Hellboy 4K Review (Lionsgate)

I am not going to lie, I was beyond disappointed when they cancelled Part 3 & went with this reboot instead. It was going to be very strange without Guillermo del Toro & Ron Perlman involved in this franchise anymore. Hellboy is one of the most under-rated comic book characters of all time. I always hoped it would find a bigger audience considering how popular the superhero sub-genre is these days but it never really achieved that. When Guillermo del Toro won the Oscar & started doing bigger films, I had high hopes for this franchise again but that didn’t last long. Universal wasn’t taking the property serious so Lionsgate took over with this remake. I am a big fan of Neil Marshall so when he was added as the director, I instantly became more interested & I ended up giving it a chance when it hit theaters. This version of Hellboy took a completely different approach to the role & story. It stayed away from the superhero material & it went for more of a darker feel than before. This is one of the most brutal & visually graphic films based on a comic book that I’ve ever seen. It’s loaded with violence, death, & gore. More than most horror movies these days to be honest. The special & visual fx were top notch in this. The monsters look amazing in Hellboy. David Harbour is no Ron Perlman but he’s one of the best back up choices that you make for this iconic character. He fits the build, his voice works, & he stays true to Hellboy with his own unique spin added to it. He was much better than expected. Milla Jovovich doesn’t do as much these days so it was great to see her as the villain here. She chews the scenery & she has a blast being pure evil in Hellboy. Ian McShane steals the show like always, he has the best performance in this. Lobster Johnson is a really cool character, I wish he had more screen time in this. Thomas Haden Church (Spider-Man 3) was perfect casting for it. The supporting cast was solid which included Daniel Dae Kim, Stephen Graham, Sasha Lane, & Kristina Klebe (Rob Zombie’s Halloween). If you go into this with a open mind, you are going to have so much fun & be entertained the whole time. If you go into it expecting the original, you might end up disappointed because it’s nothing like those other adaptations. Hopefully, this fresh start leads to more material & future sequels. RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Lionsgate! This 2160p (2.40:1) transfer with Dolby Vision & HDR10 looks stunning especially for it’s lower budget compared to all the other major comic book productions out there. The visual fx really shine in 4K! It has four different audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, & French: Dolby Digital 5.1 on the UHD. The dialogue is very clean, all the violence is elevated, & the music has a killer boost to it. It also has English, English SDH, French SDH, & Spanish subtitles. Both picture & sound are very impressive on this 4K release!!!!!

Let’s discuss the special features from Lionsgate! “Tales of the Wild Hunt: Hellboy Reborn” is broken down into 3 segments. It’s little over an hour & 11 minutes. It has interviews with creator Mike Mignola, David Harbour, Daniel Dae Kim, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Milla Jovovich, & various members of the production. This is a very detailed look at the production, film, characters, actors, special/visual fx, & a little history on Hellboy. It has all kinds of behind the scenes footage. They bring up that they got creator Mike Mignola more involved compared to the other versions. They mention they wanted do more of the original source material for this reboot. David Harbour mentions his training & dedication to Hellboy. He brings up gear he bought to prepare for the role. He really got method for this. They all chat about their roles & the other cast members from the feature. They talk about their experience & work from it. They chat about the costumes & look for the main characters. They show the FX & creation of the monsters from the movie. They spend a decent amount of time giving you that unique experience from the production which is awesome. The special fx work is top notch here. They go over the various locations that they filmed in. They chat about some of the action & stunts. They talk about the visual fx & show scenes before it was applied. They mention working with director Neil Marshall & all the sets. This is one of the best making of bonus features that I’ve reviewed in a long time. It seriously covers every single aspect of the Hellboy production. Anything you want to know & see is located here. I am a little shocked that the director wasn’t involved in this at all. Almost 8 minutes of 3 “Deleted Scenes”. One of these scenes definitely should have stayed in the movie. The other two were cool but I can see why they were removed from it. It’s a nice bonus to have, I am always curious what doesn’t make it in these type of productions. “Previsualization” is a little over 7 minutes. It has computer animation & storyboards for 3 different scenes from the film. It gives you a look of what visual fx changes & impacts for the final version. It also has a slipcover, a digital code, & a blu ray copy of the release. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!