barely attempted here. Del Toro made Hellboy flawed but likable; here, on the other hand, Neil Marshall‘s version of the character is an insensitive, angry brute (it also doesn’t help that David Harbour tends to shout most of his lines). Even any attempts at humor from the character fall flat, leaving him with little to no personality. So while Harbour is still unrecognizable behind layers of red makeup and prosthetics, his character doesn’t quite light up the screen in the same manner as Perlman.

What’s also missing here is a supporting cast of developed characters alongside Hellboy. Sorely missing here is a standout character like the bookish, fish-creature Abe Sapien from the original, or a strong female character that could ground Hellboy, such as Liz in those films. What comes closest is Sasha Lane‘s Alice, though even here she doesn’t get nearly enough screen time.

Perhaps most notably missing is also the lack of a familial connection between Hellboy and his adopted father, which is unfortunate given that this relationship is meant to be the backbone of the story. Ian McShane is a fine pick in the role originally played by the late John Hurt, yet here he’s unfortunately absent for much of the film’s events. As a result, Hellboy is left to his own faculties, hating the world to the extent that we don’t really care much about his eventual character redemption.

Conclusion: Hellboy

To conclude, Hellboy is an unfortunate example of how a R-rated superhero film could go wrong. It’s violent, but to a fault, lacking humor, substance, or a compelling story to go along with it. As a result, just like the pieces of the evil Queen Nimue, this is a film that really should’ve stayed buried.

What are your thoughts on the new Hellboy? Are you a fan of the recent trend of R-rated superhero films? Let us know in the comments below!

Hellboy was released in the U.S. and the UK on April 12, 2019. For all international release dates, click here.