Hellboy II: The Golden Army DVD: Review By Kenneth Albert

Guillermo del Toro must have the Midas touch. Directing such films as Hellboy, Blade 2, Pan’s Labyrinth and producing projects like The Orphanage, he has developed quite the reputation of contributing many great works to the world of film and it doesn’t look like he’s going to stop anytime soon. This year’s summer movie rush has seen Iron Man and the Hulk rule at the box office and now del Toro has added another comic book character into equation with his much-anticipated film, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. After 4 years of sitting patiently in the cinematic waiting room, Hellboy knocks the door down and delivers a fun, entertaining, ass-kicking adventure.

Hellboy (once again portrayed by Ron Perlman) once again finds himself battling dangerous creatures when the evil Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) of the mythical realm declares war on the humans. Nuada feels the only to be victorious is to awaken the golden army and to do so he must find the 3 scattered pieces of the royal crown. In order to stop him Hellboy and his eclectic group of comrades embark on a journey throughout their world and discover places humanity has all but forgotten.

It’s obvious that the film has a lot more going for it that it’s predecessor. The special effects are better looking (due to the film’s larger budget) which make the action sequences seem more life-like. The set designs are extraordinary especially when Hellboy and the others visit the Troll Market that is exploding with beautiful imagery and also displays most of the film’s interesting character designs. A new character is also introduced, agent Johann Kraus (voiced by Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane) who is comprised of ectoplasmic energy and sent to try and control Hellboy’s rambunctious actions.

There has been a lot of growth with many of the returning characters since the first film, mainly due to the more developed relationships between them. Hellboy and Liz (Selma Blair) are now romantically together and things have become quite unstable. Abe Sapien (this time played and voiced by Doug Jones) has also been bitten by the love bug and is attracted to Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), Nuada’s twin sister but can’t find the words to tell her. With Hellboy and Abe both having women problems the two soon begin male bonding through song and beer, which allows for one of the most amusing scenes in the film making me wonder if Sam Raimi when deciding to put a musical number in Spider-Man 3 should have consulted del Toro first.

A film depicting the battle between good and evil can sometimes fall short due the absence of a prominent villain figure (one of the main issues with Hanc*ck). Luke Goss, whose performance in Blade 2 is amazing and whom I feel hasn’t gotten the credit he deserves, helps bring the film to the level of greatness. He puts much passion into Nuada giving him life as a callous and determined tyrant and delivers a convincing performance to point in which a part of me wanted him to win in the end.

The film is certainly what a sequel should be. It improves upon the first and leaves viewers wanting more. I only hope if a third is to me made it will avoid the same disastrous outcome that has claimed trilogies like X-Men. Anyways, make an attempt (or two) to have some fun, have a good laugh and see Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.