Review: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
Hellboy 2 is the most underrated superhero movie of the year, and may be the most overlooked 2008 movie- period. The reason is simple: it got lost in the shuffle with the other superheroes: Iron Man, Batman, The Hulk, and-uhh, that Will Smith superhero movie [Will needs to take a break- I'm sick of seeing him.] I guess we only had enough money in our wallets at the time, and we said, “We’ll wait for the DVD”. We underestimated Hellboy even though his first movie was A+++ because he’s not a big name, and is from an independent comic book (Dark Horse), not Marvel or DC. Well, if you missed it the first time and liked the first Hellboy movie, you will LOVE Hellboy 2.
No spoilers here: The movie picks off without us having to know or remember anything from the first movie- it’s very user friendly, and although I’m sure movie watchers have a tendency to ask questions about the first movie if there’s a sequel, it’s not necessary to watch.
Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is as funny, tough, cocky, yet sensitive as usual. Thankfully his girlfriend (Selma Blair) is back as is the rest of the main cast (Abe Sapien- the fishman and the director of the paranormal organization).
Film Director Guillermo del Toro really created a masterpiece- from visual style, special effects, mood, and themes. It really balances out horror, fantasy, and humor all at once. The actual antagonist- the Dark Elf Prince, and the actual Golden Army itself are truly indestructible. The human race is 100% in jeopardy of getting wiped out.
There are many scary demons, huge threats, and the pacing is like an action video game or fast-paced comic book- in other words- there are no boring parts. Soundtrack is A+.
General consensus from critics puts Hellboy II in the B to B+ range (88%), but the box office is much more telling ($152,133,319 worldwide, much more than the first movie). Character creator Mike Mignola is hopefully very proud of his creation!
I’m not even going to dignify any Hellboy haters because the movie was a flawless superhero movie. As erokdarksteel says, “…there are people in this world who think that belittling others tastes in various artforms somehow makes [him] a superior person.”
Whereas The Dark Knight was for adults only, Hellboy II was rated PG-13, because of the CGI violence. At two hours, there is much more to explore in Hellboy’s universe, especially since there’s no time wasted on his origins. It is really packed with a great story and action sequences.
Some parts of the movie feel like a dark side of Lords of the Rings, with some Frankenstein and X-Files thrown in. It truly is- excuse the pun- the dark horse movie of the year. It is actually better than the first one, which I hold in high regard and must have seen a dozen times.
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Two thumbs up!
I saw the first hour and loved it! Can’t wait to see the rest! Wish I’d seen it in theaters!
Ehhh…too much mushy romance in this one. Hellboy is too weak by falling in love. First one is still the best~~~~~
~~Sorry~~
The plot and premise were ridiculous. Hard to take this movie seriously.
Two thumbs DOWN.