Hellboy Review: 3 Ups & 7 Downs
5. The AWFUL Supporting Performances
Of the film's fairly distinguished supporting cast, there are only really two actors who get away with their dignity half-way in tact.
Ian McShane is his usual charming, gravel-voiced self as Hellboy's adoptive father Trevor Bruttenholm, and Stephen Graham gives an hilarious voice performance as Nimue's Scouse pig-monster familiar Gruagach.
Sadly pretty much every other significant character in the movie not named Hellboy is a total bust, both as written and acted.
First and foremost, Milla Jovovich gives a cringe-worthy performance as Nimue, all stereotypical moustache-twirling British accent yet curiously lacking in any personality or sense of fun.
Elsewhere the usually reliable Sasha Lane is weirdly flat as Hellboy's pal Alice Monaghan, and though Daniel Dae Kim seemed like a fantastic fit for Ben Daimio on paper, his unconvincing British accent doesn't help his already off-key delivery.
It adds up to a messy stew of actors all trying to do different things, and very few of them successfully. Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy movies saw every single cast member firing on all cylinders, whereas this feels almost entirely the opposite.