Posted: Sunday 17th August 2008

Reviewed by Jason Palmer

Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is not a happy man. He is fed up of being locked away by the secretive government agency he works for, the BPRD (The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence). He doesn't see why they all can't come out to the public and admit they exist. BPRD head Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor - Arrested Development) soon quashes that hope re-iterating to Hellboy the need for them to stay discreet and hidden from the public. Hellboy is also tetchy with his girlfriend Liz Sherman (Selma Blair - Cruel Intentions) the pyrokinetic agent who works for the BPRD. They are having issues adjusting to life together now that they are an official couple. Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) in the meantime tries to keep the peace amongst all of this petty bickering.

With everyone in each others faces it comes as a welcome distraction for them all to investigate a break-in at a famous auction house in New York. Something of great value was stolen; a fragment of a rare mystical crown which can be used to control The Golden Army. Hellboy remembers his father Professor Bruttenholm (John Hurt) reading him a bedtime story when he was younger about the legend of the Golden Army. Legend has it that King Balor, leader of the magical Elfin race commissioned the creation of an all powerful army to aid in his war against humankind. Controlled by a mystical crown, whoever had royal blood could control the will of the Golden Army. Unrelenting and merciless, this Golden Army crushed everything in their path and before too long King Balor grew weary of the death and destruction he had helped cause. He vowed to end the violence and called a truce with the humans. As a sign of peace he breaks the crown and gives one part to the humans and keeps two parts for himself. So with that act of kindness, the Golden Army laid dormant for centuries. Not everyone in the Elfin race agreed with the Kings actions, least of which his son Prince Nuada (Luke Goss from 80's teen pop sensation Bros). The prince goes into exile and vows to return when his people need him the most. The fragment of the mystical crown that was stolen from the auction house was the very fragment given up by King Balor centuries ago. Now that Prince Nuada has all three pieces, he sets about raising the powerful Golden Army once again to wage war against the humans and only Hellboy, Liz and Abe Sapien stand in his way.

Much like its predecessor, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is a mixed bag. It's very entertaining in places but on the whole it's another underwhelming film considering the source material they have to work with. The movie succeeds visually in almost every sense. Director and writer Guillermo Del Toro (Pans Labyrinth) creates a treat for the senses in Hellboy 2. The opening scene which tells the tale of the formation of the Golden Army is done in stop motion animation and it's beautiful. Much like Tim Burton's animated efforts such as The Nightmare Before Christmas, it's a feast for the eyes and stunningly rendered onscreen. The designs for Hellboy himself and the world around him are equally colourful and impressive on the big screen and the costumes are intricately detailed to the finest degree (especially the suit Doug Jones wears as Abe Sapien and the nightmarish Angel of Death).

There are examples of how the visual style overlaps the narrative though. There is a scene in a Troll Market deep underground near Brooklyn Bridge. I really thought I was watching Star Trek or Star Wars the Phantom Menace. The whole set piece is full of cutesy creatures running around the place with no real purpose to the plot at hand. It would have not surprised me one bit if Jar Jar Binks had walked across the screen and this just ate up too much screen time. Hellboy works best when he is in the real world. When you spend too long in fantastical surroundings the impact of the character is lost and that's the case here. Its all very well having this visual excellence on show but the narrative needs to be equal to it all in order for the whole movie to succeed and sadly this story just isn't up to the task. What starts out as an interesting fable eventually gets pulled apart by needless detours and redundant fights until the very end when it's too late to have an impact. When the films' ending finally does come about, its something you feel could have happened around mid-way in the movie and it's a real let-down.

The characters are all very interesting but after two Hellboy movies I still don't feel like we have seen anything close to a decent story for these characters to play with. Ron Perlman once again does Hellboy justice with his quick-witted humour and powerful anti-hero stance. It's hard not to like a monster who loves kittens and beer even if he is the devils child. Abe Sapien is a fantastic foil to both Hellboy and Liz and thankfully he gets a bigger role to play with in this movie. The scene with Hellboy and Abe singing Barry Manilow is very funny and the two have great chemistry on screen. Selma Blair's Liz has great chemistry with both Abe and Hellboy too and it's these three major characters that make this franchise worth watching. Maybe if they make a third movie they will get the balance right. Luke Goss repeats his impressive turn in the second Blade movie as the villain of this piece, Prince Nuada. He also looks almost identical to the uber-vampire he played in Blade 2 which I'm guessing is no coincidence since both films were helmed by Guillermo Del Toro.

So once again we are left with a visually stunning film that doesn't have enough left in the tank to pass the finish line. More emphasis on a decent story would have helped this franchise so much and finally given fans of the comic book a film that they can be proud of. Entertaining but forgettable, Hellboy 2 really ought to be a lot better than it is. Not so much bad as it is disappointing.