Review: 2019's 'Hellboy' is a bizarre mishmash of directorial decisions

11 years after the previous Hellboy film, we finally have a new one — which, predictably, is a reboot that invites comparisons with the 2004 Hellboy film. Originally conceived of as a sequel to Hellboy: The Golden Army, Hellboy (2019)‘s development eventually saw it turning into a reboot which tries its best to be too many different things and ends up not being quite as original as you’d expect it to be.

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In Hellboy (2019), the half-demon Hellboy (David Harbour) slays monsters and other supernatural threats around the world. However, dark forces are conspiring to revive an ancient sorceress who could destroy the world. When Hellboy stumbles into their plans, he discovers his true lineage and learns that his worst enemy may very well be himself.

The first thing you’ll noticed about Hellboy is that tries to be funny and dramatic and gritty and scary — but not in a good way. It starts by attempting to be a tongue-in-cheek, slightly irreverent take on comic book movies, before suddenly mutating into an overdramatic rendition of the story of a reluctant hero and the sacrifices he has to make for good. Later it twists into a gritty retelling of famous fables, then morphs into a horrific gore fest… and the rest of the film continuously jerks between these vastly different styles. The tonal whiplash keeps you bewildered and guessing for much of the film, because you never quite know how they’re going to approach a scene until it’s too late.

You can almost see the patchwork between the scenes as it’s all stitched together as some Frankenstein’s monster of a movie. It’s not to say that the individual scenes don’t work. The gory fight scenes are fun in their own way, and reminiscent of a God of War game. Some of the more humorous self-aware portions are interesting to watch, but it doesn’t mesh with sudden monologues about parental issues, or dramatic retellings of ancient tales. It can get rather discordant and jarring, and feels like the work of several directors rather than the product of one unifying directorial vision.

That being said, the action scenes are enormously entertaining to watch. Perhaps because the fights are over-the-top (and gritty at the same time, which is a bit of a head-scratcher), or maybe because they’re ultra-violent and somehow cathartic. But the action scenes are one of the highlights of the film, and the practical and digital effects are pretty well done as well.

The film follows a straightforward plot, which is a saving grace in this instance because of the strange grab bag of different styles in the film. The story’s easy to follow and you can see where everything’s headed, but at least the father-son story in the movie is a fairly resonant one. There is one unintended surprise though — one of the film’s purported themes is peace and harmony between living creatures, but the final conclusion to the film completely drops this idea and it’s never mentioned again.

With an enchantress of Arthurian legend, Nimue (Milla Jovovich), as the primary antagonist, you’d expect there to be a King Arthur element to the film. But it feels like it’s very, very artificially shoehorned in, since the film struggles to tie it back to Hellboy in an attempt to keep it character-driven. While it’s woven into the story in a clever way, it’s also an unsuitable story arc to be used in the first movie of a (presumable) franchise, since it splits the focus of Hellboy’s character development.

Hellboy is a bizarre mishmash of different directorial decisions which work in isolation, but not when put together as a film. It’s fairly fun to watch, but you can’t help noticing the seams between the scenes. If you like comic book movies, Hellboy certainly fills the void as we wait for the biggest comic book movie event of the year.

Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Yes.

Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? No.

Score: 3.8/5

Secret ending? Yes, two.

Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)

Hellboy (2019) is a dark fantasy take on a superhero film, based on the Hellboy comics franchise.

The film sees the struggles of a character torn between the worlds of man and demon, even as he fights to save the world from supernatural threats. However, a powerful sorceress threatens to plunge the world into ruin, and Hellboy must come to terms with the conflict within if he is to defeat the enemy without.

Hellboy (2019) is directed by Neil Marshall and written by Andrew Cosby. It stars David Harbour (Hellboy), Milla Jovovich (Nimue), Ian McShane (Trevor Bruttenholm), Sasha Lane (Alice Monaghan), Ben Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim), Thomas Haden Church (Lobster Johnson), Brian Gleeson (Merlin), Stephen Graham (voice of Gruagach), Douglas Tait (physical performance for Gruagach), Emma Tate (voice of Baba Yaga), and Troy James (Baba Yaga). There are two versions of the film screening in Singapore, an M-18 version and a PG-13 version.

Hellboy (2019) opens in cinemas:
– Singapore (11 April, 2019)
– Malaysia (11 April, 2019)
– Philippines (10 April, 2019)

Marcus Goh is a scriptwriter, having written for popular shows like “Lion Mums”, “Crimewatch”, “Code of Law”, “Incredible Tales”, and “Police & Thief”. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find him on social media as Optimarcus and on his site. The views expressed are his own.

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