Wesley's Hellboy II: The Golden Army Review

So, this past Friday my friends and I all watched Hellboy: The Director's Cut on DVD before heading off to see Hellboy II: The Golden Army in theaters. I have to say: the first film didn't hold up very well. While I never considered Hellboy to be one of the best superhero movies of all time, I remember it being better than it is. I don't know what it is about the movie but there's just something that's off. The love subplot between Meyers and Liz was just kind of lame (especially in the added scenes in the director's cut) and some of the acting wasn't all that. Overall, the film just doesn't feel balanced. It's missing something that keeps me from just loving it. It's not a bad movie but, after re-watching it, it's not a great one either.

With that said, I was very happy to find Hellboy II: The Golden Army as a welcome breath of fresh air. Now, I know that not everyone agrees with me on this (Blossom and comic book store worker, I'm talking to you), but I genuinely just really enjoyed the movie. It was like Guillermo del Toro came up with this awesome fairy tale story and then was just like, "Hey, what if we put Hellboy and his buddies in this? Wouldn't that be cool?" Yes, Guillermo, it would be. And it is.

The amount of imagination and creativity that went into this movie was staggering. Guillermo is definitely one of the most creative and artistic people working in Hollywood right now and he definitely had a vision for this film. While the brilliant Pan's Labyrinth had hints of that imagination, Hellboy II just lets Guillermo go crazy with it. The sets and designs for creatures were absolutely beautiful, strange, and engaging. I feel like I could talk about the look of this film for years. I like how each strange character that was encountered on the journey to find the Golden Army was so unique and thought out. For example, you ever seen a guy with what appears to be a skin covered castle growing out of his head? Yeah, me neither. 

As I was stating earlier, the story works as a really crazy fairy tale (it is even introduced as one at the beginning of the film to a young and creepy looking Hellboy) with Hellboy inserted in. I know this might turn some people off (as it is a variation from the comics) but I really liked it. I felt that story allowed for more amazing visuals but also for more character development in Hellboy and Abe Sapien, a character that I felt wasn't really given anything to do at all in the first film. I really enjoyed seeing him deal with his first time love with Princess Nuala and all the changes that he had to deal with due to it. I also enjoyed seeing the relationship between Hellboy and Liz and how it was somewhat turbulent but still heartfelt. The scene where Hellboy and Abe come together during a time of relationship woes was particularly humorous and dare I say... sweet? Yeah, it was. Did I also mention that the scene involves lots of alcohol consumption and the two characters singing along to a cheesy love song? Well, it does. I, for one, enjoyed it. I also liked that the story allowed for a nice subplot where Hellboy begins to doubt why he defends human beings due to their distaste of him and the way he looks. 

While the film contains a lot of nice moments of character development and fantasy, it also has a lot of great action moments. One of my favorite action moments was the battle with the "Tooth Fairies" at the auction building. These little vicious creatures were one of my favorite additions to this sequel and man did their attack make for a very suspenseful scene. I also really enjoyed the battle between Hellboy and The Last Elemental on the streets of New York City. The ending of the battle was a defining moment for the character and was one of the most beautiful sequences that I've seen in a film in quite a while. 

Is there anything else that I liked about the movie? Well, Luke Goss was pretty awesome as Prince Nuada, the main villain of the film. I liked the somewhat troubled nature of the character and his very physical nature. His battle with Hellboy towards the end of the film was pretty exceptional. Also, you can never go wrong with Jeffrey Tambor in anything. I always really enjoyed him playing the character of Manning in the first film and I'm glad they brought his character back to be just as bitter and funny as ever (I also liked his more touching moment at one pivotal moment in the film). I'm also glad that Meyers from the first film isn't in this sequel as he was one of the more annoying characters (although I can't really put my finger on exactly why). However, their explanation on why he wasn't around was pretty lame.

Was there anything I didn't like about the film? Well, there was one pretty big plot hole that occurred towards the end of the film that kind of takes you out of the film if you notice it (I didn't at first but, after Caleb pointed it out to me, it became bothersome). Also, although the great Danny Elfman's score is more in tune with the fantasy aspects of this sequel, it was kind of sad to not hear Marco Beltrami's Hellboy theme. Also, the new character of Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame) was funny at times but, at others, he got on my nerves. I had kind of a love / hate relationship with the character. 

I know that some people may complain that this film isn't dark enough or it's too sweet or goofy, but I really enjoyed Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Director Guillermo del Toro's direction is full of imagination and creativity that you will never find in any other Hollywood film today. The cinematography by Guillermo Navarro is absolutely beautiful and is only enhanced by Elfman's fantasy driven score. The story that del Toro puts out is full of fantasy and emotion and, honestly, it made me feel like a little kid again. This is one of those rare summer blockbuster films that has movie magic. I really thought it was wonderful to watch and I'd love to see it again. I went into this movie thinking that I wouldn't be able to enjoy it because I was so excited about The Dark Knight but man did Guillermo prove me wrong. If you don't enjoy this movie on some level, you don't have a heart beat.

8/10