Hellboy (2019) (1 Viewer)

[Jake Lipson]

The release date for this seems ill-timed to me.

You've already got both Captain Marvel and Shazam! in the marketplace doing very well. And two weeks after this opens, Endgame does. So basically it's got two weeks to make as much money as possible, with two other very strong comic book films in the marketplace at the same time. How much of a dent do they think Hellboy is really going to make under these circumstances?

The same thing happened last time when Universal decided to release The Golden Army a week before The Dark Knight.

 

[Malcolm R]

The release date for this seems ill-timed to me.

You've already got both Captain Marvel and Shazam! in the marketplace doing very well. And two weeks after this opens, Endgame does. So basically it's got two weeks to make as much money as possible, with two other very strong comic book films in the marketplace at the same time. How much of a dent do they think Hellboy is really going to make under these circumstances?

The same thing happened last time when Universal decided to release The Golden Army a week before The Dark Knight.

It was previously scheduled for January. I'm not sure why they moved it unless they expected the big holiday titles to still be popular.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

The release date for this seems ill-timed to me.

You've already got both Captain Marvel and Shazam! in the marketplace doing very well. And two weeks after this opens, Endgame does. So basically it's got two weeks to make as much money as possible, with two other very strong comic book films in the marketplace at the same time. How much of a dent do they think Hellboy is really going to make under these circumstances?

The same thing happened last time when Universal decided to release The Golden Army a week before The Dark Knight.

It may backfire on them again, but I'm guessing, from the emphasis on gore and profanity in this new Red Band trailer, that they hope the edgier horror aspects to this new Hellboy will differentiate it from the superhero pack. We'll see. Judging from the trailer, they're overindulging the swearing a bit too much. Seems a bit forced. Still looks fun, though...

 

[Malcolm R]

It may backfire on them again, but I'm guessing, from the emphasis on gore and profanity in this new Red Band trailer, that they hope the edgier horror aspects to this new Hellboy will differentiate it from the superhero pack. We'll see. Judging from the trailer, they're overindulging the swearing a bit too much. Seems a bit forced. Still looks fun, though...

I saw some new ads on TV last night that celebrate the "R" rating, as well, so it seems like that's the angle they're taking.

 

[dpippel]

Some of the bad guys got their own posters:

 

[Jeff Adkins]

If it gets decent reviews, I might see it. I'm not familiar with the character as I haven't seen the previous films or read the comics.

 

[Jake Lipson]

If it gets decent reviews, I might see it. I'm not familiar with the character as I haven't seen the previous films or read the comics.

One of the critics I usually pay attention to said they're not sure if they will be able to see the film before release or not, so Lionsgate might not be holding critics' screenings. Or that critic might just have something going on preventing him from getting to one. But I thought it was odd when he said that. There are no reviews yet on Rotten Tomatoes so that does suggest that the former interpretation might be true, and if so, that would suggest that the studio doesn't think the movie would get good reviews.

You should see the previous two. The first one is really good and the second one is even better. I wish Del Toro had been able to complete his intended trilogy instead of this version happening now.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

One of the critics I usually pay attention to said they're not sure if they will be able to see the film before release or not, so Lionsgate might not be holding critics' screenings. Or that critic might just have something going on preventing him from getting to one. But I thought it was odd when he said that. There are no reviews yet on Rotten Tomatoes so that does suggest that the former interpretation might be true, and if so, that would suggest that the studio doesn't think the movie would get good reviews.

Supposedly the embargo lifts at 6 p.m. Eastern time tonight. While that isn't quite as bad as some films which have had embargoes all the way through the Thursday of opening night, I agree that it's still not a good sign.

You should see the previous two. The first one is really good and the second one is even better. I wish Del Toro had been able to complete his intended trilogy instead of this version happening now.

I do need to see the original Del Toro films. I didn't have any interest in the genre back when those were released, but my tastes have broadened since then. My local library has them on Blu-Ray, so I will certainly give those a look.

 

[dpippel]

 

[Sam Posten]

Friday 730 IMAX for me.

 

[dpippel]

Let us know what you think Sam!

 

[Jake Lipson]

Apparently there will be reviews starting this afternoon after all.

 

[dpippel]

The embargo supposedly lifts at 3:00PM PDT. I'm not holding out much hope for this.

 

[dpippel]

Well, the reviews certainly aren't looking very good so far:

https://nypost.com/2019/04/10/hellboy-review-this-reboot-is-grotesque-misfire/

https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/hellboy-review/5138501.article

https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/hellboy-review-david-harbour-1203184127/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/hellboy-review-1201048

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...oot-starring-david-harbour-review/3421303002/

https://ew.com/movie-reviews/2019/04/10/hellboy-review-2019/

https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/10/18304738/hellboy-2019-movie-review-david-harbour

https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/hellboy/280434/hellboy-review-david-harbour-reboot-2019

https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/h...-sillier-remix-guillermo-del-toro-1202057594/

 

[Jake Lipson]

It's currently sitting at 11% on Rotten Tomatoes right now, and all I can think is, "They decided to pass on Del Toro's third movie to make this?"

It would be one thing if it was good, but the critical drabbing suggests otherwise.

The sad thing is -- when this bombs, which I think was always likely given its schedule placement, but now the reviews will ensure that it does -- the studio will infer that this means audiences don't want Hellboy at all.

They should think, "We should pretend this whole mess never happened and beg Guillermo del Toro to come back and finish his trilogy." But they'll think instead that the character outright has been rejected.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Pretty depressing skimming the reviews. If they had at least been mediocre, I’d have gone for my deep love of the character and universe. But nothing I’m reading suggests that the film is even decent. I started collecting Hellboy back in 1994 when it premiered, solely for Mignola’s art. But I stayed for a long, long, long time because of the world he built, the characters he created, and the stories that were told. The stories this movie is based on are actually quite good, but it appears the good stuff was left behind. I’ll catch it for free on a pay cable channel in ten months. And probably be sad all over again.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The stories this movie is based on are actually quite good, but it appears the good stuff was left behind. I’ll catch it for free on a pay cable channel in ten months. And probably be sad all over again.

This sounds like an opportune time to revisit the previous two films. That's what these reviews are making me want to do. At least we got two of them.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Well, that made my decision very easy. I'll check out the first two films and skip this one.

 

[dpippel]

Sounds like this was a very troubled production:

https://www.thewrap.com/hellboy-david-harbour-neil-marshall/

 

[Jake Lipson]

I'll check out the first two films

Good. Please do let us know what you think of those when you do that.