'Hellboy: The Golden Army' Movie Review

Guillermo del Toro let his imagination run wild with Hellboy II: The Golden Army, a visual treat for the eyes crammed full of bizarre creepy creatures and magical beasties the likes of which normally dwell only in twisted nightmares. del Toro even makes cute little ahh-inducing fairies into calcium craving bone-crunching killers in Hellboy II, a quirky, comical, action-heavy follow-up to the 2004 box office hit.

It's apparent Guillermo del Toro wisely utilized every penny of his Hellboy II budget (estimated to be in the $70 million range). Nearly every scene is packed with otherworldly monsters, some of which are glimpsed so fleetingly it's almost frustrating not to be able to get a good enough look at them to be able to absorb all the details. That's actually a smart move on del Toro's part because A) it does sell the idea that these creatures do exist and simply go about their business on a daily basis, and B) it'll increase sales of the Hellboy II DVD as that's the only way to satisfy your urge to press pause and examine the wide assortment of critters that sprang from del Toro's mind.

The Story

Freed from the burden of having to establish backstories, Hellboy II delivers more action than its predecessor while delving further into the relationship between Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his fiery girlfriend Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). Hellboy II also reintroduces Hellboy's buddy and brainy crime-fighting partner, Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), as well as Hellboy's boss at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor).

The setup for the big showdown in this sequel involves a truce between humans and magical, mythical creatures who share our world while remaining unseen. Since ancient times these other beings have kept to themselves, leaving humans alone. But the son of the great King who brokered the truce with the humans is tired of being repressed. Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) wants to set his people free – and if it means that humans are going to have to die, then that's the price he's more than willing to pay.

Fortunately for the good people of Earth, Prince Nuada has a twin sister whose heart is in the right place. Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) does not support her brother's plan to unleash an army of unstoppable robots and makes contact with first Abe and then the rest of Hellboy's BPRD crew.

While Prince Nuada's been formulating his plan of attack, Hellboy's been creating a bit of a public relations problem for the Bureau. Hellboy shares a few traits in common with Prince Nuada, one of which is a desire to stop hiding out. Posing for photos, signing autographs…Hellboy's getting out of hand and so the mighty muckety-mucks at the Bureau decide to send in someone to take control. Johann Krauss (voiced by Family Guy's Seth Macfarlane), a protoplasmic genius with a crisp German accent and a sharp wit, takes over operations and finds a kindred spirit in the cerebral Abe.

The new team is tasked with putting a stop to Prince Nuada's evil plan, although a lot of what Prince Nuada slyly whispers in Hellboy's raging-red ear hits home. Fighting on the side of good and putting his own life at risk time and again in order to protect innocent bystanders, Hellboy's initially embraced by the citizens and treated as a hero. But just as quickly as people were willing to accept the presence of this demon among them, they do an about-face. They hurl threats and insults in his direction (as if he didn't realize he's ugly by human standards), ignoring the good he's done on their behalf. With ordinary citizens treating him like a big red punching bag and his home life with Liz edging toward a meltdown of epic proportions, Hellboy has to try and focus his energy on taking down Prince Nuada and his gang of evil creatures.

The Cast

The fact it's impossible to picture any other actor in the role of Hellboy speaks volumes of Perlman's performance. Perlman is Hellboy, no doubt at it. The meshing of Perlman the actor with Hellboy the character is perfect.

Sporting massive amounts of makeup and some prosthetics, Perlman's Hellboy is a real guy's guy. He's tough yet vulnerable. He's quick with the snide comments and just as quick to protect a kitten in danger of losing its head to a feline-feasting troll. Hellboy's conflicted by demons (pardon the pun) and at a low-point in his personal life in this saga, and his inner turmoil leads to one of the most amusing scenes in the entire film (trust me when I say you'll never listen to Manilow's Can't Smile Without You again without picturing this particular scene). He might have super strength but he's just one of us. Yet in Hellboy II it's possible to completely forget the lead character looks as though he fell asleep under a sunlamp for days or weeks. That's thanks to Perlman's performance and the work of del Toro and Hellboy creator, and del Toro's Hellboy II co-writer, Mike Mignola.

Selma Blair, Doug Jones, and the Bottom Line