Photo Credit: Mark Rogers / Lionsgate MoviesThere aren’t many certainties in life, but this much I know, Guillermo Del Toro and Ron Perlman’s contributions to the Hellboy lore on film will never be forgotten. While plans for completing a trilogy never found their way to light, we did get two solid movies from the award-winning director and legendary character actor. Having said that, you can’t hold that against this installment, which I think is part of the reason the latest Hellboy is getting so much flack. While the film has its negatives (quite a few actually), there are a lot of elements that were very enjoyable. Whether you love it or hate it, this film deserves its chance and should be judged on its on own merits.
That concludes today’s lesson on having your own perspective and not holding a grudge. Now on to the review….
Hellboy dives right in with Big Red on assignment in Tijuana trying to retrieve a field agent who has vanished while on the hunt for vampires. Within minutes, Hellboy (David Harbour) is thrust into a wrestling ring with a luchadore—which happens to be the missing agent now turned full on vamp. It’s here where you get the sense that the film is swinging for the fences, taking full advantage of its R rating with blood, guts and language. All of which mostly land in a satisfying way by Director Neil Marshall of The Descent and more recently Game of Thrones fame puts in a valiant effort with some exciting sequences throughout along with impressive creatures our hero has to ultimately face off with.
After his trip to Mexico, we get right into the crux of the story. Hellboy learns that one of five hidden boxes has been stolen from a temple containing some of the remains of Nimue The Blood Queen (Milla Jovovich). Nimue was an evil Sorceress back in 517 A.D. with a plan to release a plague. Ultimately, she was stopped by King Arthur and his Excalibur. He not only killed her, but separated her body, hid the remains in chests and scattered them across the lands. Now, Hellboy is off to London, racing the clock trying to prevent her return and of course ending a civilization of beings that hate and fear the semi-horned detective anyway.
Harbour steps into the role with grandeur, bringing everything he’s got to the table, but he catches some bad breaks due to the supporting cast. There’s no real camaraderie with his team Alice (Sasha Lane) and Major Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim)—both of whom possess special gifts to battle the paranormal. Instead, we get scenes with a strong performance by Harbour acting opposite Lane and Daimio’s slew of weirdly timed quips, terrible jokes, or just bizarre comments. And as great as Ian McShane is, his turn here as Hellboy’s adoptive father is just him doing his best with dull and uninspired writing attempting to show the bond between father and son that doesn’t manifest outside of one scene in particular. The worst of the performances, though, comes from Jovovich as The Blood Queen. Oof. It’s a doozy, but nothing uncommon from the Resident Evil vet. Ultimately, her character is boring and brings nothing new and Jovovich does nothing to make her time worthwhile.
The film does present some nice sequences including Giants, a walking haunted house, and a WWII flashback introducing a character from the Hellboy comics: Lobster Johnson, who only appears for a few short minutes but makes a lasting impression. Johnson is played shockingly by underrated actor Thomas Hayden Church (Sideways, Divorce). All of this makes the film move faster than you think.
As directed by Marshall, Hellboy has strong moments with some stirring creature designs and sequences as well as an impressive performance by Harbour. Unfortunately, with a very weak villain and supporting cast, the film falls short of its potential. Fans will be happy to know that the film clearly sets up in hopes of sequel with some teasing cliffhangers and an post-credits sequence which I feel would make the sophomore outing a great entry into the franchise. Don’t knock it until you try it and I say go see Hellboy.
Hellboy is now playing in theaters nationwide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt5g5_1cKVk
