“Hellboy”: the “miserable” movie that failed in theaters and is on Netflix

The critical and commercial reception of “Hellboy” was mostly negative, leading to its prompt departure from movie theaters. (Credits: Lionsgate)

The superhero genre in cinema has had its moments of glory and failure. However, there are films that are stumbles and others that are giant falls into the great void of defeat. That was the case with the 2019 version of Hellboy, which when it hit theaters became the subject of intense debates and negative reviews. The film, directed by Neil Marshall and starring David Harbour, has just arrived on Netflix, a platform where you can give it a chance and see for yourself if it was a true fiasco or a production that just had bad luck for the moment. in which it came out.

The film follows the adventures of Hellboy (David Harbour), a powerful demon raised among humans in the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), who is brought to confront Nimue (Milla Jovovich), the Blood Queen, a witch. resurrected medieval eager to take revenge and destroy humanity. The story begins with the red creature in Tijuana, Mexico, confronting an agent-turned-vampire, before being called in to investigate and arrest Jovovich’s character, whose remains have been gathered for her resurrection.

The 2019 version of “Hellboy”, directed by Neil Marshall and starring David Harbour, experienced a notable failure in theaters (Credits: Lionsgate)

Throughout his mission, Hellboy discovers important things about his origin and is forced to confront his true nature and destiny. Likewise, during his fight he encounters ancient magical beings and forms alliances, including Alice (Sasha Lane), a medium he knew as a child, and Ben Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim), a special agent with the ability to transform. . Together, they must stop Nimue’s apocalyptic plans, which not only threaten the human world, but also their existence.

This new version, based on the popular comic by Mike Mignola, sought to revitalize the franchise with a darker and creepier proposal, moving away from the tone established by the previous films directed by Guillermo del Toro. However, despite the initial expectations and the efforts of the cast and production team, the film failed to capture the attention of the public or convince critics.

Despite the talent involved, including Ian McShane and Milla Jovovich, “Hellboy” failed to meet public or critical expectations (Credits: Lionsgate)

The film had a sufficiently striking cast capable of giving exciting performances full of action, drama and fantasy. David Harbor gave a charismatic performance of the character, while Ian McShane and Milla Jovovich also excelled in their respective roles as Trevor Bruttenholm and Nimue. However, despite the talent of the cast, the limitations of the script and direction negatively affected the cohesion and emotional impact of the story.

Critical and commercial reception was disappointing, with unfavorable ratings from both critics and audiences. Despite having a solid fan base and the support of the source material, the film went on another tangent and dressed more as horror than action, therefore failing to connect with the public, which ultimately resulted in a low performance at the box office and its rapid departure from the billboards. Its director, Neil Marshall, later confessed in an interview for Film School Rejects that taking on that project was not pleasant at all: “I came out of a particularly miserable experience making Hellboy.”

This adaptation of “Hellboy” sought to offer a darker vision, moving away from the tone of previous versions directed by Guillermo del Toro. (Credits: Lionsgate)

But Marshall wasn’t the only one who took away a big lesson. David Harbour, whom the world best remembers as the good Jim Hopper in Stranger Things, also confessed that the failure of the project left him with a more than clear reflection: “I learned not to fuck with an established intellectual property, that’s for sure,” joked the actor in a conversation with Variety. “That is the biggest lesson learned,” remarked the artist, who will say goodbye to his role as Eleven’s father in the upcoming final season of the show created by the Duffer brothers.

Hellboy arrived on Netflix this March 17, so you can now see it on the platform. Likewise, Guillermo del Toro’s 2004 version is available on Max.