Hellboy II: The Golden Army
With Hellboy II: The Golden Army, visionary genius Guillermo del Toro further cements his standing as the successor to Spielbergs throne. Not only by aping the “one for you, one for me” approach that has seen The Devil’s Backbone balanced with Blade II, and Pan’s Lanyrinth mirrored (if that’s appropriate for what appears to be an extension of that films universe) with this superb second coming of Big Red, but also because, like “the beard” he is able to lift what could, and should be generic fodder above the norm to create an exhilarating, beautifully scary and at times hilarious action adventure.
The groundwork established in 2004’s hugely underrated original, we return to the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence to meet the old gang, sans Agent Myers whose absense is explained in a throwaway line early on. Obviously there’s our anvil fisted demon-from-hell hero, Hellboy, brilliantly embodied by Ron Perlman (City of the Lost Children), his now-girlfriend Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), an altogether different, sexed-up leather clad proposition than the originals timid firestarter. Abe Sapian is all Doug Jones, amphibian mind and body this time around, and Arrested Developments Jeffrey Tambor is back on hand to bark orders as Manning.
New additions are the wonderfully eccentric Dr. Johann Krauss, a Seth Mcfarlane (Family Guy) voiced spirit who functions in what seems to be an old diving suit, he gets a lot of the films funniest lines and despite the characters silly pomposity, much like the rest of Mike Mingola’s creations, he is very loveable. The same can, surprisingly be said for the big meanie, and in this instance its Luke “Bros” Goss as Prince Nuada, an ecologically mind-warped prince of Elves who has watched for too-long as the world of man envelops the kingdom he once called home. There is melancholic beauty to his characters deep-set eyes and well-intentioned motives that gives both the audience, and Hellboy a moral dilemma beyond the “damsel in distress” thread that permeates most comic-book mivies. Which side is Big Red really on? Why does he destroy his own? It’s a resonance that has been sorely lacking in this genre, and then along with Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, superhero movies have decided to grow up in summer 2008.
There are too many standout moments to mention, and not all of them are blockbustingly grandiose – the engulfing of the harsh cityscape by a freshly defeated beasties corpse, that litters the pavements with a hazy landscape from a Disney cartoon, or the stylised prologue visuals – and the equally impressive smaller, character driven encounters, non better than the drunken duo of Hellboy and Abe singing along to Barry Manilow as they drown their sorrows. To be able to juggle all of these emotions and paint them on a thriving cinematic campus (witness the stunning troll markets) bodes well for Hellboy II, Del Toro as a director, and perhaps most feverishly, The Hobbit.
It’s not worth finding faults in this fantastical film, any are minor and soon sprinkled with enough pixie dust to make you forget about them, either sumptuos visuals or a Perlman wisecrack. Hellboy II deserves to break free from the shackles of cult (something The Dark Knight may not allow it to do) because it’s the most rewarding experience/gamble you will take this year.
