Last Updated on August 5, 2021
Okay, I know there will be some readers who will argue that the new HELLBOY film doesn't count as a remake because it's a different take on the source material, the comic book series created by Mike Mignola. But this is just a fun way to compare Guillermo del Toro's 2004 HELLBOY adaptation and Neil Marshall's 2019 HELLBOY, which is coming to Blu-ray and DVD next week (you can pre-order a copy HERE). So don't get hung up on the "remake" description, it's the name of this article series. Pretend it's "Original Vs. Reboot" or "Original Vs. Re-Adaptation" if you need to. Either way, HELLBOY '04 and HELLBOY '19 are about to Face-Off.
In 1944, the desperate Nazis sought to win World War II by having Rasputin (yes, that one) open a portal through which the Ogdru Jahad, the seven gods of chaos, would be unleashed into our world. The Allies stopped this from happening, but while the portal was open a little demon passed through. Sixty years later, Rasputin is resurrected and sets out to finish what he started. That little demon has grown up to be Hellboy, an agent in the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (there are things that go bump in the night, the BPRD bumps back), and could be the only one who can stop Rasputin if he remains the hero his human surrogate father raised him to be. But if he embraces his demonic nature, he will become the key to setting loose the gods of chaos and bringing about the apocalypse. In the midst of all this, Hellboy is also trying to win over the pyrokinetic girl he has a crush on and has to deal with the loss of his dad. For me, the apocalyptic story of gods and monsters isn't nearly as interesting as the scenes dealing with the personal lives of the characters.
Hellboy is an agent of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense who keeps running into people and supernatural creatures who think the world would be better off if he were dead. When he finds out he is a demon who could bring about the apocalypse and was brought into the world by Nazis, he doesn't feel very good about it. During his time in the BPRD, Hellboy has pissed off a lot of strange beings, like the witch Baba Yaga and the pig-fairy Gruagach. Those two decide to get revenge by resurrecting the Blood Queen Nimue, who was chopped into pieces by King Arthur back in the day. When her parts are reassembled, Nimue will unleash a plague on the world – and she wouldn't mind having Hellboy as her King to rule beside her. This HELLBOY covers a lot of the same ground as the '04 film – the death of the surrogate father, the near death of a female ally, Hellboy having to choose between being a hero or helping end the world – but does so in a more scattered way, with side adventures and flashback origin stories for all of the major characters.
Hellboy has been around for sixty years, but he's young at heart because he ages differently than humans, developing at about half the speed. Ron Perlman delivers a great performance as this childish, cat-loving, ass-kicking goofball. Even if you're not familiar with Hellboy at all before seeing this movie, Perlman can make you a fan. Selma Blair is very endearing in the role of Hellboy's pyrokinetic love interest Liz Sherman, whose efforts at getting her abilities under control are derailed by the villains. You come to care about Hellboy's long-suffering, terminally ill surrogate father Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt); psychic amphibian Abe Sapien, played by Doug Jones with a vocal assist from David Hyde Pierce, is a fun ally; and Rupert Evans' bland new BPRD recruit John Myers is the character we follow into this crazy world.
David Harbour did a fine job taking over the role of Hellboy. His take on the character is mopier than Perlman's was, but he's still a fun guy who drops some humorous lines. Trevor Bruttenholm should be pushing a century by this point, but Ian McShane makes for such a vibrant and healthy centenarian that it seems odd. While aiming to stop Nimue, Hellboy gets assistance from werejaguar Ben Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim), who at first is secretly plotting to kill him, and old acquaintance Alice Monaghan (Sasha Lane), a likeable girl who was left with some special abilities after being in the possession of fairies who tried to replace her with a changeling when she was a baby. These are cool characters in concept and I enjoy watching them, but they don't have the extra layer of emotional connection that the characters in the '04 film had.
The villains of this film are an issue for me. Rasputin (Karel Roden) is just the generic European bad guy, hanging out with his Nazi girlfriend (Bridget Hodson) and looking like a tool in his sunglasses. What really drags the movie down is the fact that so much of it is devoted to the replicating demon Sammael (Brian Steele is inside that costume), which is just a roaring beast. We spend a lot of time watching Hellboy smack this thing around. The only cool villain is Kroenen (Ladislav Beran), a blade-wielding killer who has gears keeping him running and has been around so long his blood has turned to dust. Kroenen needed better companions.
Nimue the Blood Queen is nothing special herself, but Milla Jovovich is always a welcome presence even in the worst movies (and she is in some stinkers), and she was definitely trying to bring depth to this character. Beyond that you get a couple different kinds of giants, a vampire luchador, and the standouts: Emma Tate and Troy James as the hideous, very flexible, child-eating witch Baba Yaga, who goes back and forth between wanting to kill Hellboy and wanting to make out with him (and lives in a house that walks around on chicken legs), and Stephen Graham and Douglas Tait as the awesome-looking, monk-killing pig fairy creature Gruagach.
Like I said before, I feel like too much of this film deals with Hellboy fighting the Sammael creatures. Sure, it's fun to watch him beat on the monster for a little while, but it keeps coming back and multiplying so we have to rely on it for most of the action in the movie. There is a nice battle up front, a couple opportunities to watch Kroenen put his impressive killing skills to use, and in the end Hellboy has to take on another, bigger monster, but the action in this film doesn't do much for me overall.
There's more variety here, including extra missions where Hellboy fights a vampire and a trio of giants. There's also a different take on Hellboy's origin that features Thomas Haden Church killing Nazis as Lobster Johnson. Once the movie gets focused there are altercations with a bendy witch and a pig fairy, demons rampage through London, and Hellboy briefly carries a flaming sword. All that and an epilogue where Hellboy, a gun-wielding medium, and a werejaguar raid an enemy base while Mötley Crüe plays on the soundtrack.
Guillermo del Toro can always be counted on to deliver a unique viewing experience, and HELLBOY is a great looking movie. There are a lot of impressive, memorable visuals in here: the pouring rain and lightning flashes in the opening battle, a blood-coated Rasputin surrounded by snow, the blue flame flowing out of Liz, the sight of Hellboy with flaming horns. I may not be into the Sammael fights, but they're well shot. The most important element del Toro brought to the film is heart. It's very clear that he loves these characters, and he wants us to love them, too.
HELLBOY 2019 had a smaller budget than HELLBOY 2004, substantially smaller when you adjust for inflation, and that comes through in the look of the film. Neil Marshall is a director I have been rooting for ever since his feature debut DOG SOLDIERS, and he did well with what he had to work with here, delivering some oddball visuals, moments of mass destruction, and a good amount of stylistic flourishes – like a black and white flashback where the only color comes from Nimue's red cloak. There's some nice imagery, but the film feels hollow.
HELLBOY 2019 was so poorly received, I don't think anyone will be surprised to see that I picked HELLBOY 2004 as the winner of this battle. However, I did find the 2019 take on the material to be an enjoyable watch. I didn't connect with the characters in the same way and the storytelling was kind of all over the place, but I appreciated the action.
What do you think of these movies? Did you enjoy HELLBOY '19, or do you think it deserves the bad reputation it already has? Share your thoughts on all things HELLBOY in the comments section below. If you have suggestions for future Face-Off or Original Vs. Remake articles, send them in to [email protected].
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