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[tab title="Movie Review"]

Hellboy

As a huge fan of Guillermo Del Toro’s 2004 original adaptation of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, I was disappointed that he didn’t get to round out his trilogy in this universe. But, as with most things that make a buck these days, it was inevitable that someone would take up the task of rebooting. Some, like the latest incarnation of Spider-man, are worth the endeavor… and then there’s 2019’s Hellboy.

Neil Marshall is no newcomer to film. He has given us the likes of The Descent for one. It took me a total of about three minutes, enduring the most ham-fisted, awfully written prologue I’ve seen in living memory, to sniff out something fishy was going on.

"There is no common sense to the narrative, no sense of pacing, no sense of anything but LOOK AT THE BLOOD and how many times can we say a rude word!"


This version of Big Red eschews traditional linear origin tale, exposing us to (Stranger Things) David Harbour’s incarnation mid-case, and wasting no time in diving us deep into the gore, swear words, and spectacle. Harbour is good; he wisely isn’t attempting to channel Perman’s version, and while making the character his own, manages to imbue familiarity and his sense of comedic timing (just barely) through some truly awful dialogue.

His Hellboy is sent to England, after finishing the case and getting wasted on tequila, where we are for the second time, told through more shitty expository dialogue that an ancient blood queen is coming and will spell the end of man. {googleads}

The script is crammed, and not in a good way, with exposition characters, sub plots, what they seem to think are curveballs/red herrings. There is no common sense to the narrative, no sense of pacing, no sense of anything but LOOK AT THE BLOOD and how many times can we say a rude word! The attempted humor is a lot more miss than hit—actually it’s just shit. The convolution and bad jokes had me praying for the film to be over.

There is no sense of a unified story being told. It’s as if they got skilled people who are just throwing shit at a wall to see what stuck. I would almost bet money the Marshall was usurped in the production. This smacks of a movie run by the suits, people who have no business sitting in an editing room.

The effects are adequate, but show no identity of their own. I’ve already started forgetting the overload of disparate imagery, so they can’t have served their purpose that well. The gore is a snore, to be honest. Had it served a purpose, other than more noise, it may have landed better. Less is sometimes more.

As far as fidelity to the source material, I must plead ignorance, as I’ve not read the Hellboy comics. But as far as hitting the major character points from the 2004 version, I will say they get to most of them. You’ll have to wade through a bog of rubbish to get there, but you’ll get those beats. Hellboy

Missing from this incarnation are Abe Sapien and Liz, so other forgettable characters fill the roles of sidekicks here.

What frustrates me is there are snippets throughout this whole film of possible greatness, but they are always overpowered by the sheer litany of shit editing, writing, acting, and inconsistency that informs each of these elements. If the likes of Harbour and McShane cannot rise above the crap, you know you’re in deep.

I really liked the last trailer. It had me hopeful for a fun time. This was just a test of endurance, sadly. To succinctly sum up in Hellboy’s coveted and wasted R Rating: This is one big fat FUCKING MESS.

2 stars

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Hellboy

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Lionsgate
Available on Blu-ray
- July 23, 2019
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles
: English, English SDH, French SDH, Spanish
Audio:
English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set; Digital copy; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Lionsgate unleashes Hellboy in this spectacular blu-ray + DVD + Digital edition that, once again, shows they don't mess around when it comes to bringing their releases to home video. With eye-popping 1080p, 2.39:1 video, room-shaking Dolby Atmos sound, and a handful of interesting bonus features, Hellboy is back, and he's on fire.

Video
Wow! That's really all one can say when it comes to the visual treat on display in Lionsgate's blu-ray presentation. This is a very colorful film with a palette that runs the gamut across the spectrum with no noticeable hot spots or color bleeding. The bright crimson reds and leathery pinks of Hellboy's skin remain true throughout and look especially gorgeous in some of the film's darker scenes.

In addition, no edge softness or definition crush was noticed anywhere. The scenery and lighting flick from brightly-lit scenes to dark interior shots without losing even a single bit a visual clarity and definition. Even in the most frantic action sequences, edges remain crisp and clear. Pay particularly close attention to the details in the monsters and giants. Every hair, crack, crease, scar and pore is perfectly visible. Well done!

Audio
Lionsgate's Dolby Atmos soundtrack is a rambunctious little bugger with a lot of audio energy coming from everywhere. I'm pretty sure my sub never rested while ambient sound also had equal share of the room from left, right, up, and rear. Also on the disc are English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; and French: Dolby Digital 5.1 options

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

Like the movie or not, Hellboy (2019) fans will be particularly thrilled by the bonus materials included in this release and will recognize this edition as one to add to their video collections.

Tales of the Wild Hunt: Hellboy Reborn

  • The Forever Warriors: Story and Characters (25:35) - Lengthy, in-depth sit down interviews with producers, cast, and crew who get into the details of bringing Hellboy to life from the pages of Mike Mignola's graphic novel. The special treat of this featurette comes from Mignola himself who waxes poetic about this iteration of his original material.
  • Ye Gods and Devils: Creatures and Gear (26:44) - Gets into the creature effects and make-up design involved in the film. Hellboy (2019) was most certainly a make-up artist's wet dream and this feature will particularly please aspiring make-up artists.
  • Rise of the Blood Queen: Production (19:33) - A behind-the-scenes look at many of the film's sets and the production aspects of shooting the film's on-location scenes as well as studio sets.

Deleted Scenes

Previsualization - Storyboard and digital sketches of many of the film's action sequences

  • Giant Fight (02:51)
  • Gru vs. Hellboy (03:32)
  • London Apocalypse (00:54)

Blu-ray Rating:

  Movie 2/5 stars
  Video  5/5 stars
  Audio 5/5 stars
  Extras 4/5 stars

Overall Blu-ray Experience

4/5 stars

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[tab title="Details"]

Hellboy

MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, and language.
Runtime:
120 mins
Director
: Neil Marshall
Writer:
Andrew Cosby
Cast:
David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane
Genre
: Action | Adventure | Fantasy
Tagline:
Save the World for the Hell of It.
Memorable Movie Quote: "I thought we were supposed to be fighting monsters, not working with them."
Theatrical Distributor:
Lionsgate
Official Site: https://www.hellboy.movie/
Release Date:
April 12, 2019
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
No details available.
Synopsis: Based on the graphic novels by Mike Mignola, Hellboy, caught between the worlds of the supernatural and human, battles an ancient sorceress bent on revenge.

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[tab title="Art"]

Hellboy

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