Del Toro's films are great but way to inaccurate to the source material, hence why Mike, and Guillermo had a falling out due to creative differences, we'll never get a third because the studio won't give millions for a film that might not break even (both films before didn't make a lot box office wise). This was faithful and I'm happy with it being that.
Yeah.
The ideal scenario for me is if Del Toro accommodates Mignola's creative request, and is more faithful to the comic.
Perlman, Blair, and Jones are great casts. Hellboy 1 made the character worldwide famous, definitely gave the exposure that the comic's deserved.
It is tragic that we can't get him to direct a faithful Hellboy movie with the cast.
Yeah, I'm not saying this was a groundbreaking, super entertaining movie. But I also didn't let the low budget steer me away from enjoying it for what it was. I liked it. More importantly, I didn't absolutely hate it.
I don't hate it either, I just can't enjoy it that much, as a movie.
I think it's a bit of a suicidal move to make a low-budget -even though it's faithful- Hellboy movie like this. I get it, Mignola is happy that he gets to make a movie faithful to his works, has full creative control over it, and he is satisfied with the end result.
We, Hellboy fans who read the comic are also happy for him, many enjoyed the movie too.
But that's just it.. the movie only works for those who read or are familiar with Hellboy comics and lore. It doesn't work well with the general audience, especially those who watched the Del Toro movies. They will automatically compare many things from the two.
The movie is not well received, it's not even played in the theater in some countries and went straight to video/streaming.
The aftermath, the long-term effect is.. as you said, there won't be another live action Hellboy movie for a long time after this one.
Hellboy truly deserves better.. and I hope there will be more movies coming, with a much larger budget, and Mignola on the script with a good screenwriter.
