Hellboy II: The Golden Army (**)

Directed by: Guillermo Del Toro
Starring: Ron Pearlman, John Hurt, Selma Blair, Doug Jones
Seen: September 20th 2008

** Out of ****

After seeing Hellboy II: The Golden Army, I went to a DVD store to rent the first Hellboy. I had to see if I was wrong about it, since I remembered the first one being good. I wasn’t wrong. The first one was good, this one wasn’t. The first Hellboy found that perfect blend between, what I’ll call sweetness (the Hellboy and Liz Sherman (Blair) romance) and, well, Hellboy. The second one lost that link, with the relationship between Hellboy and Sherman now reduced to constant bickering. Hellboy is also now hell-bent on exposing the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence, since he does not want to hide anymore, he wants the world to know what and who he is.

The production design is spectacular, with Del Toro building on the visual splendour of Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth. Creatures in the film are beautifully realised, and the Tooth Fairies in particular are splendidly cute and scary. The Angel of Death, in particular, reminds of Pan’s Labyrinth, with no eyes on his skull, but rather on his wings. The Golden Army is incredible, massive skulking warriors made of gold. Even an Elemental Forest God comes into play – and Hellboy questions his allegiance to the human race while battling the creature.

The story is not so satisfactory, since the villains are pretty one-dimensional. Prince Nuada has declared war on the human race, but in order to do this he needs two things: the three pieces of the crown to control the army, and the map to the location of the army. The first piece is easy, as he steals this from a museum auction, releasing the Tooth Fairies in the process. The second piece is just as easy, since he kills his father to obtain it. The third piece is with his sister, with whom he shares a magical bond, so he can find her anywhere.

But Nuala, his sister, has absconded with the crown. She is now under the protection of the B.P.R.D., and Hellboy and the team must do anything in their power to keep her safe. Of course Nuada finds a way to get all the crown pieces and the map, and he activates the army in his quest to destroy humans. But Hellboy and the team are never far behind, and a climactic, but eventually disappointing, battle decides the fate of the world.

Hellboy II never convinces the viewer that this is a serious comic-book film contender, and merely dwindles to another comic book adaptation. After the release of The Dark Knight, comic book films will have to step up, since Christopher Nolan has set the bar extremely high. The first Hellboy was entertaining while not being brilliant, but the second one is neither.