Jordan Peele Explains How Audiences Will Relate To Us

Jordan Peele Explains How Audiences Will Relate To Us

Following his Oscar winning hit, Get Out, Jordan Peele has created a movie that, from the trailers alone, looks to be more of a pure, traditional horror movie than his previous endeavor. Of course, the man bringing us a brand new version of The Twilight Zone actually has a lot more going on in his new film, Us. Recently, the director spoke about what exactly it is his new film is trying to say and how he hopes audiences will relate to it. According to Peele...

I have a very clear meaning and commentary I’m trying to strike with this film. I’m also trying to design a film that’s very personal for every individual. On the broader strokes of things, this movie is about this country. When I decided to write this movie I was stricken by the fact that we’re in a time where we fear The Other — whether it’s the mysterious invader we think is going to come and kill us or take our jobs, or the faction we don’t live near that voted a different way than us. We’re all about pointing the finger. I wanted to suggest maybe the monster we really need to look at has our face. Maybe the evil is us.

It's not exactly news to say that the nation feels quite divided these days. Jordan Peele has made a career, in both comedy and horror, out of pointing out many of those divisions. In fact, that's part of what makes Peele's work so interesting in my opinion. It's remarkable how much a movie like Get Out has in common with a sketch from Key and Peele. They just use different emotions to get across a similar message.

It seems that Us will do very much the same thing, based on what Jordan Peele said at SXSW (via EW). It wants the audience to take a look at themselves, and question their own perspectives, motives, and beliefs. In this case, it's being done quite literally on screen with a group of characters battling themselves.

While there might still be an important commentary being made in Us, that doesn't change the fact that it also looks to be an absolutely terrifying horror movie in a very traditional sense. A family finds themselves being stalked by dark and twisted versions of themselves. There might be a metaphor being created there, but there's also a movie monster that will likely just make your skin crawl.

Based on the early reaction, it looks like Jordan Peele may have another massive hit on his hands. Us premiered over the weekend at SXSW and the reactions from those that were lucky enough to see it have been overwhelmingly positive. If there was any worry that Jordan Peele was going to be a one hit wonder (there wasn't) it's certainly been removed now.

I have to say there's something about the trailer for Us that absolute chills me. There hasn't been a movie in recent memory that I've been so excited to see while also being a little afraid to see it. The fact that there's another layer to the story, that is likely to only make me feel that much more uncomfortable, has only amplified both feelings.

Us opens nationwide March 22.

Twilight Alum Dakota Fanning Thinks Robert Pattinson As Batman Is 'Awesome'

Twilight Alum Dakota Fanning Thinks Robert Pattinson As Batman Is 'Awesome'

Despite his other work and serious roles in indie films from auteurs like David Cronenberg, actor Robert Pattinson is still best known for playing sparkly vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise. That perception is likely part of the backlash to the reports that he is in talks to play the Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves’ Batman film. That aversion to his casting is not shared by fellow Twilight alum Dakota Fanning, who supports Robert Pattinson in the role, as she explained:

I think it's awesome. I love Rob, and he's great, and he's great in whatever he does.

While speaking with Variety at the Cannes Film Festival where her new film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is premiering, Dakota Fanning expressed real confidence in the talents of Robert Pattinson to be great in whatever role he takes on. That includes Batman, and Dakota Fanning seemed to be genuinely excited and happy for her fellow Twilight alum.

Although I wouldn’t expect Dakota Fanning to boo the casting of her former co-star or advocate people sign a silly petition (those always work) to have him removed from the role, it is nice to hear that she has positive feelings about him and what he can do. And she would know. The actress starred in three Twilight movies as Jane, a member of the villainous Volturi coven set against Robert Pattinson’s Edward and Kristen Stewart’s Bella.

So she has gotten to know him and seen his acting in person on set, giving her greater insight into his abilities. It’s also possible that she’s actually seen him in more than just the Twilight movies and has a better knowledge of his work and range as an actor and that informs her faith in him playing Batman.

Robert Pattinson has Dakota Fanning in his corner, but as is seemingly the case with every big time superhero casting, he’ll have to prove himself to many fans. Rightly or wrong, he is still known mainly for Twilight-- even though he has proven to be much more than that in plenty of other films. But even if fans acknowledge he is a good actor, they may still not see him as Batman.

That’s understandable and like Ben Affleck before him in the role or Heath Ledger as Joker or Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, it will take time if that acceptance is to happen at all. Now may be the right time for him to take on the role though, with DC trying new things and the details about Matt Reeves’ exact vision for his movie The Batman still under wraps.

It's also important to note that we also still don’t know with 100% certainty that Robert Pattinson will be Bruce Wayne in The Batman. That seems to be the way things are trending but until the deal is final it’s not final and other reports say that Nicholas Hoult is still in the running for the part. Whoever gets it, he’ll be possibly be facing off with Penguin and Catwoman, two of the film’s reported villains.

The Batman is scheduled for release on June 25, 2021. While we await that, there are plenty of other movies hitting theaters this summer, check them out in our 2019 Release Schedule.

5 Questions About Captain Marvel We Want Answered In Avengers: Endgame

5 Questions About Captain Marvel We Want Answered In Avengers: Endgame

The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Captain Marvel**.**

Captain Marvel is finally here, and that means we’ve had a chance to finally see the hero that we all expect is going to be the key to victory in the forthcoming Avengers: Endgame. While the movie did answer a few interesting questions that we’ve had about the MCU, like what happened to Nick Fury’s eye, it also created a bunch of new questions for us to ponder.

On the plus side, we don’t necessarily have to wait too long to get answers to those questions because Avengers: Endgame is only a few short weeks away, but while that movie may be focused on saving half of all life in the galaxy, we certainly hope it leaves time to answer these burning questions about the movie we just saw.

Where The Hell Has Captain Marvel Been?

At the end of the movie, our hero leaves Earth with apparently two major goals in mind. She plans to help the Skrulls find a new home where they can live in peace, and to take the fight to the Kree, with her eye on ending the galactic control the Kree have been attempting. And then, as far as we know, she’s never seen again on Earth until post-Decimation.

Now certainly, fighting a one-woman war against the Kree is going to be a time consuming endeavor, but it’s been two decades since the events of Captain Marvel, and not only has Carol Danvers not returned to Earth, she’s been so far off the radar that nobody knows anything about her. We see Ronan the Accuser take a particular interest in Danvers, but when we see Ronan later in Guardians of the Galaxy, he’s focusing on entirely different things, when clearly he hasn’t killed Captain Marvel yet. When Ronan attacks Xandar, where the hell is the lady who made it her mission to defeat the Kree?

Did Captain Marvel Cause The Kree/Xandarian Peace Treaty?

There is one possible answer to the above question, but if true, it also raises other questions. Is Captain Marvel the ultimate reason that Roan the Accuser goes rogue in Guardians of the Galaxy and works works with Thanos. When we first meet Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy, we learn that he's no longer part of the Kree collective, but is instead working alone. The Kree and the planet Xandar have signed a peace treaty, but Ronan doesn't agree with it. The war between these two has apparently raged for generations, causing the deaths of many in Ronan's family. It's never made clear why the Kree have made peace now, based on the way we see them in Captain Marvel, they don't seem like a race that makes peace easily.

However, if the Nova Corps were to get some additional assistance by somebody like Captain Marvel, it's possible that could have thrown the balance of the war off in such a way that the Kree had no choice but to make peace. Of course, if all this were true, it wouldn't explain why Carol Danvers didn't show up to help at the end of that movie when Ronan attacked Xandar.

What Happened To Maria And Monica?

One of the biggest questions we had after Avengers: Infinity War involved taking stock of the MCU and figuring out who might still be alive following The Snap. Anybody that we didn’t see on screen in the final minutes of that movie has no clear fate, and that’s a lot of people that fans care about. Captain Marvel added two more, Maria and Monica Rambeau. Carol Danvers' friend and fellow pilot was one of the highlights of the new movie, and her daughter was also instantly endearing.

Did one or both of them fall victim to Thanos or are they still with us? While the post-credits scene of Captain Marvel showed us Carol Danvers hasn’t aged much, likely due to her powers, Maria and Monica would be 20 years older, meaning Monica is now an adult. As comic book fans know, she potentially has a superhero life in front of her as well, so the question of their fate, both now and in the future, is potentially important.

Is Goose Still Around?

If there’s one thing that pretty much everybody who saw Captain Marvel can agree on, it’s that Goose is just the best. Say what you will about the movie itself, but Goose the cat is getting rave reviews from every corner, and so we have to wonder, is the little guy still around?

Goose would be something over 20 years old, which is damn old for a cat and would mean that’s unlikely, but as we know, Goose isn’t actually a cat. He's an alien called a flerken that simply resembles a cat. Exactly what the lifespan of the flerken is, we don’t really know. It appears that Nick Fury has kept Goose around, which isn’t good news since Fury is now gone. Who’s going to feed Goose? Even if the little fuzzball has survived this long, he may have been dusted himself, which is just too heartbreaking to think about.

How Did Mar-Vell Get The Tesseract?

We know more about the history of the Tesseract, a.k.a. the Space Stone, then we do any of the other Infinity Stones. We know it was being hidden in Norway in the 1940s when the Red Skull obtained it. Captain America then defeated the Skull and the stone was lost, along with Cap himself, but Howard Stark recovered the Tesseract while looking for Steve Rogers. The next time we saw it, it was in the hands of SHIELD, so it appeared that Stark handed it over to his bosses at the SSR, which later became SHIELD, and they'd had it all this time.

But now Captain Marvel has revealed that may not actually be the case. Somehow, Mar-Vell got her hands on the Tesseract and used it to create a lightspeed engine. By the end of the film, the Tesseract is in the hands of SHIELD, or at least Nick Fury, but exactly how Mar-Vell got it is still a mystery, Did Mar-Vell get it, or take it, from Howard Stark at some point in the past? Did she steal it from the SSR/SHIELD? At this point we don't know.

At this point, we have no idea what's next for the MCU after this year's films wrap up, which means we have no clue when we might get an answer to any of these questions unless they're actually part of Avengers: Endgame. Could we have to wait multiple years to learn what happened to Goose? Please don't let that be so.

Shazam! 2 Will Likely Follow This Cool Comic Storyline

Shazam! 2 Will Likely Follow This Cool Comic Storyline

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Shazam! are ahead!

With all the money it’s made at the box office so far and the amount of positive reception it’s earned, it’s safe to say that Shazam! is another hit for Warner Bros and DC. It’s likelier than not that a sequel will move forward, and producer Peter Safran acknowledged that Shazam! 2 will have to come together quickly since the young cast members are quickly growing up.

Fortunately, like many superhero movie’s before it, Shazam! used its mid/post-credits scene to foreshadow set up what’s to come. Assuming a misdirect isn’t in the cards, it looks like this upcoming story will be based on the currently-running Shazam comic book by writer Geoff Johns and artist Dale Eaglesham, which hasn’t even wrapped up its first story arc yet!

For those who need a refresher on Shazam!’s mid-credits scene, Mark Strong’s Thaddeus Sivana was seen obsessively scratching ancient runes on the walls of his prison cell, desperately trying to get back to the Rock of Eternity so he can reclaim his last power. Suddenly, a nearby voice tells him that there are other ways to obtain powers, and by the forming alliance, Sivana and these two can conquer the “seven realms.”

We soon see that this voice doesn’t come from a giant, foreboding figure, but from a tiny, yet still unnerving, super intelligent caterpillar named Mister Mind. He was first seen in Shazam! trapped in a glass case when the adolescent Sivana was brought to the Rock of Eternity, but had managed to escape confinement by the time Billy Batson showed up at the wizard Shazam’s lair.

Although the Shazam! movie drew from all across Shazam’s comic book history, it was primarily based off the New 52 origin story written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank. That story also ended with Mister Mind proposing an alliance to Dr. Sivana, although in this instance, the two of them met when Dr. Sivana tried to break back into the Rock of Eternity following Black Adam’s defeat, with Mister Mind trapped inside of a glass case. In this case, though, Dr. Sivana was desperate for magical power to “save his family,” hence why he’d entertain working with a sinister caterpillar.

Five years after Shazam’s New 52 origin story concluded, DC finally debuted an ongoing Shazam comic book series starring these new incarnations of the Shazam family. At the time of this writing, only four issues have been released, with issue #5 coming out on May 8.

However, Shazam!’s tease of Sivana and Mister Mind working together, Mind’s “seven realms” comment and some weirdness Billy Batson and his adoptive siblings deal with in the Rock of Eternity indicates that Shazam! 2 will be based off the tale that Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham are currently delivering on the printed page.

In the current Shazam comic book, Billy and his siblings discover a passage way in the Rock of Eternity that leads to a old fashioned-looking train station providing transportation to other corners of the Magiclands, which is comprised of seven magical realms: the Earthlands (a.k.a. our reality), the Funlands, the Gamelands, the Wildlands, the Monsterlands, the Woznerlands and the Darklands. Thus far, the latter three realms haven’t been shown yet, but the others are all kinds of weird.

There wasn’t a train station to be seen in Shazam!’s version of the Rock of Eternity, but it does have its own gateways to other worlds. While Billy and the kids were trying to escape Sivana, they came across a cavern filled with countless doors. One of them led to a room where three crocodile-men (modeled off the kinds of creatures that Shazam/Captain Marvel has battled numerous times in the comics) were playing cards, another door containing a tentacle creature resembling the Demogoron from Stranger Things, and a third door that just tried to suck in everyone.

Aside from visits to the Rock of Eternity, Shazam! only took place on Earth, but these doorways and Mister Mind aspiring for multi-dimensional domination foreshadow that Shazam! 2 will likely have the Shazam family visiting other magical realms. Whether or not these realms will directly resemble the Magiclands from the comics remains to be seen, although the presence of these crocodile men and the prospect of bringing the anthropomorphic tiger Tawky Tawny, a longtime member of the Shazam mythos (who was subtly referenced in Shazam! via a stuffed tiger toy), suggest that the Wildlands could at least appear.

Oh, and it’s also worth mentioning that Dr. Sivana and Mister Mind are involved in the current Shazam comic book. Thus far the full extent of their machinations hasn’t been revealed yet, but they’re definitely up to no good, as Mind instructed Sivana to kill a doctor because the “tongue of a medicine man” is required for a spell they’re casting.

We also learned how Mind is believed to have originated from the Wildlands and nearly destroyed the Council of Eternity. Perhaps this backstory will be retained for Shazam! 2, especially given that Mind was imprisoned at the Rock of Eternity for an untold period of time.

Assuming that Shazam! 2 is based off of Geoff Johns’ current Shazam arc, it would be just another way the writer’s work has influenced the DCEU. Justice League was based off of the opening issues of his New 52 Justice League run, and Aquaman drew from his acclaimed New 52 Aquaman run, as well as incorporated elements of his scrapped "Rise of the Seven Seas" event. Johns had previously helped guide the DCEU as DC Entertainment president, but he stepped down from that role and Chief Creative Officer last year to focus on comic book writing and producing more projects.

Shazam! hasn’t even been theaters for a week, so it may be a while before we hear any specific information about what’s in store for Shazam! 2. Still, much like how Aquaman set the stage for a Black Manta/Stephen Shin team-up in Aquaman 2, Shazam! showed audiences that Mister Mind is work with Dr. Sivana, and it’s a good bet that whatever they have planned will require the Shazam gang to venture out into the magical beyond.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on Shazam! 2, which will be written by the man who penned the first movie, Henry Gayden. But for now, you can pick up the Shazam comic book series digitally or at your local comic book store to get a sense of what might be depicted on the big screen, and don’t forget to look through our handy guide to learn what else the DCEU has coming up.

Bond 25 Just Dropped A Ton Of New Details But Left One Important Fact Out

Bond 25 Just Dropped A Ton Of New Details But Left One Important Fact Out

After every current James Bond movie drops, there’s almost always talk about the next film. In those talks, the traditional nickname is basically something along the lines of Bond 25, which is the most recent sequel we’ve been looking forward to since 2015’s Spectre. Typically, this all leads up to the official reveal of the film’s name at a big press conference event. But while we got a nice live streaming reveal of the film’s cast this morning, we unfortunately don’t have that title yet! Still, let's go through the brand new details we do have.

While I thought we’d have an official title by this morning, we did get some substantial information, including a first look at the plot, in addition to those cast members, old and new, that were revealed this morning. And there are still some pretty big reveals to be had, even in the shadow of the missing title.

Announced at Ian Fleming’s Goldeneye villa in Jamaica, producer Barbara Broccoli sadly confirmed that there was no name for Bond 25 as of yet, though she did provide the following detail of how the film will open. That detail was also reflected in the official synopsis for the film, which is as follows:

Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

So 007 is finally relaxing and taking life less seriously, presumably with Madeline Swann, the woman he fell head-over-heels for in Spectre. And not only has evil reared its head, it's a dire enough situation that only Felix Leiter is the best hope of bringing Bond back. Though if that sizzle reel of Craig’s tenure is any indication, extra motivation may be at hand as he just might be losing Madeline, completing the On Her Majesty’s Secret Service path that his last adventure started him out on. Cue the Bond theme, and our favorite super spy getting back into the game, for a hard-driven battle of revenge.

For Bond 25, that mysterious villain will take the form of Academy Award winner Rami Malek, who is finally confirmed as playing the still unnamed baddie. Malek was unable to attend this event, but provided a pre-recorded message in which he said the following:

[I'm not] jealous one bit that you're all in the absolutely stunning setting of Ian Fleming's iconic Caribbean home, Goldeneye, on the island of Jamaica. No, not at all. I'm stuck here in New York in production, but I'm very much looking forward to joining the whole cast and crew so very soon. I promise you all I will be making sure Mr. Bond does not have an easy ride of it, in this his 25th outing. I can't wait to see you all soon. Cheers.

In addition to Malek, the Bond 25 cast is also adding franchise newcomers Dali Benssalah, Ana De Armas, Lashana Lynch, David Dencik, and Billy Magnussen were all revealed as part of the roster that this new film is bringing into the field. Though there was also some surprising news dropped into the returning cast portion of the announcement.

While cast members Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Lea Seydoux, Rory Kinnear, and Ben Whishaw are all confirmed as Bond 25 players, a face we haven’t seen in some time has been brought back to the fold. The return of Jeffrey Wright’s Felix Leiter sees James Bond’s “brother from Langley” returning for the first time since 2009’s Quantum of Solace. This was previously speculated as a possibility, fueled by Wright himself, and it’s good to finally have confirmation that Felix Leiter will return for Bond 25.

All of these announcements were in service of the start of Bond 25’s principal production phase, which means that shooting is now underway in Jamaica, as we speak. Which is probably why, at the end of the livestream shared with the world this morning, we were treated to photos of a set that was constructed in the area.

If we were to venture a guess, the structure shown in the photo below is probably be the corner of the world that James and Madeline will call home at the beginning of Bond 25. But you can judge for yourself, as you take a look at that snapshot below:

It’s certainly been interesting to follow the path of Bond 25, as it originally started life as a project for director Danny Boyle, with a script from John Hodge in the works. Though eventually, Boyle dropped from the picture entirely over creative differences, leaving Joji Fukunaga to step into the director’s chair.

Because of said setbacks, as well as a couple rounds of rewrites ordered on Bond 25, production was delayed, pushing it out of the original November 8, 2019 slot it was supposed to debut in. With February 14, 2020 being the first replacement date, the final April 8, 2020 release date was settled upon, and now that production has started, we’re confident that’ll stick.

Which leads us to that big question: when in the world are we going to have a name for Bond 25? Usually, the big reveal press conference that the Bond franchise has famously been known for would give the public their first taste of what the film would be about, complete with a convenient name that doesn’t depend on a number.

But here we are, with the next Bond film in production and no title given. More than likely, that pesky script work has left the team without a convenient name for Bond 25. Whatever it is, I'd guess it will probably follow the same formula of a single word that keys everyone into the plot, while also being edgy.

Come to think of it, the recently dismissed title Shatterhand would be a nice fit, as it follows that criteria, and would make a great trilogy of S-sounding titles after Skyfall and Spectre. Also, with some parties convinced that this morning’s announcement should have included the rumored return of Christoph Waltz’s Ernst Stavro Blofeld, that title would be apt as it was one of his aliases during the Ian Fleming run of novels.

While that particular thought isn’t confirmed in any way, shape, or form, it feels like something that’d be a pretty amazing finale. One last showdown with a formidable foe would be a hell of an end for Daniel Craig to go out on, leaving a new actor able to step in fresh and clean.

You can watch the entire Bond 25 live streaming event below, to see the lovely splendor of Jamaica for yourself; as well as some of the stunning clip reel work the team for this event has put together.

Wherever the future of Bond 25 takes us from this point forward, it’s sure to be a mix of the respectable past and a bold way forward. We’ll have to wait a little longer to know what to call this film, but with the information we’ve gotten this morning, there’s enough of a tease to keep us waiting patiently.

Bond 25 will be released in theaters on April 8, 2020; outside of its usual November timeframe.

Vin Diesel’s xXx Lawsuit Has Been Revived

Vin Diesel’s xXx Lawsuit Has Been Revived

After a long hiatus, Vin Diesel brought back the xXx film franchise in 2017 with xXx: Return of Xander Cage. While it had been over a decade since Diesel had played the role, the movie did reasonably well at the box office, at least internationally. However, the production wasn't without its hurdles, including a lawsuit filed by a one of the producers of the original xXx, and while the suit appeared to be gone by May of 2017, an appeals court just brought it back to life.

The suit was filed by George Zakk in May of 2016 against both Vin Diesel specifically as well as Revolution Studios, who previously owned the rights to the xXx franchise. Zakk claimed that as a producer of the original xXx film he was entitled to both credit as well as a share of the profits in any sequels that would come after.

In May of 2017, a judge dismissed Zakk's lawsuit, on the grounds that Zakk apparently did not have any of these agreements in writing, which the statute of frauds would require since so much time would elapse between any oral agreement and the execution of said agreement. The judge also found that Zakk first claimed only a single oral agreement, before amending the complaint to include others, which was being referred to as a "sham pleading."

George Zakk appealed that judge's ruling and, according to THR, this week a California Appeals court sided with Zakk. The appeals court found that while Zakk's three different complaints, amended at various times, were unclear, they agreed that there were actually multiple oral agreements that had been put in place over time. In addition, the statute of frauds did not apply because Zakk alleges that he performed all duties he was required to perform under the agreement.

Other aspects of George Zakk's original lawsuit remain closed following this new ruling, but this decision is enough to bring all the parties back to court to deal with the resurrected issues. Considering that Vin Diesel was taking meetings about a fourth xXx movie has recently as a couple months ago, plans to continue the franchise are obviously still moving forward. It's too early to tell if this lawsuit could put the new movie on hold while issues are resolved.

Zakk's original lawsuit claimed that he was owned upwards of $250,000 for the xXx sequel, but one assumes Zakk will also want to see a share of the upcoming movie as well if the project moves forward.

Considering that it took almost two years for the court to rule on this appeal, this suit certainly isn't on the fast track. A fourth xXx movie could be out in theaters before we get another ruling. The only winner in that situation might be Revolution Studios. They sold the rights to the xXx franchise to The H Collective, Vin Diesel, and Diesel's production label One Race Films after the third film, so they won't be on the hook for any future films.

Hellboy Reviews Are In, Here’s What Critics Are Saying

Hellboy Reviews Are In, Here’s What Critics Are Saying

In 2004, Hellboy finally made his big screen debut, with Ron Perlman inhabiting the eponymous role and Guillermo del Toro writing and directing the movie. Both that and its 2008 sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, received mostly positive reviews, but they weren’t huge commercial hits, and despite fans hoping for years that Hellboy III would eventually get made, it never did.

Instead, Lionsgate decided to give Hellboy the reboot treatment, but if you were hoping that this latest theatrical adventure starring Big Red comes anywhere close to being as good as its predecessors, if not better, it sounds like you’ll be disappointed. Hellboy reviews are pouring in online, and not only do many of them paint the reboot as the Dark Horse Comics character’s worse theatrical outing yet, but also as a subpar comic book movie in general.

CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg was disappointed with how Hellboy turned out, giving it 2 out of 5 stars in his review. He noted that while there are parts of the movie are handled reasonably, like certain story elements and and the look of this Hellboy, overall it’s a “messy piece of work that doesn’t seem quite sure what it wants to be or who it’s for” which especially suffers from bad one-liners and “clever” bits.

Hellboy is definitely a disappointment. As has been proven in the past, this is a character with a lot of big screen potential storywise, but the earlier movies suffered because they couldn’t find an audience, and this one suffers because it feels like it tried to throw everything at the wall in hopes of circumventing that same issue. It’s not a disaster, but with talent like Neil Marshall and David Harbour involved one expected better.

Over at Slashfilm, Josh Spiegel went many steps further in the negative direction and called Hellboy one of the worst comic book movies ever made, awarding it only a 1/10 score. Among the many adjectives Spiegel used to describe Hellboy include unpleasant, dreadful, obnoxious, unnecessary and interminable. In his opinion, both Hellboy’s humor and action fail to hit properly, and David Harbour fails to shine as the heroic demon.

Rebooting the character more than a decade after Guillermo del Toro’s series came to an end is fine. Del Toro’s Hellboy films are charming and feature tactile-seeming creatures, but they weren’t perfect. That’s still a vast improvement over this new film, which feels like a mistake from the start and gets worse from there.

Nerdist’s Kyle Anderson was kinder towards Hellboy, giving it a 3 out of 5 score. He acknowledged that since he was already a fan of the Hellboy comics, he was satisfied with much of what he saw, but people unfamiliar with this mythos might not feel the same way. That said, the movie’s faithfulness to the source material ends up being a burden with regard to looking like a unique/special product.

If you have longed for the Hellboy of the page to hit the screen, this movie will scratch some itches. You want a fun, bloody monster movie? You'll probably have a decent time. If you're expecting a big superhero blockbuster that hits every Joseph Campbell beat, this might not be the devil you need.

Leigh Monson from Birth.Movies.Death. was among those “disappointed” by Hellboy, taking issue with its convoluted plot, unlikable characters, “haphazard” editing and more. The entire product is filled with “strange, dumb-as-rocks” creative choices that ultimately form with the “inherent weirdness” of the source material to create a kind of “bizarro charm.”

Hellboy is some very ill-advised cinema, and those who enjoy the prospect of cinematic trainwrecks are likely to get some joy out of this. Everyone else... well, you all know where to find the better version.

io9’s Charles Pulliam-Moore felt that Hellboy was a “textbook example” of the kind of movie where, when watching it, you can pick up on “echoes” of what it was intended to be earlier in the production process. In its final form, though, Hellboy plays as more of a ‘greatest hits’ from the Hellboy comics that uses its R-rating not for proper scares, but “excessive amounts of gratuitous bloodshed.”

Like two great tastes that somehow don’t go well together, Hellboy’s greatest sin is that it makes you long for the film that it might have been because there’s so much about the movie that works in a vacuum. David Harbour absolutely nails the charming, lunk-ish aspects of Hellboy’s personality, and a handful of the film’s action sequences are legitimately fun to watch before you get back to the slog of the rest of the film. Sadly, those few bright spots aren’t likely to convince anyone that this reboot deserves to be a jumping off point for a new series or doing the Hellboy franchise any favors.

Finally, John DeFore from The Hollywood Reporter acknowledged that while the broad strokes of Andrew Cosby’s Hellboy script fit pretty well with the universe Mike Mignola created, there are too many action sequences, its characters are uninteresting and the design of Hellboy himself is questionable.

… Neil Marshall's Hellboy isn't lousy because nobody wants it, nor only because it fails to live up to both its big-screen and printed predecessors. 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.

These are just some of the Hellboy reviews making the rounds, so feel free to browse around other corners of the internet to see what other people have to say. Still, it doesn’t look like this movie will go down as a critical darling, and if its performance at the box office reflects this mediocre response, one probably shouldn’t get their hopes up of the reboot launching a new film series. In any case, if you’re not interested in checking out Hellboy, you can still get your comic book movie fix this month by checking out Shazam! and/or waiting for Avengers: Endgame.

You can judge Hellboy for yourself starting this Friday, April 12. Those of you interested in learning what other movies are coming out later this year can look through our 2019 release schedule.