^Hard to say. For the 2019 movie beyond the R rating, they just didn’t really adapt the material well, despite it being the most loyal to the source mater on paper. They tried to adapt bits of three full arcs into one movie, and they couldn’t pull it off. As for Del Toro, CBMs were nowhere near what they would be in the next decade and I think a lot of people thought it looked goofy, with the star of the film being a bright red stone hand, humanoid ape-goat.
Originally posted by Impediment
This was a good movie that faithfully adapted the three issue story.The low budget CGI effects were noticeable and kinda cringy at times, but the overall tone, pacing, and acting were well done.
Hm, alright. I was planning to probably just skip this. But I might give it a chance at some point.
I wrote a little review for my FB comic book groups:
Hellboy: The Crooken Man is a simultaneously beautiful and flawed comic book movie adaptation.
Production-wise, this movie is akin to a high quality YouTube fan film. The CGI can, at times, be cringey and obvious that leaves one wondering where the Hell budget went. It’s nothing to win any awards, that’s for damn sure. Is it the worst CGI in movie history? No, but it’s a far cry from the Hellboy CGI both hardcore and casual fans have come to know and love.
As for the adapted screenplay from the three issue comic book story of the same name, the Crooked Man is a ****ing chicken dinner winner. The script is almost verbatim and the storyboards are insanely comic accurate. The plot is thick with slow, eerie, and tense horror vibes that are a 180° turn from Del Toro’s movies. Honestly, I haven’t seen such a faithful adapted story since “Sin City” in 2005. It’s that good.
The Evil Dead overtones of this movie are prevalent and obvious. This isn't an action film with rollercoaster action scenes and fiery shootouts with gargantuan monsters. This is a true horror story with slow buildup thick as peanut butter with devilishly wicked scares and jumps.
Overall, casual fans will sneer and make shitty comments about this semi-low budget production while wishing for more that the previous installments left them with. Hardcore fans, like myself, will be insanely pleased with a near-perfect adaptation from the Dark Horse comics but will, undoubtedly, feel a sense of “what could have been” had this picture been better funded and produced.
This isn’t a bad movie, folks. It’s just a cheap one. And that doesn’t automatically equate “failure”. This is a labor of love from Hellboy fans FOR Hellboy fans. It may well not be a juicy, medium-rare porterhouse steak to satisfy a Herculean hunger, but even a DiGiorno oven pizza can bring a smile to one’s face and belly if appreciated enough for the intended purpose of quelling hunger.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man is undoubtedly, exactly what a comic book movie about a half-human/half-demon Cambion paranormal investigator battling a Satanic soul collecting demon from the bowels of Hell in the creepy, dark, dirty, and claustrophobic Appalachian Mountains shoukd be, even if it's not the most glamorous nor polished movie of its kind ever made. Any fan of Hellboy owes it to themselves to see this with an open mind and while NOT expecting a massive blockbuster.
Good things come in small packages and Hellboy: The Crooked Man is deliciously sweet, even one does have to, periodically, make a facial grimace from unavoidable cheesiness.
Final verdict: 6.75 out of 10
The girl as Cora Fisher is disappointing, but whoever the evil blonde is fricking awesome. From there on the movie kicks into high gear. Whoever played Sam's dad is pretty good too for the fee seconds he is in. Reverand Watts is just... chef's kiss.
The bobbie jo girl is okay
The new Hellboy seems to be growing on me. So from the 39 minute mark onwards, the movie is real fun. There are some few other cliché scenes but they are tolerable because the good scenes come soon after.
Originally posted by HulkIsHulk
The girl as Cora Fisher is disappointing, but whoever the evil blonde is fricking awesome. From there on the movie kicks into high gear. Whoever played Sam's dad is pretty good too for the fee seconds he is in. Reverand Watts is just... chef's kiss.The bobbie jo girl is okay
The new Hellboy seems to be growing on me. So from the 39 minute mark onwards, the movie is real fun. There are some few other cliché scenes but they are tolerable because the good scenes come soon after.
Hm... because I watched about the first 30 min or so and my god is it dull and amateurish. Probably the biggest flaw a movie like this can have is to be so fu#king dull.
I mean, it's clearly low budget, and I don't necessarily fault it for that, but it certainly didn't help things. Don't do CGI creatures with sequences that should be exciting and impressive if you don't have much budget... do something more morbid and practical. Just a very poor first act, so I doubt I'll finish this.
At least the 2019 film wasn't boring. It knew what it was and played into it pretty well.
Originally posted by Patient_Leech
Hm... because I watched about the first 30 min or so and my god is it dull and amateurish. Probably the biggest flaw a movie like this can have is to be so fu#king dull.I mean, it's clearly low budget, and I don't necessarily fault it for that, but it certainly didn't help things. Don't do CGI creatures with sequences that should be exciting and impressive if you don't have much budget... do something more morbid and practical. Just a very poor first act, so I doubt I'll finish this.
At least the 2019 film wasn't boring. It knew what it was and played into it pretty well.
Struggle for 10 mins more. I thought the same when I saw it too. If you still don't like it, okay no prob.