Movie Review: “Hellboy” 2019 plays more like a weak Cliff Notes version of “Hellboy” 2019

Movie Review: “Hellboy” (2019) (R)

“Hellboy” has been reborn by way of this hot mess of a reboot (or whatever you want to call it) from “The Descent” director Neil Marshall. Based on the graphic novels by Mike Mignola, “Hellboy” has already seen the big-screen treatment in the form of “Hellboy” and “Hellboy: The Golden Army.” Both of those wonderfully vibrant films were directed by the great Guillermo del Toro and starred a charismatic Ron Perlman as Big Red. While those adaptations performed modestly at the box office, the powers that be were reluctant to work out a deal that would bring del Toro and Perlman back for a third, much to the dismay of many a fan. So Marshall was brought in to deliver a more adult, R-rated take on the property, and the end result is certainly more miss than hit.

In this new take on “Hellboy,” the title character (played by David Harbour of “Stranger Things” fame) finds himself torn between humankind and the supernatural world from which he sprang. His conflicted life is made even more complicated following the arrival Nimue (Milla Jovovich), aka The Blood Queen, an evil sorceress who has been resurrected following many years of dismembered exile. Eventually, Hellboy is thrust into a mission that finds him battling giants, witches, and individuals who may or may not have hidden agendas, all in an effort to prevent the Blood Queen from unleashing literal hell upon mankind.

I dig Neil Marshall. “The Descent” is a mid-2000s monster-movie masterpiece. This is to say nothing of his underappreciated werewolf gem “Dog Soldiers.” When word broke that del Toro would not be coming back to “Hellboy,” it was upsetting news. But the idea of Marshall stepping into the fold was, at the very least, intriguing. Alas, despite a handful of moments and a beautifully conceived nightmare of a sequence in which Hellboy has it out with a contorting blind witch who just so happens to have a craving for small children, this movie simply never finds its footing. This “Hellboy” moves at a brisk enough pace, and the ’90s horror tone (which evokes everything from Marshall’s own “Dog Soldiers” to “From Dusk Till Dawn”) feels fitting. But in the end, this flick is convoluted — and what’s more is that even at just over two hours, it feels more like a Cliff Notes version of a bigger movie.

The casting of Harbour actually proves to be one of the stronger aspects of the “Hellboy.” No, he doesn’t quite bring the same level of charisma that Perlman brought to the role, but he does a respectable job bringing a goofy, lived-in charm and a surprising amount of vulnerability to the table. He also brings a bit of the scare factor, particularly in the final act. Sadly, though, Harbour doesn’t have much of a roster of supporting characters to back him up, and that’s one of many areas where del Toro’s take on this source material was vastly superior.

Jovoich has some wonderfully campy moments as the Blood Queen, but she’s hardly a fleshed-out character. The great Ian McShane practically phones it in as Hellboy’s human father figure. He’s a terrific actor, but he’s saddled with a pretty uninspired role here, and quite frankly, one gets the sense that the majority of his stuff might have been shot over the course of a weekend. Rounding out an okay supporting cast are Daniel Dae Kim, Sasha Lane, and a moderately amusing Thomas Haden Church.

As expected, “Hellboy” features an onslaught of visual effects, but the balance of practical and CG feels off. Again, the blind-witch sequence is the kind of creepy, delightful, and offbeat nightmare you might expect to find in a del Toro or Terry Gilliam movie. But the big climax of the picture is actually tainted by an overabundance of CG, and it’s a shame, because conceptually there are some interesting things going on. The same could be said of a sequence early on in which Hellboy takes on a squad of giants.

In the end, this “Hellboy” isn’t a total waste, and it’s far from the worst superhero movie you’ve ever seen but it feels oddly truncated and quite frankly, it simply doesn’t measure up to del Toro’s adaptations. Again, Marshall is a major talent, but this one simply never comes together as a cohesive whole. It’s a shame, because there was real potential here.

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