2024 The Crooked Man is the second Hellboy reboot to be released in cinemas. The first trailer is under fire, but Vali actually has hope for the movie
It’s not easy being a Hellboy fan.Guillermo del Toro was never allowed to finish his excellent trilogy with Ron Perlman, and instead followed it up in 2019 withHeart of Darknessa reboot that definitely left something to be desired – asmy own film reviewpainfully reminds memyself.
New year, new hellboy
Now the next attempt is in the starting blocks for 2024, which once again comes with a new Hellboy:Jack Kesy(Deadpool 2, The Strain) puts on the sliced-off horns to investigate a mysterious case during the 1950s in Appalachia.
Of course, inexplicable things are going on, otherwise the BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense) wouldn’t have put Hellboy on the case. At his side: a new agent (Adeline Rudolph), who has to deal with witches, devils and paranormal monsters for the first time
You can get a concrete impression of Hellboy: The Crooked Manin the official trailer:
Fans give the new Hellboy hell
The first impression of The Crooked Man is not going down too well with many movie fans. OnYouTubefor example, likes and dislikes go hand in hand with each other and there is also a lot of ranting about the new Hellboy on social media (such asX, formerly Twitter, andReddit).
What people are complaining about?The look of Jack Kesy and the movie in general is getting a lot of criticism. The trailer is criticized for looking cheap and almost like a fan film. To be fair, The Crooked Man is also a low-budget vision with financing of 50 million US dollars.
I’m also bothered by the fact that the Hellboy reboot feels more like a horror movie with the boy from hell just thrown on top – and therefore has a completely different vibe to Guillermo del Toro’s two parts. But I see it differently
Hellboy pic.twitter.com/NtjFilWcDR
– Dawid Adamek (@froscinsky) July 1, 2024
Why I’m (cautiously) looking forward to the Hellboy reboot?
Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy, is personally involved in The Crooked Man.Mignola is responsible for the screenplay, which Brian Taylor is bringing to the big screen as director.
Taylor is definitely an … interesting choice. Because I can definitely get something out of his Crank films or the Netflix series Happy! but I have to at least turn a blind eye to Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance or Gamer.
But back to Mignola: The fact that the author and illustrator of the comics is taking over the story of The Crooked Man makes me optimistic. And also that the story takes on manageable proportions, seems to be self-contained and actually only deals with a small case somewhere in the middle of nowhere
Mignola’s Hellboy short stories, in which Hellboy is thrown at some supernatural threat, are among my absolute favorites! In direct contrast, Call of Darkness with David Harbour as Hellboy, for example, has completely taken over and thrown far too many ideas and elements from the original into one pot. The fact that The Crooked Man takes a completely different approach is a good sign in my eyes.
And lo and behold, I’m definitely not alone in this opinion:
Thinking about it more… this is the only Hellboy movie with Mike Mignola and Chris Golden this closely involved with the production… it’s definitely going further back to the comic’s indie roots. Brian Taylor’s a solid lower budget director.
We’re just spoiled by del Toro. https://t.co/Dfp5ow11qx
– Gwendolyn M.J. Stone ️⚧️ (@GwenLovesMovies) July 1, 2024
The internet not understanding that Hellboy existed before Del Toro’s movies will never not frustrate me https://t.co/SIT912LMu9
– Don GuyGardnerGang (@GuyGOATner) July 1, 2024
Seriously the love that has gone into Hellboy the crooked man is insane, there are so many scenes pulled straight from the comic pic.twitter.com/OSROHMgXLG
– HellboyNews (@HellboyNews) July 1, 2024
As stupid as it sounds:Less is sometimes more and some of the best Hellboy short stories are the best proof of this – such as The Corpes, The Wolves of Saint August, Hellboy in Mexico, Pancakes and of course The Crooked Man.
In addition, the manageable budget of just 50 million US dollars automatically means that the Hellboy reboot is a bad one. DeadpoolandJokerin particular have already shown in the past that successful comic book adaptations don’t have to cost a lot of money as long as it’s used in the right places.
So I’m (cautiously) looking forward to The Crooked Man and I’m excited to see what Brian Taylor has in store as Hellboy director. As a long-time fan of Mike Mignola’s comics, I simply can’t avoid giving the new Hellboy a chance
What do you think of the first trailer for Hellboy: The Crooked Man? How much did you like the 2019 reboot with David Harbour as Hellboy? Would you have liked to see Guillermo del Toro’s third Hellboy with Ron Perlman or can you do without it with a clear conscience? Let me know in the comments!
