Hellboy reboot and flawed superhero films

I got to see the Hellboy reboot. Make no mistake it’s flawed. It doesn’t have the synchronicity with the source material of Guillermo del Toro’s adaptations. It was great to see Daniel Dae Kim on film, but his English accent wasn’t great. It was right up there with Dick Van Dyk. There was an ensemble of supporting actors and the amazing Ian McShane. David Harbour does a good job filling Ron Perlman’s shoes as the title character.

The cinematography was really nicely done. There was something about the CGI that was both ambitious and felt cheap at the same time. I was reminded of Russian films like Guardians.

The script showed a great love for the comic source and at the same time the pacing, the dialogue was a bit punchier than del Toro, but the pacing didn’t feel right. But that doesn’t mean that it deserves the kicking that it has received in the media. Part of this is down to the fact Hellboy is going head-to-head in the box office with Shazam. Shazam is DC’s answer to Guardians of The Galaxy. A confection with the right degree of surrealism, humour and action.

Hellboy is darker and misses del Toro’s deft stylistic touch.

I quite like a number of flawed superhero films. I really enjoyed Ang Lee’s reboot of Hulk with Eric Bana and Nick Nolte. Yes it was artistic, but I could see why your average superhero film wouldn’t appreciate its symbolism.

Lexi Alexander’s Punisher: War Zone‘s problem wasn’t that it was a poor film but that reviewers couldn’t handle an accurate rendition of the Garth Ennis story in film. My favourite has to be the supposedly unfilmable Spawn. Amazing effects, the underrated Michael Jai White and Charlie Sheen hamming it up like his life depended on it. I am sure Hellboy will grace their number too. More related content here.


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