Hellboy II: The Golden Army

“Let this remind you why you must fear the dark.”

Guillermo del Toro brings us trolls, tooth-fairies, and wood-elves, oh my.  Hellboy II is graphically robust, with note-worthy action and passable acting, dotted with creepy characters sure to haunt your wandering mind as your eyes lose focus and you drift into sleep.  Corny moments do manage to burn through the frame at times though which has a numbing effect on the emotional impact of the film.  I really enjoy watching del Toro’s films, Pan’s Labyrinth emotionally disturbed me on several levels.

The Golden Army hardly pulled me in the same way, but at times I was struck mute and captivated at the magnificent creature work employed throughout.  Fascinating characters will have you wanting more, with layered cinematography that will beg you to watch this film at least twice.

The characters from the original are back with all new issues to deal with and a few new characters were added to this sequel  which really worked.  I was worried at first, usually with so many characters in a story things get lost in the mix.  There were some open-ended plot lines that will need tending to in a sequel, but, hey, this was a comic book movie – always trapping you with the teaser ending to get you buying the next issue.

Ron Perlman is a stellar actor; he blew me away in Last Supper in the 90s and Enemy at the Gates, now Ron revises his role as the churlish yet savage Hellboy.  Selma Blair as Liz Sherman pulled her weight, although at times it felt kind of like she texted in some of her scenes.  David Hyde Pierce didn’t return for this film, but you hardly notice it after a few lines by the new Abe Sapien (Doug Jones).  And I was stunned to learn the voice of the ghost-bot was Seth MacFarlane.  I needn’t tell you how amazing he was as Johann Krauss; Seth can make any character come to life.

There is a colorful, oh, let’s call it green message in the film, and I am not giving anything away there.  Unless you typically catch flies while you breathe, you will get the message.  Lots of that green giant stuff going around in Hollywood these days.  Still, we get it, enough already – push a more interesting message.  Even the lead bad guy Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) isn’t a straightforward malcontent, he is an idealist, and an elf.  Come to think of it, the FBI is trying in vain to hunt down a group of secretive terrorists referring to themselves as the ELF (Earth Liberation Front).   Could Hellboy be a nod to that organization, or am I just peppering in some controversy to make this review more compelling – you decide.

Allow me to wrap this up with a frightening visage of the Angel of Death, portrayed by Doug Jones.  Odd that a man with such a simple name could invoke characters of such drooling devastation. I don’t recommend you rent The Golden Army, I demand you go out and buy this one, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.