--Trevor Bruttenholm, Hellboy
Lifted up by its R rating and the way that it actually utilizes it, the complicated relationship between Hellboy and his father, and the sarcasm of the titular character, the 2019 Hellboy has its shortcomings but still does a lot right. This happens to be one of the most recent movies from the director of The Descent, an excellent horror film that lacks some of the lesser aspects of the Hellboy reboot. Somewhat disjointed and rushed all at once, the story and its pacing are the weakest links of the chain, but David Harbour's performance, the other characters, most of the effects, the action, and even the humor are all very strong. As far as the movie's financial failure goes, there was the unfortunate timing of it being released among major MCU films in early 2019. As far as the public's seemingly negative reaction goes, perhaps many were ensnared by nostalgia for the Guillermo del Toro Hellboy movies, but perhaps the more extreme violence drove them away. In either case, the 2019 Hellboy is far from awful, and indeed only needed a better structure and pacing.
Production Values
On the level of cinematography and aesthetic style, there are numerous bursts of creativity and excellence. For instance, in the black and white opening scene set in the Dark Ages, only the red clothing Nimue is wearing is in color in the introduction--yes, black and white are colors, but I am speaking of the broader range of colors here. The prolonged shot of Hellboy killing the final giant in England is another example, as the unbroken movement of the camera has it switch angles but never cut to another position. The entire scene inside the Baba Yaga's house is perfect in its effects (with perfect being without flaws as opposed to something that could never be improved upon, which is almost nothing in cinema)--and writing. Then, the massive demonic beings released briefly at the end are creative both in their appearance and in the ways they kill humans. Even with all of this, the best parts are the portrayals of key characters.
David Harbour is absolutely right at home in conveying the inner conflict of Hellboy, as well as in the humor the character uses as a way to help cope with his deep pain. This movie belongs to him. Ian McShane might have had similar roles to the one he has here multiple times before, but he is also very talented here, and when he interacts with David Harbour's Hellboy, some of the best moments of the film result. Hellboy even puts Milla Jovovich in one of her better roles. She has a better character here than in Monster Hunter or the 2002 Resident Evil, both directed by her husband. Hellboy himself and his immediate companions get more screen time, but Jovovich takes the role of Nimue seriously and, like the rest of the cast, including Sasha Lane and Daniel Dae Kim, helps avoid making Hellboy mixed on the side of performances. A rushed and at times incomplete story does not decimate the entire film thanks to the cast and secondary things like the action.
Story
Some spoilers are below.
To end a massive conflict between humans and monsters led by the witch Vivienne Nimue, the Blood Queen, King Arthur had Nimue cut into pieces and then had the still-living pieces scattered to prevent her from reforming. many years later, an organization devoted to fighting monsters and supernatural entities finds a demon summoned from Hell by the Nazis at the end of World War II as a last resort. This creature grows into Hellboy, a humanoid monster torn between his job as someone who fights malevolent monsters and someone feared and mistreated by humans. In the process of completing an assignment, Hellboy finds himself the target of one monster's wrath and Nimue's affection. He is then tasked along with an old friend with preventing the apocalyptic return of the Blood Queen to her full power.
Intellectual Content
Hellboy is constantly caught between monsters that have a malevolent attitude towards humans and humans who would assume he must be cruel and worthy of hatred or automatic fear just because of his appearance. Entrenched by the very lengthy history of conflict between the two broad groups, some members of each side want to commit genocide on the other without even realizing or caring that many of the objections they have towards how the other group behaves would not apply to the whole. Stereotyping humans and monsters is an ordinary part of life for many characters, and Hellboy has to constantly withstand misunderstandings from both kinds of creature. It is in this context that Nimue's offer to make him her king has appeal for him (and there are subtle ways that her emphasis on how similar they are is actually valid, such as how both of them trick another monster into doing something only to point out that they never specified a core detail about their own end of the bargain). Hellboy is ultimately about a character having to confront his individual nature in defiance of the masses of beings that will hate or misunderstand him for it--a very socially relevant idea at almost any point in recorded history.
Conclusion
Hellboy was in some ways a foretaste of 2021's The Suicide Squad. They share some of the same successes. Both are unapologetically R-rated. Both actually develop the core characters. Both are based in characters from prior comics. Also, both of them failed financially despite having many excellent aspects. Though Hellboy as a character is rooted in neither Marvel nor DC, the lore of the reboot (and its course material) has so much potential that it is unfortunate that the release timing and unjustified dismissal of the film ensured that a sequel will likely never be created. The plot threads pointing to a continuation might never be resolved, and David Harbour might never again play a character he handled so masterfully. Adapting a comic character for a movie is still a risky venture unless he or she comes from Marvel or DC, but Hellboy is, although its common reputation might not represent it this way, a very good film with some problems instead of being a terrible film with a handful of positives.
Content:
1. Violence: Humans and monsters are dismembered or impaled repeatedly in this fairly graphic (for a mainstream film) action movie. Yes, there is actually blood, and plenty of it.
2. Profanity: "Fuck" and "bastard" are among the profanity included.
3: Nudity: For a very short time, a woman's uncovered chest is seen from the side. This is not true nudity, I know, since it is not total nakedness, and of course there is nothing that makes female breasts as opposed to male breasts worth singling out, but I am including this is in response to asinine culturally popular ideas about nudity in entertainment.
No comments:
Post a Comment