Hellboy Review Roundup: Here's What The Critics Are Saying About New Movie

The new Hellboy movie starring Stranger Things actor David Harbour hits theatres this weekend, and ahead of that, reviews have started to appear online. To help you get an idea about if the film is worth your time and money, we've rounded up review scores and opinions from various outlets. GameSpot reviewer Dan Auty called it a "demonic disappointment."

This is the first Hellboy since 2008's Hellboy II: The Golden Army. That film, along with the 2004 original, featured Ron Perlman as Hellboy, with Guillermo del Toro directing. The new film is the first with a new actor in the lead role, and if the movie makes enough money, it might not be the last, as the end-credits very strongly tease a new movie is coming.

The new Hellboy is directed by Neil Marshall, who directed episodes of Game of Thrones, Westworld, Hannibal, Black Sails, and Constantine. The script was written by Andrew Cosby (Haunted, 2 Guns), and it's based on the Mike Mignola comic series.

In addition to Harbour, the new Hellboy features Milla Jovovich as the evil Blood Queen, Ian McShane as professor Broom, Daniel Dae Kim as Ben Daimio, Sasha Lane as Alice, and Thomas Haden Church as Lobster Johnson.

You can see a rundown of Hellboy reviews below, while more information on the film's critical reception can be found on GameSpot sister site Metacritic.

Hellboy (2019)

• Directed By: Neil Marshall
• Written By: Andrew Cosby, Mike Mignola
• Starring: David Harbour, Ian McShane, Milla Jovovich, Daniel Dae Kim, Sasha Lane, Thomas Haden Church
• Release Date: April 12 (United States)

GameSpot

"Harbour remains a great choice to play the character, and it will be a shame if this is the last time we see him in the role. But ultimately this is not the Hellboy movie fans wanted to see him in." -- Dan Auty [Full review]

Uproxx

"I spent almost Hellboy's entire run time either recoiling in horror or howling with laughter. Like Hellboy's climax, the subtext of which is essentially the protagonist heroically screaming 'Yuck, girls!' it was perfectly true to the spirit of an extended adolescent metalhead fantasy. I think this is how Hellboy was always meant to be." -- Vince Mancini [Full review]

New York Post

"The race for worst movie of the year is heating up. You could even say it's hotter than hell, now that Hellboy has taken the lead. This awful, disgusting, unfunny, idiotically plotted comic book flick offends the senses as much as the rankest subway car on the hottest summer day." -- Johnny Oleksinski [Full review]

Entertainment Weekly

"Look, I'm glad expensive movies are R-rated again. But this is the doofiest kind of maturity: boring CGI bloodsprays, F-bombs galore." -- Darren Franich [Full review]

USA Today

"Hellboy is kind of all over the place, with two hours' worth of adventures (and misadventures) that never gel cohesively and momentum-killing flashback origin stories for pretty much every main character." -- Brian Truitt [Full review]

Associated Press

"Maybe the reason it staggers so poorly is because its DNA is all wrong. If the first two films lacked a certain verve and the third is a violent muddle, maybe making 'Hellboy' movies is as cursed as its hero." -- Mark Kennedy [Full review]

The Hollywood Reporter

"It's just lousy. Bloated, vastly less funny than it aims to be and misguided in key design choices even when it scores with less important decisions, the film does make bold choices that might have paid off under other circumstances. But these aren't those circumstances." -- John DeFore [Full review]