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.
Ron Perlman became the first big-screen iteration of Hellboy in the 2004 film of the same name and then again in its 2008 sequel, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.” With director Guillermo del Toro at the helm for both titles, they each presented majestic visuals with spectacular yet nightmarish creatures that only del Toro’s imagination could deliver. With Perlman and del Toro both cemented in their respective roles, a third film was all but guaranteed but somewhere along the way, the studio decided to scrap that idea and reboot the series altogether. While a third pairing of Perlman and del Toro would have made for an epic sendoff, instead we have David Harbour and director Neil Marshall.
Neil Marshall directed the tense and scary thriller, “The Descent,” as well as “Dog Soldiers,” “Doomsday,” and “Centurion” so he is no stranger to monsters and demons and was actually a good choice for the director’s chair. David Harbour is an impressive actor who has starred in his fair share of movies and TV shows but most will recognize him as Sheriff Jim Hopper in Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”
It is the 5th Century and Nimue, the Blood Queen (Milla Jovovich) is preparing to unleash a deadly plague in England, one that will eradicate every living soul and give rise to her own kind, that of a witch, but before she can do so, she is stopped by King Arthur. Merlin instructs him to kill her using Excalibur and then dismembers her body so each part can be buried separately, with no chance of her full body ever being retrieved. We then flash forward to present day America where Hellboy (David Harbour) is asked by his father, Professor Broom (Ian McShane), to go to England and make his way to the Osiris Club, a secret society dedicated to preserving age-old and confidential knowledge. While there, he is told that three giants have risen from their graves and are terrorizing the English countryside and they ask for his help in killing them. He reluctantly agrees at the behest of his father who was once a member of the club but once they are on the giants’ trails, they charge him, claiming that one of their members, Lady Hatton (Sophie Okonedo), a mystic, had a vision of the future where Hellboy massacred all of mankind by unleashing hell on earth. At a loss for words, he tries to convince them otherwise but they all attack him and he falls into a river. Before they can finish their task, they are all slaughtered by the three roaming giants but Hellboy manages to get back up and slay them before finally passing out.
When he awakens, he finds himself inside an apartment owned by Alice (Sasha Lane), a young woman he helped rescue from the fairies when she was just a baby. Like Nimue, she is a witch who has many abilities. When Hellboy’s father turns up and pairs them both with Major Ben Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim), he informs them that a creature named Gruagach (Stephen Graham) has found most of Nimue’s scattered body parts and is in search of one remaining limb. If he succeeds in finding it, Nimue will become whole again and will be virtually unstoppable as she amasses her armies and unleashes her plague not just in England but around the world. As our trio track down her whereabouts, Hellboy is plagued with troubling visions of a future where he rules the earth with newly regrown horns, killing every man, woman, and child that gets in his way. It soon becomes evident to him that if Nimue is restored to her former glory, she would have the power to make him do whatever she wanted and now the attack by the Osiris Club makes sense. With time running out, our trio finally track Nimue down to the exact spot where King Arthur killed her centuries earlier and they must do everything in their power to stop her from becoming all-powerful.
While the first two Hellboy films were rated PG-13, here, the producers go for a hard R. There is a lot of language and violence throughout and while it was promised that the overall tone of this picture would be more serious and less comical, the final result is somewhat mixed. There is a lot of humor throughout which I didn’t mind, given the subject matter of Hellboy and his human counterparts fighting witches, demons, and monsters, so having a playfulness to offset some of the more gruesome scenes, worked just fine. And while the first half of the movie is punctuated with an abundance of wisecracking quips and jokes, the second half delivers on its promise of more serious fare. Once hell opens up and an assortment of demons and monsters emerge, there is no shortage of full-on carnage as people are ripped in half, impaled, decapitated, and mutilated, lovers of horror will revel in these scenes. David Harbour does a commendable job as our anti-hero who loves to smash everything around him with his superhuman strength, utilizing his Right Hand of Doom. Ian McShane always brings his A-game to whatever part he plays, I just wish there was more of him throughout. In the end, fans of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola’s graphic novels should enjoy themselves as the filmmakers have pretty much remained faithful to his creation with this new iteration. There is a post-credits scene and naturally, the ending is left wide open for a sequel but until then, just sit back and have fun, after all, that’s what Hellboy would do!
Available on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, and On Demand July 23rd
