Hellboy II: The Golden Army – A Movie Review

April 26, 2009 B. John 159 Views 1 Comment Action, Adventure, Horror, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Guillermo del Toro

Hellboy II Movie Poster After an ancient truce existing between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, hell on Earth is ready to erupt. A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below defies his bloodline and awakens an unstoppable army of creatures. Now, it’s up to the planet’s toughest, roughest superhero to battle the merciless dictator and his marauders. He may be red. He may be horned. He may be misunderstood. But when you need the job done right, it’s time to call in Hellboy.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Horror, Thriller, Adaptation and Sequel; Running Time: 1 hr. 50 min.; Release Date: July 11th, 2008 (wide); MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some language.

Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, Doug Jones, Luke Goss

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

Another Netflix rental, and I know that I’m way late watching this movie. For sometime I had felt like, based on the trailer, that it would be a stupid movie. Then I read a few reviews, and it got reviews very different from my expectations. Lay and I were both surprised at how much we liked this movie.

Spoiler

Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy, the reluctant, cigar-chomping hero with red skin, sawed-off horns and a massive right hand, who was once rescued from another dimension and raised (more or less) as a human. Hellboy usually enters the fray with a sigh or maybe a muttered, “ah crap.” He’s part of a secret government organization and works with another agent, a kind of telepathic fish man called Abe Sapien. He is now in a full-fledged relationship with his beloved Liz (Selma Blair), who can conjure up fire at will, though they have entered the arguing stage (over toothbrushes, etc.). Things get worse when Hellboy blows the organization’s cover by appearing in front of a gaggle of reporters. Henceforth, Washington sends a new, strict liaison to set things right. He’s called Johann Krauss, and he’s basically a wisp of fog contained in a kind of space suit. The team’s latest challenge comes when Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) returns to claim an enchanted crown that will enable him to control an army of golden warriors; he’s an oddly sympathetic villain, and a step up for Del Toro. (A young Hellboy learns about the prince, in the form of a bedtime story, in the film’s flashback prologue.) The Prince’s sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), teams up with our heroes to try and stop her brother. Unfortunately, Abe falls in love with her so hard that he gets drunk and listens to Barry Manilow. Jeffrey Tambor also returns as the stern, nervous government agent Manning in charge of keeping the peace between the heroes and the rest of the world.

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Honestly, I loved this movie. It was pure fun. The visual aspects of this film is classic are nothing short of amazing. The movie has some flaws with a few strange possible plot holes, but at the end of the day, the humor rules, and the humor hit spot on, to make a very funny film. I can’t get the song “I can’t Smile Without You” out of my head now after seeing this film. That segment was hilarious. Hellboy succeeds in being a film with a decent story, good visual work, and great characters with great humor, all to make just an overall fun movie. For someone who believes any film that doesn’t win 11 Oscars isn’t worth watching, I’ll be honest, you’ll hate Hellboy II. For someone who goes in expecting only to be entertained, to just to have a fun time, I recommend this film.