The Hellboy reboot isn’t great. A sloppy narrative and really bad visual effects keep this one from being a really enjoyable take on the classic Mike Mignola character.

That being said there are a couple of good things about it. If anyone was going to take over the role after Ron Perlman, I think David Harbour seems like the best choice. I also like that it ends up being a lot more bloody, gory, and leaning into the horror elements of the original comics. It also has a great appearance by another iconic character from the BPRD universe, Lobster Johnson (Thomas Haden Church).

That being said, that’s about all this film has going for it. Marshall, who is a direct that seems imaginative and likes both horror and action misfires on this one, unable to find that much needed del Toro touch that brought the original two films to beautiful life.

In this version of the character, Hellboy (Harbour) is struggling with his nature, clashing with his adopted father, Professor Broom (Ian McShane) and needs to stop an undead sorceress, Nimue (Milla Jovovich) from destroying the world, with him at her side.

There are some fun ideas here, but the visual effects are truly horrible and jar the viewer from the film, even those who were just barely holding on to the almost non-existent narrative.

Hellboy is joined by Alice (Sasha Lane), a spiritualist, and a member of a super-secret British task force, Major Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim trotting out a truly awful UK accent).

Hellboy, just like we’ve seen in the original classic, struggles with a prophecy of who he is, and how he will bring about the end of the world. That’s a little tired. The BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense) has a multitude of stories and arcs, there was a wealth to draw from, and the film does do that, but why fall back onto the same idea of Hellboy destroying the world?

It’s definitely not as good or as joyous as it could have been. I’m all for the gore and horror angles, that’s a great part of the world of Hellboy, but it needs to have a balance, be able to walk horror, action and comedy. This one doesn’t do that.

I’d like to see Harbour take another swing at it, but perhaps with a different director and a better script. Keep Harbour, keep the blood, the horror and give me a better story. del Toro would be the obvious choice to direct, but there are no doubt others who could bring a unique visual style to the universe. I’d love to see more Hellboy stories.

Someone will crack it and do it right again. I hope.