“You woke the baby!” —Hellboy
Today’s quick review: Hellboy II: The Golden Army. As agents of the B.P.R.D., Hellboy (Ron Perlman), Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), and Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) are humanity’s first line of defense against paranormal threats. When Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) sets out to reignite an ancient war between humans and elves, the agents must join forces with his sister Nuala (Anna Walton) to keep him from claiming control over the indestructible Golden Army.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army is an action horror movie based on the comics by Mike Mignola and directed by Guillermo del Toro. Hellboy II sees the return of Hellboy, Liz, and Abe, the B.P.R.D.’s motley group of monster-fighting specialists. The sequel offers the same blend of action, comedy, and inventive fantasy as the first film, but with an even greater focus on character development. The result is a worthy successor for fans of the series.
Hellboy II continues to expand the world established in the first film. On the character side, Hellboy and Liz try to iron out the kinks in their relationship, while Abe finds a kindred spirit in Nuala. Newcomer Johann Strauss (Seth MacFarlane) slots nicely into the cast, while Jeffrey Tambor returns as Tom Manning, the bureaucratic head of the B.P.R.D. The characters aren’t masterpieces, but they’re relatable, earnest, and easy to like.
On the setting side, Hellboy II picks up right where the first film left off. Hellboy’s world is mysterious and brimming with life, an incongruous mix of the beautiful and disgusting. The new creatures sport the same sorts of gorgeous, gruesome, and goofy designs del Toro is known, brought to life by a mixture of practical and digital effects. The special effects aren’t perfect, but they’re frequently impressive and always used intelligently.
Hellboy II is also a solid hit when it comes to story, comedy, and action. The skeleton of the plot sticks closely to the fantasy action formula, but the film invests enough in its characters and its individual story beats that it doesn’t feel generic. The action is nicely varied and makes good use of the cast’s special abilities. The whole thing is topped off by some enjoyable humor, courtesy of Hellboy and his childish personality.
Watch Hellboy II: The Golden Army when you’re in the mood for a well-balanced adventure that delivers what it promises. Hellboy II is just strange enough in terms of premise, visuals, and genre that not everyone will find it appealing. But those who like action movies that are creative, skillfully crafted, and unabashedly fun would do well to give it a try.
For more in the same vein from Guillermo del Toro, try the first Hellboy or Blade II. For a dark, haunting fairy tale with similar creature designs, also from del Toro, try Pan’s Labyrinth. For a more violent, action-oriented take on the same source material, try the Hellboy remake. For the sci-fi equivalent, try Men in Black.
7.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 to 7.5 for a great mixture of creatures, characters, and plot that’s on par with the original.