Why Hellboy Failed

5. The Botched Performances

Obviously, this kind of on-set environment isn’t conducive to making a good movie. The Wrap even reported that these tensions boiled over into the cast, with David Harbour allegedly storming off set after calls for more takes from Marshall.

The clash of visions between the producers and the director evidently made its way to the screen, and can be seen right back in the first trailers for the blockbuster, with the tone clashing with the marketing and set photos that had been released before then.

Still, it’s unclear who’s to blame for the actual performances in the movie. While Harbour is pretty good as the title character, it might just be because everyone else around him is really bad.

I genuinely love these actors; Milla Jovovich is always fun to watch, Sasha Lane is incredible in American Honey and Daniel Dae Kim is similarly always solid. Here, though, it’s like they were set up to fail.

Not only are the lines they’re delivering impossible to sell without sounding a bit dumb, they’re all delivered in some of the worst British accents I’ve ever heard. At least Ian McShane and David Harbour are having some fun, but some of the other actors feel like they’re from a different movie altogether.