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Hellboy II: The Golden Army

The stunning visuals and artistic direction of the highly acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth director, Guillermo del Toro, remain intact as he takes us on a bright and vibrant journey through the comic world with monsters. An artist, who loves having his characters in makeup and disguises, brings us into the modern world with a certain flare and imagination that at times can mimic the surreal.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is first quickly summed up as a bedtime story to a young Red as a child. Fast forwarding to the present day, the mythical world, that started as a fairy tale but is apparently true, starts a rebellion against the human race to rule the Earth. Hellboy (Ron Perlman), or more commonly referred to as Red, and the team of Liz (Linda Blair), Chamberlain (Doug Jones) and a newcomer, Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth Macfarlane), saddle up to save the world from these vicious creatures.

Continuing to build on the already overstated presence of the comic world in cinema, this Hellboy installment was solid. It had an excellent blend of stunning visuals, action packed fight sequences, and humor on the part of the brute, overly cocky Red. Perlman reprises his role as the cigar smoking, beer guzzling, devil spawned creature that wrecks havoc. He’s entertaining as his calm nature lingers in serious fighting duels as he manages to overcome his foe.

Guillermo del Toro’s love for artistry and creatures of all kind comes through nicely, without getting carried away. His direction was good as it related to a seemingly bloodless and tasteful comic adaption that could be enjoyed by all. The soundtrack choosing for this bothered me, as each track cued I averted my eyes as I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The music didn’t seem to capture the tone and mood during certain scenes as in some cases it came off as very hokey.

There were certain elements of the characters that revealed too much or just seemed too easy. In this world that Hellboy defends, the characters are developed as complex beings weighing choices between saving a race that discriminates them. However, at times when I was expecting more tension or drama to be lodged into monumental and pivotal scenes, it simply wasn’t there when the characters would fold.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army seems to build upon the first one as it maintains a simple story with what appears to be a larger vision. I wasn’t a fan of the first Hellboy, but I enjoyed this one. The first one was more focused, but in this one the characters’ interplay and dialogue between each other is quite entertaining, especially Seth McFarlane’s voiced contributions. This is a fun ride.

Written by: John Berkowitz

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