Contrary to what some may think, the stories and themes in the Hellboy comics are deep and thoughtful. And, in the Del Toro film adaptations—amidst all the action and comedy—these ideas are presented effectively. (See here and here.) But ironically, in the wake of R rated comic book movies like Deadpool and Logan, 2019’s Hellboy tried so hard to be “grown up” it lost the grown-up messages. It is violent and potty-mouthed, but what is it all about? It tries to pull in every idea the comics ever addressed (along with every character introduced in the comics) but fails to say anything about those ideas.
And the film-making is unfortunate as well. Where the Del Toro films embraced a comic book aesthetic, with its artificiality and bright colors, Marshall’s takes a different approach. Maybe it is going for real life plausibility, but the practical effects look cheap and homemade. And the CGI is woefully amateurish and unpolished.
Hopefully there will be yet another reboot of the material, or a return to the earlier interpretation. But, in spite of Harbour’s good acting, 2019’s Hellboy is utterly skippable.
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