Hellboy II: The Golden Army

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Despite being an intense fan of comic books and their respectivecinematic adaptations (especially when it comes to Batman), I haveyet to read Mike Mignola's lauded Hellboy novels. I love the art, Ilove the characters, and I love the animated "episode" ofThe Amazing Screw-On Head (another of Mignola's works), I have justnever gotten around to finding, buying, and reading any of theprinted groundwork for Guillermo Del Toro's fantastically playfulfantasy action movies.

That's sure to change after seeing The Golden Army.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is the first live action film I've seenthis year that contains visuals that truly astounded me. That listincludes such effects-heavy offerings as Iron Man, The IncredibleHulk, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Speed Racer, andIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. While I've hadvery positive things to say about the special effects in many ofthose movies, none of them really came off as revolutionary orspectacular. That award goes to Big Red and his golden buddies.It's ironic that a movie that prides itself on being absolutely,unbelievably fantastical in a season of movies trying to be real,gritty, and down-to-earth contains the most believable specialeffects of them all.

It's also the first movie in over ten years of film-going that I'vebought a bag of popcorn for. That should tell you something aboutmy expectations going into the theater. The fact that I devouredthe whole bag despite my general indifference towards popcorn anddespite the overall poor quality of the popcorn purchased speaks tothe amount that Hellboy II fulfilled those expectations.

For the sake of clarity, let me say that I love the Hellboy filmsdespite the fact that they insist on not taking themselvesseriously. In fact, that may be the biggest reason why I love them.How can you not respect the audacity it takes to concoct a plot inwhich Vladimir Rasputin teams up with Nazis to bring about theapocalypse? Who is so self-serious that they can't enjoy the storyof a giant red demon raised by humans who loves cats, enjoyspancakes and beer, and hunts supernatural baddies with a giant gun?Personally, I love absurd escapism, and I enjoy the occasional bitsof pulp. I see the original Hellboy as a ridiculous butfantastically fun bit of action/horror entertainment. So when Iheard about the sequel, I was understandably excited.

Something that makes both Hellboy movies enjoyable is the obviouspassion Guillermo Del Toro has for them. You wouldn't know fromwatching the trailers or TV spots, but these movies are notschlocky cash-ins meant only to filter empty violence and gruesomeghoulies into the eyes of an unassuming audience peppered withcomic book fans. The magic of Hellboy and its sequel is the love offantasy Del Toro has, oozing through the screen in every muzzleflash, cheeky one-liner, and latex prosthetic. This is rich,detailed fantasy world (much more so with the sequel than theoriginal) that begs several viewings to catch every lusciousdetail. If these were cinematic excuses for a quick buck, why wouldthe studios green light a sequel to a movie that barely broke evenat the box-office? Simple, Del Toro refused to get started on anyof his (highly anticipated) future projects until he could craft asecond Hellboy movie.

Okay, okay, so I've gushed about my love for the first movie, butwhat makes The Golden Army worth seeing? I'm glad I wrote thatquestion that I am assuming you asked.

I've already mentioned the visuals, but I'm sure I'll come fullcircle and gush about them again before the end of this review. Iwant to start with my praise for the story. While Hellboy was abouta Lovecraftian collection of gods catalyzed by Hellboy himself intobringing the world to ruin, Hellboy II is about a disgruntled elfsummoning a mechanized army to bring about the end of the world.Yeah, we're talking the end of the world in either case, but you'dbe surprised how different each one feels in execution. Hellboy wasan action movie peppered with dark magic and horror elements, whileHellboy II is an action movie peppered with elf magic and fairytale elements. In place of the expository prologue of the firstfilm we get a storybook yarn told with a Mirrormask visual flairabout the fantasy creatures and their war with the humans, leadingto the creation of the Golden Army. From there we are introduced tothe antagonist, a pasty-skinned, spear-wielding Luke Goss as PrinceNuada and his hulking pal, Mr. Wink.

From there the movie flies at a silky smooth pace without the dullinfluence of the first films' Agent Myers or Professor Broom.Hellboy takes center stage, along with pals Liz, Abe, and new guyJohann Krauss. Big Red has quite a character arc in this one, dueto his desire to fit into the human world he has protected and hislove for Liz, but I was so happy to see Abe Sapien (and Doug Jonesunderneath!) finally get his deserved screen time. Abe meetsNuada's sister, Nuala (try not to get lost), and this is where someplot problems start to arise. Nuala's part in the plot suffers froma severe case of what's known as "Dragonheart Syndrome,"a frustrating debilitation that makes for an overly convenientdramatic device that feels hollow in practice.

The only other major problem I had with the characters is JohannKrauss, the mist man in the rubber diving suit. Sure, he's funny innearly every scene he's in with Hellboy, but his character is justas insubstantial as his physical form, and doesn't add a whole lotto the overall story.

This brings up the humor of Hellboy II, which is just as effectiveas it was in the last film. The ironic feel of a grouchy yetlovable every-man demon with ordinary problems gives the wholeexperience a feeling of lightheartedness. You can laugh at themovie at almost anytime. Then Guillermo Del Toro decides to throw afew jokes into the mix and things get even funnier. You ask anyonewho likes this movie what one of the best parts was, you will hearthe words "beer," "Abe," and "BarryManilow" come out of their mouths.

With all the things that are different about Hellboy II, it's goodto know that some things remain the same as the first movie. Firstup is the acting. Every cast member delivers unique, memorableperformances. Ron Perlman proves again why he is the only person onearth who could pull off the role of Hellboy, and Selma Blairstrives valiantly to bring relevance to a role that could easilysink into the mire of typical female characters. Shining like theslippery fish thing he plays, Doug Jones was easily my favoriteperformance of the sequel. I loved what he did with the role in theoriginal Hellboy, but due to a limited part in the story and are-dubbing by David Hyde Pierce, Jones was buried. Finally grantedthe use of his own voice and a meaty part to play, Jones breaksthrough his smothering prostheses and gives a touching, wonderfulperformance.

Also staying relatively unchanged is the action. Del Toro has agreat eye for staging and shooting action scenes, and deliversterrifically here. The more martial-arts-inspired fights betweenHellboy and Nuada are blisteringly paced and beautifullychoreographed. I did feel things were getting a little out of handwith the Golden Army tussle at the end with clockwork partscrowding the screen and things moving a little too fast, butoverall it works itself out.

Okay, I've got to say a little bit more about the visuals. You haveno idea what's in store for you in this movie. Never before have Iappreciated the "practical before digital" specialeffects credo than I did when watching The Golden Army. Del Toro,along with Peter Jackson and Christopher Nolan, is one of thosedirectors who truly "get" special effects. There is atactile freshness to seeing a stunt person dressed up as a gianttroll with a detachable metal fist when you realize that the wholething would have been CGI'd in a lesser director's hands. I havenothing against CGI, I want to make that clear. Maybe it's best ifI let the movie speak for itself. There is nothing like seeing thetriumph of creativity known as the troll market unfold before youreyes for the first time.

All in all, Hellboy II: The Golden Army will not win any convertsto the series. It knows what it does well and sticks to it,offering only bigger thrills and a fresher sense of magic than itspredecessor. Whether or not it is successful against the othertitans of the summer season is doubtful, but irrelevant. For fansof engrossing, inventive fantasy, Hellboy II is golden.