If Guillermo del Toro’s version of Hellboy is the imaginative grand symphony, this version is the discordant heavy metal little brother. Based on “The Wild Hunt” and “The Storm and the Fury” storylines in the comics doesn’t save it, either.

Lacking the Del Toro’s vision, the character and monster designs are pedantic at best. David Harbour plays the titular infernal hero and while at first the costume design seems grittier than Ron Perlman’s Hellboy, it becomes clear very quickly that, while Perlman became the character and almost seemed to meld with his costume, Harbour seems to be fighting his costume. It’s like watching one of the most uncomfortable and anxiety-ridden wrestling matches one can imagine. I kind of felt sorry for Harbour as he’s a good actor with the right material, but he got handed such terrible material to work with. To his credit, it’s clear that he does try to sell it, but when you’re selling crap, it’s still crap.

The characters come off more as caricatures. Their relationships are so basic and one-dimensional even if they exist that we find that we don’t really care. And that’s the major problem. The stakes aren’t built up enough to make us care. It’s a good versus evil comic-book film and we don’t really care whether the good guys live or if the bad guys win. Making the audience care and identify with the characters should be the bread and butter of “Hellboy.” Instead, we’re given a cracker and told to run along and play.

Don’t bother unless you are a major fan of the comics or the actors and simply HAVE to see it. Even then, you might want to consider steering clear as it could taint your love for these.