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Hellboy
Starring: David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane
Director: Neil Marshall
Writer: Adam Cosby (screenplay), Mike Mignola (created by)
Music: Benjamin Wallfisch
Cinematography: Lorenzo Senatore
Production Designer: Paul Kirby
Editing: Martin Bernfield
Studio: Summit Entertainment, Dark Horse Entertainment, Millennium Films
Distributor: Lionsgate

I like Neil Marshall’s Hellboy reboot. I enjoyed it overall and I’d like to see more of it, so we get an opportunity to experience this imagining of Mike Mignola’s creation fully fleshed out. I’m stating this plainly now, because what follows will not seem consistent with my appreciation for the production at all. In truth, the movie is a bit of a mess. It’s heartbreaking knowing that Mignola himself has commented on how this iteration is truer to the comics and the character than its predecessors, as it really misses on any emotional level. Except maybe revulsion. And that’s where I think Del Toro crafted the best parts of the previous films. Less viscera, more heart. Fleeting is that necessary compassion this new Hellboy may possess, but that is focus of neither character motivation nor overarching narrative.

The audience will likely notice that shift in tone early. The inclusion of Myers and his induction into the B.P.R.D. in the original film gave the audience a basis for identification. As the human element that helped to ground the stakes, Myers was invaluable. Along with another Del Toro creation, the affable Agent Clay, the audience was afforded personal glimpses of character building interactions that helped to humanize the supernatural protagonist. In the reboot, these experiences are described rather than shown, and the worldbuilding suffers as a result. The only true human interaction we experience with Harbour’s hulking demon is the contentious relationship he has with Professor Broom. Through most of the film he is alienated from humanity in a way that rightly has him express far more compassion toward his supernatural kin.

This chasm is never adequately reconciled, though it is referenced in the most emotionally dense exchange of the film. Here the sparks of a more nuanced narrative are most apparent. Having participated in dozens of operations, Hellboy is intimately acquainted with the B.P.R.D. methodology toward paranormal threats and he questions his place in the equation. He struggles with the ambiguity of being a monster who hunts monsters, and his questions posed to Dr. Broom are hastily discarded. Not by the characters themselves, but by the inexorable march of the clock. And this kind of disingenuous character development is persistent throughout. Origins for the antagonists and ancillary characters on both sides fill in just as much of the “what” as is necessary to drive the action, but produce a startling lack of clarity around the why. Of anything.

As far as the performances go, David Harbour stands out as truly relishing the role. McShane and the other supporting performances are perfectly serviceable, but only because they didn’t seem to have much to work with. In a patchwork of sequences that only serve to drive the story forward, there is hardly room for craft here. Harbour’s Hellboy is only as animated as he is by virtue of his screen time. Jovovich is underwritten and her character wholly under-served in the climax. I will avoid spoilers, but the idea of a near omnipotent sorceress hell bent on the destruction of humanity would benefit greatly from not sacrificing her autonomy in the presence of the great demon. It is established early on that the stakes are skewed, and Hellboy actually has the most to gain from her success. The MOST. Beyond that, the feature is a dark, dismal sprint to mediocrity.

So the question must be asked, why did I like it at all? What redeeming elements could possibly have me advocate on behalf of this release? In short, it’s a balls-to-the-wall frenzy of blood, guts, and mayhem. The movie isn’t layered or complex, because it doesn’t want to be. The production team developed some jaw dropping visuals and inventive character designs. Where it is short on character, there is a fair bit of compensation on the visual side. I just feel like it needed more balance. More affection for the world and more personal interest in its inhabitants. It is obvious that substantial effort is on display in this film, I just don’t believe it went into the right aspects of the filmmaking. The entire affair seems to have too little heart and even less ambition. The writing and editing are inconsistent to the point of distraction. The immersion and suspension of disbelief are constantly broken by questionable production and narrative choices. The film ultimately feels like a very truncated version of a more cohesive project, and maybe those missing minutes are where the love for this world and these characters was squandered. It’s a shame nonetheless, but I’ll hold out hope for a more tangible Director’s Cut. – Christian

Wait! There’s more!

Kaos Blac attended the screening with Christian and had some thoughts regarding the Hellboy reboot!