Hellboy II: The Golden Army Movie Review
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY: EYE-CATCHING AND FUN
Guillermo Del Toro’s follow up to his smash hit Hellboy is a fun summer movie. But it is also visually striking. With a story that is just above average, the attraction is definitely the detail that Del Toro puts into his characters. He has an affinity for the grotesque but has a knack for making it look like art.
Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is having problems. He is fighting with his girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair). He is angering his boss Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) with his inability to stay out of the public eye. But these are nothing compared to what trouble he and his team at the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense are in for. A bedtime story told to Hellboy when he was a boy is set to come true if they are unable to prevent it. Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) is determined to break a truce between their kind and the human world by unleashing the Golden Army that was created many years ago. This army would wreak havoc on Earth. The Prince can only do this with all three parts of the crown that his father divided when he made the truce. And standing in the Prince’s way is his identical twin sister Princess Nuala (Anna Walton). She has the last piece and has taken refuge with the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. But the siblings are so connected that they know where each other are at all times. Will the team be able to save mankind in time?
The story is not your typical superhero plot. And Hellboy is not your standard character either. He is loud, obnoxious, has a slight obsession with cats, and he has a temper. The story has the cliché of this group of anti-heroes not being appreciated by the people they are trying to save on a daily basis. What is their motivation for saving them? The obvious answer is that’s what they are supposed to do. Hellboy struggles with this in one of the best scenes where he fights a creature that Prince Nuada unleashes on him. He grapples with this dilemma while holding a human baby. The majority of the cast does a good job with their roles. But unfortunately Ron Perlman has yet to make the character of Hellboy likeable. He comes off as annoying and silly, which was the problem with the first one. But Doug Jones as Abe is the heart of this film, with his affection for Princess Nuala becoming an obstacle on the way to saving the world. Jones is a Del Toro favorite, with him playing the title role in Pan’s Labyrinth. Last but not least, the characters are the true attraction in this film. Del Toro obviously has a dark view of the world and likes to portray them with a childlike touch. For example, Prince Nuada unleashes tiny monsters with razor sharp teeth at an auction in the beginning of the film. These tiny monsters attack their prey’s teeth first and then eat the rest. They are referred to as tooth fairies. So if the story doesn’t grab your attention, the characters from the other world will definitely do the trick.
The clichéd answer of why these heroes should save the world is becoming old news with the numerous amounts of comic book movies out there today. It would be refreshing to not have such a Pollyanna answer. It would make them more relatable.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army is popcorn summer movie that will help you escape the heat and give you a good time. Del Toro puts his touch on the film, which gives it a wicked feel and takes it out of the typical superhero fare.
Report Card:
Story-B
Acting-C
Visuals-A
Originality/Innovation-B
Enjoyability Grade–B
Overall Grade-B
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