Zo's Reviews: Hellboy (2019)



HELLBOY (2019) was directed by Neil Marshall and stars David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane and Daniel Dae Kim, and has a pretty simple plot... Evil witch (Milla Jovovich) wants revenge against mankind for something that happened to her way way back when (think King Arthur times) and there's a prophecy (as expected) where Hellboy joins forces with her and they bring about the end of the world...yeah, simple. Now it's up to Hellboy to make a choice: defend mankind as he has been for years, or join the evil witch.

The bad? This movie. The entire movie is a giant clusterf*ck of insanity and campy cheese. But that's besides the point...there are some weird jump cuts that really don't make sense, and you've got these strange edits in the film that made me go "really...? But how'd they get to this point...?" Because of this strange editing style, the pacing feels rushed. It feels like this movie should've taken a darker, slower pace (like Del Toro's previous two films) and it would've felt more coherent.

As for the good...The entire movie is a giant clusterf*ck of insanity, campy cheese, vulgarity, violence, mayhem, blood, gore, and some of the most disturbing demons from hell CGI I've ever seen. This ain't Del Toro's Hellboy, and that's a good thing. Milla Jovovich has never looked so incredible before. David Harbour is a competent Hellboy, who cracks wise, cracks often, and takes a ton of punishment in the process. He's funny, he's badass, and doesn't take it too seriously. There were also moments where you could actually see he was struggling between his upbringing, and his destiny, which gave the character a certain depth. Daniel Dae Kim is great as always, and I'm not saying this because I'm a huge fan of his characters from Lost or Hawaii Five-O...okay maybe I am a little biased there. The CGI is so-so throughout, but there are some sequences that truly are eye-candy for the viewer. The action is violent, bloody, and intense, and that's something we haven't seen in a movie since...well, since last year's The Predator, which was a mess of a film....but, like Hellboy, is just fun.

And that's where this movie shows it's strengths: it's fun, it's made for fun, and the cast and crew are definitely having fucking fun in this movie. It's made to just entertain, and that's it. It's not meant to break barriers, to become significant, it's meant to sit there, watch the insanity unfold, and enjoy a bowl of popcorn (or two, depending on the theater or if you're at home). I definitely had fun watching it, along with the almost sold out crowd I saw it with, and I think you will too. Go check it out, it's in theaters now.

FINAL SCORE: 7/10

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