Review: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Red Scare

Whether you want to preach it on the top of a mountain or mutter it quietly to yourself, one has to give credit to the fact that Guillermo del Toro is a cinematic genius. That intelligence, however, can sometimes be an acquired taste. For instance, not everyone responded so warmly to his treatment of the first Hellboy and even though Pan's Labyrinth received praise almost universally (including from yours truly), there was still a sense that a dark imagination was surfacing that was unlike anything that was seen before, and that can be a dangerous thought. Now, del Toro has made us face that danger head on and tenfold, and what results is a slightly less impactful, but still energetic work of art.

Del Toro prefaces the film with an overtly visual prologue narrated in the raspy tone of John Hurt and featuring some really creepy looking puppets. The bedtime story talks about a war between humans and a race of powdery-skinned elves(?) whose warring stops when the mythical creatures build an unstoppable brigade of robots, called the Golden Army, that are deemed too powerful and kept underwraps as a truce is installed. However, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) doesn't trust humans and wants to Golden Army to start up the war again. That's when the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense comes in and Hellboy (Ron Pearlman, returning) is sent to save the day.

I'm actually omitting many details from the plot that would make it a tad more complicated than it already is. There is an overwhelming feeling that del Toro picks and chooses some story elements and scenes only to provide an arena for his twisted imagination. Sometimes it pays off, such as in an extended marketplace filled with creature effects that remind you of the balance of makeup and physical effects from the Stan Winston days. Other times, it feels like it is a real stretch of time, like when Hellboy battle a giant plant monster that then takes about ten minutes to disappear. Still, I admire del Toro's dark vision, particularly his new take on the "tooth fairy" (which means that you should probably not take the kids to see this one) and I know that others who have appreciated his previous films will enjoy the imagery here as well.

Another part that makes Hellboy work is the cast, and in particular it is Pearlman. Everytime he shows up on the screen, you can't help but love his tough-guy-who-tries-to-be-good routine as he stomps though and tries to make some sense of his love life with the flame vixen Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). Jeffery Tambor returns, and he's always a delight, and also listen for Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane voicing the smoke-faced (literally) government agent Johann Krauss, whose German accent becomes the butt of many a joke, including one highlight that showcases the mispronunciation of "focus."

All of Hellboy 2 leads up to a big, climatic final scene. A part of it is even more satisfying than the first film, which I thought was resolved too quickly. That problem isn't present here as the sequence probably goes a little bit too long. Still, that doesn't mean anything is really taken away. Despite some setbacks in storytelling, when you add up the visual spectacle of del Toro's imagination, the lovable performance from Pearlman, and the familiar territorial score from Danny Elfman, the red guy is certainly up to the challenge of entertaining us once again. *** / ****; GRADE: B