Hellboy II: The Golden Army

2008

1.5/4 Stars

The sequel to 2004’s Hellboy, Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a disappointing follow-up after a promising start to the series. To be sure, the visuals are fantastic and del Toro’s distinguished fantasy sensibilities are on full display here. This said, this is far from his best work and the film suffers from a few too many deficiencies to overcome.

From the opening moments of the film, which shows an awkward Hellboy as a teenager, one is reminded that this is a comic book fantasy movie that takes place in an alternate reality from ours. As the film progresses though, the characters start to resemble the aliens from Men In Black in scenes like the “Troll Market”- they seem more like comical cartoon characters and less like dark fantasy creatures.

While it is nice to see Jeffrey Tambor, the film is missing the vocal talents of David Hyde Pierce, who did such a fine job as “Abe” in the first film. The lack of Pierce, coupled with the poor acting of actress Selma Blair, make for a mediocre cast that Ron Perlman alone cannot overcome.

Some characters are stronger than others, such as Prince and Princess Nuada. The elven Prince makes for an excellent villain (at one point he fights with two swords in an obvious nod to the dark elf Drizzt Do’urden). Perhaps if the film had centered more upon him and his motives, it would have been a better overall product.

Unfortunately, the outstanding visuals cannot compensate for a mediocre and shallow story. It was also disappointing that “The Golden Army” doesn’t appear until there are 20 minutes left in the film, and of the 49,000 soldiers of the Golden Army, only 7 or 8 see actual combat. This alone felt like an opportunity missed. Perhaps things will improve if and when they come out with Hellboy III. Until then, del Toro’s other films, such as “The Devil’s Backbone” or “Pan’s Labyrinth” are well worth watching.