Hellboy Review: 3 Ups & 7 Downs

4. It's Overlong & Poorly Paced

Though the new Hellboy runs almost exactly as long as del Toro's two prior films, it sure as hell feels a good deal longer, largely because the script gives the cast so precious little to do.

To be clear, this film is agonising at times - the middle of the film in particular grinds to a halt, with characters being damn-near drowned in aggressive expository dialogue.

Furthermore, just as the film looks like it's about to ratchet up to its climax, it pulls back and carries on for another half-hour or so, by which point it is a legitimately exhausting, tiresome experience.

By the time all of Hellboy's 121 minutes were up, I felt drained, which is surely the exact opposite of what a Hellboy movie should be trying to achieve.

Given how blatantly the film has been chopped up in post-production, it probably would've made sense to cut some of those flabbier, less meaningful scenes entirely.