I really enjoyed Hellboy I. It was different and cute in a goofy kind of way and Ron Perlman really got into the skin of Hellboy and I for one felt that I was really watching Hellboy in action instead of Ron Perlman the actor. The other cast members too and especially John Hurt and Selma Blair did a great job too and all-round Hellboy was a great movie with great action to boot. It has taken a while, but the sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army is here and I caught up on the action last weekend and let me state at the very outset this is pure popcorn fun at its best. Hellboy II: The Golden Army does not disappoint compared to Hellboy I and if anything offers the same goofy fun the first Hellboy entertained us with and pulls in more special effects and more bizarre creatures from the underworld this time around. The story itself continues along the same lines as the first (that of Hellboy saving the world and us humans) and if anything Hellboy this time around is thirsting more for acceptance especially from us humans. The only sore point I can think of in Hellboy II: The Golden Army when compared to Hellboy I would be John Hurt missing in action. John Hurt played Hellboy’s adoptive father in Hellboy I and taught everything good and righteous to the scary looking red young monster he adopted at the outset of the movie in Hellboy I and the young, red, scary kid ends up as Hellboy fighting all manner of evil and saving humanity time and again. This time though the action is bigger, louder and larger in Hellboy II: The Golden Army and it only signals the franchise getting bigger and better with time, which is good news for all Hellboy fans including me.
Director Guillermo del Toro is a visionary unlike any other since his ability is to dream up of mystical creatures and zombies and vampires from the underworld/netherworld as evidenced by his past work. Check out his underrated Blade II to get a feel for where he is coming from. The only other director comparable would be Terry Gilliam who is equally impressive in his imagination. In a few snapshots shown from Hellboy I as the credits roll in at the beginning we learn that Hellboy as a kid learnt from his father John Hurt about a war between humans and the netherworld made up of elves, monsters, trolls, etc. and how the king of the netherworld has a Golden Army made for him, an army which is unstoppable and unconquerable. The Golden Army goes about destroying us humans and the king then regrets his decision and breaks the crown which gives him authority over The Golden Army into 3 parts, keeping 2 parts for himself and giving 1 part to us humans. As per the peace agreement the humans get to keep and live in the cities, while the entire netherworld get to keep and live in the forests, but as time passes by the humans break the truce by converging on the forests with the rapid expansion and globalization of the world with our cities growing, simply put deforestation that we have all read up on in the science class in high school. The king’s son, Like Goss, is angry and naturally wants war with us humans, but is opposed by the king and also his twin sister, Anna Walton. This only means loads of action and battles within battles before the final fight between Hellboy and Luke Goss where Hellboy ends up saving the day and us humans and sends back the Golden Army.
There are definitely shades of Lord Of The Rings trilogy here and also some borrowing from the Star Wars series and even The Mummy series, but Hellboy II: The Golden Army is engaging and entertaining and definitely delivers your money’s worth. It definitely ranks higher than Hellboy I and the action is much bigger this time around though most of it is CGI. Ron Perlman once again gives a great performance as the cigar chomping, egoistic and “I hate following rules” superhero Hellboy and is ably supported by Selma Blair as his pyrokinetic girlfriend and his friend and comrade in arms Abe Sapien playing an icthyo sapien. There is an action sequence in Manhattan (too many of them these days right?) between Hellboy and a gigantic octopus like creature that the Prince, Luke Goss lets loose that is really the centerpiece of the marriage between the action and the CGI in Hellboy and it is really the visionary genius of director Guillermo del Toro that ensures Hellboy II: The Golden Army delivers some great action with popcorn crunching fun. There is a new addition in Hellboy in Johann Krauss who is sent by the government to lead the crime fighting unit of Hellboy and his comrades with Jeffrey Tambor proving ineffective in controlling Hellboy’s attention drawing antics which puts Hellboy and his comrades in front of national television.
The story really does not matter since as expected it has to do with Hellboy saving the day and saving the world. The parts of Hellboy II: The Golden Army that stand out are the fights and the temper tantrums between Hellboy and his girlfriend Selma Blair, the sequence when Hellboy and Abe Sapien get drunk and whine about their love lives, and Hellboy’s general hunger and thirst at being accepted by humanity for what he is and for saving humanity countless times. Hellboy II: The Golden Army scores on the character development front from Hellboy I and also in the action and CGI departments and on the whole is a better offering from director Guillermo del Toro, which is saying a lot since Hellboy I was a great action movie and tons of fun. This makes Hellboy II: The Golden Army not to be missed fun at the movies so grab a pal and get going to a have a good time at the movies.
