Based on the graphic novels by Mike Mignola, Hellboy; caught between the worlds of the supernatural and human, battles an ancient sorceress bent on revenge.

Yet another reboot here.  Again, this ones not so bad.  Unnecessary, sure..  They could have quite easily used a lot of the storyline elements here, and put the original cast in place for a Hellboy threequel.

With a new director and cast in place though, they ditch the superhero focus of Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008), in favour of something a little more horror oriented – and becoming more faithful to the original source material in the process.

Director of Dog Soldiers and the phenomenal The Descent, Neil Marshall, takes over from Guillermo Del Toro, to bring to life a script by Andrew Cosby (televisions Eureka), which is said to also have a lot more involvement from Hellboy creator, Mike Mignola.

Stranger Things’ David Harbour takes over the titular role from Ron Pearlman, and does a good job – no better or worse then Pearlman at least.  Elsewhere, Milla Jovovich is great as Nimue, AKA The Blood Queen, the main villain of the piece, and Ian McShane is brilliant as always, even though his role as Professor Broom is relatively minor.

There is plenty of action to keep you entertained, including a “wrestling match” between Hellboy and a demon near the beginning, a fight with three giants, and a battle against a half man/half boar.

The visual effects and make up all look good.  Not overwhelmingly excellent, but certainly not bad.  In fact everything about this movie is good – not great, but good.

If you are a fan of Hellboy, or you just like action adventure films with a bit of a supernatural and occult flavour, then check this version of Hellboy out.

7/10

Rick Trewin.