Mini Film Review – Hellboy (2019)

I have just come back from the Cinema to see the new Hellboy; and it was alright…at best. The opening scene was brilliant. The comedy was laugh out loud funny. The fights were well choreographed and entertaining. The main actors were superb. And the fantasy elements were both mesmerizing, and a little terrifying! There was though an issue with plotting! The film just seemed to constantly twist and turn, and not in the good way. There were some really good moments of drama between characters, but there were also long periods with giant gaping holes in them which in the end just slowed the film down to a plod. David Harbour was good in the title role, Ian McShane is always good value, and Sasha Lane was awesome; it’s just that their appearances felt thin in length (except of course for Hellboy), and screen time was being taken up for other things which in the end really didn’t matter! Some of the plot elements were incredibly noticeable as already being done: I know it’s a reboot, but why so eager to repeat the plot from Del Toro‘s film? There are things to enjoy about this film; don’t get me wrong, I love Heavy Metal Music; and movies that use classic pieces such as Kickstart My Heart and Rock You Like A Hurricane get my vote, but a film needs to have more than that! It sort of reminds me of when I went to see Redcon-1, as this film commits the same crime: it builds up to a finale, which then isn’t the finale, and then spends ‘time’ sort of building up to another finale, but by that time you’ve sort of lost interest as it continues to plod along. The finale is alright, but you just feel out of breath and want to leave it there. There are things to like about this film, but there are other bits which you just wish they would cut out as they are not needed, and those are the things which have more of a lasting effect from the whole experience as they have given you a knocking.