nivek
As Above So Below
Hellboy (2004) vs. Hellboy (2019)
“Hellboy” (2004) was successful enough to spawn a sequel. “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (2008) was a visual feast that was written like a not-terribly-good bedtime story for a not-terribly-bright child and just about ended the general public’s interest in seeing any more of this franchise. But since Hollywood is as much necromancy as filmmaking, now we’ve got “Hellboy” (2019).
This version starts out as a muddled mess and gets worse from there. Technically, “Hellboy” (2019) is a reboot. They’re pretending the first two films didn’t exist, so Liz is gone as a love interest and Professor Broom is still alive after getting killing in the first one. Yet there are some undeniably sequel-like elements to it. “Hellboy” (2019) projects an assumption of familiarity, as though the audience already knows everything about the character and is ready for more, and does a very poor job of establishing the rules and status quo of its fictional world. Does the general public know magic and monsters are real or not? Is Hellboy widely known or not? The film never makes up its mind about those sort of things or even appears to understand that it needs to.
“Hellboy” (2019) is also a badly written film in a nakedly objective way. It recycles the same end of the world plot as the first, but substitutes an ancient witch and some Arthurian blather in place of Lovecraftian ripoffs. There’s at least four flashbacks, which is three more than any movie should really have. It essentially copies the climax of the 2004 movie but in the most anti-climactic way possible. Every character can be completely described in a single sentence and has all the depth of a sheet of aluminum foil. The audience is repeatedly battered with obtrusive backstory and a major plot point is both brought up and then abandoned in the span of about 15 minutes.
At least when they rebooted Spider-Man, they didn't immediately use the frickin' Green Goblin again.
What’s most astonishing is how poor the special effects are in “Hellboy” (2019). David Harbour looks like somebody cosplaying Hellboy at a comic convention. Most of the monsters look like they were lifted from “Lord of the Rings” footage that del Toro left in a drawer and forgot about. And however many fans there are of Mignola’s Lobster Johnson character, they can’t be pleased to see him look like a refugee from the 1960s Batman TV show.
“Hellboy” (2004) is a creaky remnant from the time before comic book movies were actually good. It has a few worthwhile qualities, though, and that elevates it above its pointless and far too self-indulgent reboot. “Hellboy” (2019) loses this Throwdown because the people who made it never asked or answered the question “Why does anyone need another Hellboy movie, anyway?” We didn’t and I think it’s safe to say we won’t be getting another one any time soon.
(full article on the link above)
“Hellboy” (2004) was successful enough to spawn a sequel. “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (2008) was a visual feast that was written like a not-terribly-good bedtime story for a not-terribly-bright child and just about ended the general public’s interest in seeing any more of this franchise. But since Hollywood is as much necromancy as filmmaking, now we’ve got “Hellboy” (2019).
This version starts out as a muddled mess and gets worse from there. Technically, “Hellboy” (2019) is a reboot. They’re pretending the first two films didn’t exist, so Liz is gone as a love interest and Professor Broom is still alive after getting killing in the first one. Yet there are some undeniably sequel-like elements to it. “Hellboy” (2019) projects an assumption of familiarity, as though the audience already knows everything about the character and is ready for more, and does a very poor job of establishing the rules and status quo of its fictional world. Does the general public know magic and monsters are real or not? Is Hellboy widely known or not? The film never makes up its mind about those sort of things or even appears to understand that it needs to.
“Hellboy” (2019) is also a badly written film in a nakedly objective way. It recycles the same end of the world plot as the first, but substitutes an ancient witch and some Arthurian blather in place of Lovecraftian ripoffs. There’s at least four flashbacks, which is three more than any movie should really have. It essentially copies the climax of the 2004 movie but in the most anti-climactic way possible. Every character can be completely described in a single sentence and has all the depth of a sheet of aluminum foil. The audience is repeatedly battered with obtrusive backstory and a major plot point is both brought up and then abandoned in the span of about 15 minutes.
At least when they rebooted Spider-Man, they didn't immediately use the frickin' Green Goblin again.
What’s most astonishing is how poor the special effects are in “Hellboy” (2019). David Harbour looks like somebody cosplaying Hellboy at a comic convention. Most of the monsters look like they were lifted from “Lord of the Rings” footage that del Toro left in a drawer and forgot about. And however many fans there are of Mignola’s Lobster Johnson character, they can’t be pleased to see him look like a refugee from the 1960s Batman TV show.
“Hellboy” (2004) is a creaky remnant from the time before comic book movies were actually good. It has a few worthwhile qualities, though, and that elevates it above its pointless and far too self-indulgent reboot. “Hellboy” (2019) loses this Throwdown because the people who made it never asked or answered the question “Why does anyone need another Hellboy movie, anyway?” We didn’t and I think it’s safe to say we won’t be getting another one any time soon.
(full article on the link above)
