Hellboy Review: 3 Ups & 7 Downs

2. The Tone Is A Complete Mess

One of the most winning aspects of the Hellboy character has always been his irreverent tone, and that's something del Toro and Ron Perlman tapped into perfectly with their interpretation of the superhero and his world.

Sadly Marshall's film feels decidedly more confused about what it's supposed to be from top to bottom, and the result is frequent tonal whiplash as it jettisons viewers from one side of the mood spectrum to the other.

Hellboy isn't a film to be taken terribly seriously, and yet, it wastes so much time on its tedious lore that it's easy to assume otherwise, to say nothing of a father-son bond between Trevor and Hellboy that feels totally malnourished, as though the film's afraid of getting too gooey and sentimental.

Elsewhere music choices are frequently baffling, especially the use of Muse during the aforementioned giant fight, and the semi-random deployment of Mötley Crüe during a climactic shootout sequence.

There are moments of great grimness - especially one involving dead children - and yet scenes of supposed great levity, yet Marshall never manages to strike a compelling balance.

A lot of the time, you'll probably be left wondering how you're supposed to feel and what you're supposed to take away from what you're seeing.