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Every ‘Hellboy’ movie ranked from worst to best, including ‘Hellboy: The Crooked Man’

September 12, 20240
David Harbour as Hellboy.

Lionsgate

There’s no question that the 2019 “Hellboy” movie is the worst of the lot. David Harbour was a solid choice for the character, but the film turned him from a monster-fighting hero into a whiny brat.

The story is based on “The Wild Hunt” arc in the comics, in which Hellboy tries to stop the Blood Queen (Mila Jovovich) from starting the apocalypse.

However, the action quickly descends into mindless violence for the sake of violence, and none of it has any impact.

The film’s biggest crime is that it has no real identity.

The first reboot relies on its rock music soundtrack to tell the audience how to feel in every scene, rather than letting them engage with the (poorly written) story. The only attempts to disguise this laziness are accurate depictions of moments from the comics. It was a complete misfire.

3. “Hellboy: The Crooked Man” (2024)
Luke Goss as Prince Nuada and Ron Perlman as Hellboy.

Universal Pictures

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” is the sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s 2004 “Hellboy” movie. The nightmarish fairy-tale plot introduces the elf, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), who wants to use an ancient mechanical army to raze the planet because of how humanity has treated the Earth.

During the conflicts, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) fights on the side of the humans. This causes him to reckon with his place in a world where he’ll always be seen as a monstrous outsider.

It’s a testament to del Toro’s writing and direction that the sequel balances Hellboy’s inner conflict against ambitious fight scenes, sprawling practical sets, and deep mythology.

It’s obviously disappointing that fans didn’t get to see the hero become a dad in “Hellboy 3” after the cliffhanger ending. But the audience’s enduring love for Perlman’s Hellboy shows just how well del Toro adapted the character.

1. “Hellboy” (2004)
Ron Perlman as Hellboy.

Sony Pictures Releasing

Of course, the original movie takes the top spot. It introduces Hellboy’s origin story, explaining that he arrived on Earth in 1944 when a secret Nazi group attempted to open a portal to get demonic Lovecraftian creatures to help them win the war.

From there, it mainly takes place in the present — as Hellboy tackles the sorcerer Rasputin (Karel Roden), who wants to use the hero to bring about the apocalypse.

For such a bombastic plot, del Toro flourishes in the smaller moments between Hellboy and Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), a troubled woman with pyrokinetic abilities.

The director effortlessly weaves a unique love story into a plot studded with immortal hellhounds, a Nazi assassin with a surgical addiction, and giant tentacle monsters. The contrast of these arcs is deeply effective.

This is all before broaching the film’s visual style, which makes audiences feel like they’ve plunged into the pages of the original comics. It’s an utter treat that still holds up 20 years later.

Icon Film Distribution presents Hellboy: The Crooked Man in UK cinemas from 27 September.