The cast is really good. David Harbour does a good job bringing Red to life. I still don't love the long hair on him, but that's a minor quibble. I think he does a good job in the title role. You can never go wrong with hiring Ian Shane to play a bastard and he plays a caring bastard here and does it with his usual aplomb. I saw it with a friend and he said, "I knew I was in for a good ride when it starts off with Ian McShane narration and the third word he says is fuck." He's not wrong, McShane and Harbour have good chemistry. Milla Jovovich is good in her role, though it is pretty one note. I would have liked to see her have more to do. Baba Yaga, on the other hand, was damned creepy.
There are a lot of great scenes in this movie. What seems to be missing is a cohesive script pulling them all together. I felt like I watched more than one movie, which is because there are multiple comic stories adapted here with tenuous links tying them together. This movie needed a better story. It almost felt like binge-watching multiple episodes of a TV show that were the same series, but not the same story. Even as I write that, I kinda want to see a Hellboy TV show now. I think the character would probably work so much better in that format with smaller stories instead of world-ending apocalypse plots for each outing. That's where the books thrive and I think seeing Hellboy in smaller stories would work better. Your mileage may vary.
All in all, I enjoyed the movie. It had some fun moments and some head-scratcher moments. I will leave with this, and it's a bit of a spoiler, so apologies in advances, but I geeked out when Lobster Johnson appeared on screen, played by the always fun to watch, Thomas Haden Church. I would watch the hell out of a Lobster Johnson show, by the way. There are also 2 after credit scenes so stay until the very end. There's also a cool cameo appearance by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola in the movie. Don't blink at the wrong moment.
If you want to hear me, and others, discuss all things Hellboy, keep an eye out for the next episode of the Earth Station One podcast at www.esopodcast.com later in the week We're recording it Monday night.
Bobby
There are a lot of great scenes in this movie. What seems to be missing is a cohesive script pulling them all together. I felt like I watched more than one movie, which is because there are multiple comic stories adapted here with tenuous links tying them together. This movie needed a better story. It almost felt like binge-watching multiple episodes of a TV show that were the same series, but not the same story. Even as I write that, I kinda want to see a Hellboy TV show now. I think the character would probably work so much better in that format with smaller stories instead of world-ending apocalypse plots for each outing. That's where the books thrive and I think seeing Hellboy in smaller stories would work better. Your mileage may vary.
All in all, I enjoyed the movie. It had some fun moments and some head-scratcher moments. I will leave with this, and it's a bit of a spoiler, so apologies in advances, but I geeked out when Lobster Johnson appeared on screen, played by the always fun to watch, Thomas Haden Church. I would watch the hell out of a Lobster Johnson show, by the way. There are also 2 after credit scenes so stay until the very end. There's also a cool cameo appearance by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola in the movie. Don't blink at the wrong moment.
If you want to hear me, and others, discuss all things Hellboy, keep an eye out for the next episode of the Earth Station One podcast at www.esopodcast.com later in the week We're recording it Monday night.
Bobby
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