[Movie Review] HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
I remember when the first Hellboy movie was released, and I remember how much I thought it that would royally suck. The premise looked too wacky for my taste, and I wasn’t interested at all. I was dragged to see it by a friend who knew better, and I’m still grateful to him for making me see the light. I really dug the first one. So, here we are at the release of the second, a film that I have been salivating over for months. Reviews have been through the roof, and my anticipation level was off the charts. So, could HB and friends fulfill my high hopes?
Cut to the chase right now: this movie is absolutely friggin’ fantastic. Believe the hype people because right now, it’s a horse race between this and Wall-E as my favorite film of the year. I loved it that much. Now, by request, this review will be 100% spoiler-free. All that I will discuss are things from the plot synopsis, so if you want to see this clean the way that I did, you’re safe here.
The movie picks up after an unspecified amount of time after HB1and finds Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and Liz(Selma Blair) trying to work out the kinks in their relationship. As happy as Red is, he’s been itching for a chance to reveal himself to the public, much to the chagrin of the head of the BPRD, Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor). Big Red gets his shot when the evil (or is he?) Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) declares war on mankind after the violation of an ancient truce between the fantastical creatures of the world and mankind. The Prince’s twin sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) is desperate to stop her brother, and takes refuge with the BPRD, stirring up some strange feeling in Abe( Doug Jones). Now, from here on, I gotta be very careful, and this review is probably gonna be shorter than my usual, because I will not delve into particulars with this movie. I will tell you that the performances all around are STELLAR, especially Perlman as Hellboy. The guy…I want to have a beer with the guy. He brings such a natural air to the character that you forget about the makeup and see a real guy there. He’s even funnier this go-around than in HB1, and I didn’t think that was possible, but there are some scenes where I was literally bent over from laughing so hard. Not only does he bring the funny, but he’s got some serious, SERIOUS issues to with. Namely, who he is, what his destiny is, and where he truly belongs. Perlman brings his A+++++++ game in this movie, and I was genuinely touched in a few scenes by what Hellboy has to go through in this thing. The movie’s worth seeing for him alone, seriously.
The supporting players are no slouches, either. I found Selma Blair to be overly mopey and borderline emo in the first one, but she’s considerably stronger here, as an actress and as a character. Liz has got some issues of her own to deal with in this movie, and I liked how the film handled her. She’s no damsel in distress here, although I was a little disappointed that she isn’t a bigger factor in the final battle scene. Still, Blair did the one thing here that she didn’t do in HB1: she made me understand why Red is so taken with her. This chick can handle herself, and as a fellow chick, I was SOOOO happy that she wasn’t kidnapped and dangled from a bridge or some garbage like that. I’m dancing around a spoiler here, but she has a decision of paramount importance to make late in the film, and if I was in her position, I would have done the EXACT SAME THING. Take that for what you will when you see the film. Doug Jones is great as Abe in this film. Abe was sidelined in HB1 due to an injury, but he’s front and center here. Jones also gets to use his own voice, taking over for David Hyde Pierce. I’ve read some reviews that complained about not getting Pierce back, but honestly, I didn’t notice it at all, and I finally got a sense of who Abe was and what his relationship was with Red and Liz. He’s got a GREAT scene with Red midway through the thing, and I got a real brother-sister vibe with him and Liz. His crush on the Princess Nuala was the source of some great material in this movie(the GREAT Red scene being one of them), and he also has to make some difficult decisions in the film. Tambor is kinda underused as Manning, but so much other cool stuff was going on that I didn’t really mind. Seth McFarlane as the voice of Johann was fine. He didn’t knock my socks off, but he was perfectly fine, and he has a scene with HB that brought the house down in my screening. I liked the character, and he’s got some great moments throughout the film.
Special attention has to be paid to Luke Goss, who portrays Prince Nuada. My main complaint in films like this is that a strong protagonist is nothing without a worthy antagonist. Rasputin and the never-ending Sammael assaults from HB1were underwhelming. This guy is PERFECT. Not only is he a killer fighter, but he genuinely believes that what he is doing is the right thing to do, which makes him the most compelling bad guy of the year so far. After watching this movie, I challenge you to truly call him the antagonist. I’m calling him this simply because he is in name only. As I drove home, I thought about what the guy was truly fighting for and what he stood for, and you know what? Dude was RIGHT. You’ll know when you see it, but dude was RIGHT, and the way that he calls Hellboy out on his need to protect people who revile him is truly compelling stuff. His twin sister Nuala was played beautifully by Anna Walton. She doesn’t really do much in this film, but when she’s onscreen, she’s captivating.
The action in this movie is sick. Downright sick, especially when Nuada is fighting. The guy is awesome. The camera actually allowed me to see what was happening(take notes, Hancock) and enjoy the fights rather than shake erratically and cut like crazy. There’s some great action scenes in this movie, and the movie LOOKS amazing. The production budget for this movie was under $100 million, but the film looks like it cost double that. I cannot believe that they packed so many monsters and effects into this movie for that price. It is unreal to me. Just wait until you see the Troll Market. I want to see this movie again just so I can check out all of the wacky characters roaming the place. Del Toro has outdone himself here in a big ol’ way.
I absolutely LOVE this film, top to bottom. The action is great, the story is great, and the movie looks great, but what is still playing in my mind is the philosophy of Nuada, his idea that we as humans are the real monsters. I think this is a philosophy that Del Toro himself shares, if that ending (WOW) is any indication. I love when a movie can entertain me and still haunt my brain a little on the drive home. My only negative is that Del Toro is running off to make The Hobbit, which means that I will have to wait at least six years before Hellboy III hits the big screen. In six years, Ron Perlman will be 64. I’ll be pushing 30. Aww, crap.
24 Responses to “[Movie Review] HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY”
“I’m not a baby, I’m a tumor.”
I love the shit out of this movie, that freeze frame at the end was great, and then the song kicks over the credits. Also, I loved the Troll Market and the Elemental fight. I really can’t think of a flaw, with this movie, everything is bigger and better than the first.
The Dark Knight is next week, and I already know I’m gonna have problem’s with it, so this one is looking like it’ll be my #1 for the summer.
Crazy thing is, you don’t need to have seen the first one to be into this one. My theater was packed, and I know that many people didn’t see the first one, but people were losing their shit during this movie. There’s nothing terribly obscure that someone who hasn’t seen the first one won’t be able to follow, but it certainly does build on the foundation that the first film laid out. Just a fantastic flick. I wanna go see it again.
Let’s try to keep this talkback spoiler free, if you don’t mind. Those poor UK bastards don’t get this until mid-August, so I’m trying to protect them from spoilers for as long as possible
GREAT REVIEW!
You know, after Indy 4 I was a bit worried about the end result matching the level of anticipation with many a blockbuster this year. I got even more concerned when the hype machine kicked in on this, The Dark Knight and Wall-E.
However, having now witnessed The Dark Knight and realising that the film didn’t just match my level of anticipation but actually superseded it, I’m more relaxed about Wall-E and Hellboy 2.
And by the way Wyv, you “may” not actually have to wait until August. Wink Wink. Nudge Nudge. I have some “coals in the fire”, some “pigeons in the sky”, some “fuel in the thank” etc etc. (you get my point) with the same people that arranged The Dark Knight for me so if it comes off, I will e-mail you and arrange to… er… erm… well…
… share the goodness!!!
Don’t get too excited, it may not come off, but if it does then… **** the one month wait
OH MY GOD!
Scratch that last pargraph - I’ve just received an e-mail that suggests I may be able to see this projected off a pirate on Monday night… and I’m working >:|
I think someone could be ringing in sick for his late turn at work Monday (thank god nobody from work reads this site!). If I’m going to watch a “pirate” I’d prefer to watch it in the comfort of my own home, not blown up (and thus stretching the poor quality even further) on some makeshift screen but… seriously… when it comes to this movie (more so after Kris’ review!) I’ll take this anyway I can get it!
PS
For those UK residents interested, the screening that is taking place in Newcastle on Monday for a selected audience is as a result of sourcing the pirate from our good friends at http://www.movie2u.com
I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I’ve talked to a couple of guys who found the relationship stuff was a negative in the movie, but I honestly found that it worked much better than in some other action/superhero movies.
Well… I watched this last night Kris!!!
I think I’m going to have to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, on this!
That last remark was a little vague on my part. It made me look like I was going to be going against the current curve on this flick.
I’m so not! Kristina’s review is both awesome and strangely still lacking in covering this film’s briliance at the same time!
I was completely bowled over by it! The rest of my opinion I’ll hold back for the (spoiler free-ish) review
I had to hold back. I was trying my best to avoid spoilers:) But yeah, I watched it again with somebody who hadn’t seen it yet and fell in love all over again. Great flick.
And I’m going to see Dark Knight on Sunday in IMAX, so look for a review sometime Sunday nighht/Monday morning.
But without giving a spoiler, perhaps my favorite scene in this film is an almost direct nod to Princess Mononoke. Just a stunning yet sad moment.
The final scene was pitch-perfect. The very fact that we’re going to have to wait 8 years MINIMUM for a third installment just makes me ache man!
Well at the most 5 years, del Toro said he may just jump right in to Hellboy III after the Hobbit movies and possibly just shoot it in New Zealand.
But also there are so many other movies I want del Toro to make.
I want to see his version of Frankenstein with Doug Jones as the monster, and possibly using Frank Darabont’s script, I want to see him do Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, I want to see Saturn and the End of Days, **** I want to see his version of Tarzan.
Hopefully the Hobbit will give him the clout to get all those movies made.
You know, after reading Paradise Lost for my lit class last spring, I wanted to see Del Toro direct a movie adaptation. That thing would be gorgeous.
Del Toro taking on Lovecraft - now that would be a match made in heaven!
Del Toro spoke with Empire and he was talking about how he has the idea and the intent for Hellboy 3 but he’s pretty much committed for the next eight years and worries about whether a studio or an audience would still embrace the character after that absence.
However, when speaking with Del Toro, Total Film revealed that Hellboy 3 is all but “arranged” to go into pre-production whilst the last LOTR/Hobbit movie goes into post-production.
Either way there’s going to be a **** off long wait for this flick which is a killer considering the final scene sort of makes you salivate with the excitement of possibility!
What frustrates me about Hellboy 2, which was enjoyable, is how much it deviates from what makes Hellboy so fantastic as a comic book series. There are no things that go bump in the night, no real scares, and hardly any Lovecraftian horror which is why the comics work. The interplay between the team is solid but more BPRD-lite than Hellboy or BPRD comic book. Also, I think Del Toro brought too many external influences into the fold — from his own interest in classic fantasy tropes to his appreciation for Miyazake (though a strong scene, undoubtedly).
I prefer the slow-burning dread and tension that is so well crafted by the comic books to the crash bang and wallop of this film. I thought Hellboy struck a better compromise between the demands of being a crowd-pleasing movie and its source material.
That said, I think this movie will be successful. Appealing to a mainstream audience with its mid 1980s fantasy film vibe. But I think I’ll return to the comic books.
Definitely an improvement on the pompous and average Dark Knight though and perfect summer fare at that. But perhaps that’s feint praise. I’ve really only been impressed with Marvel’s handling of Iron Man so far, if I’m entirely honest.
“…pompous and average…”
THE DARK KNIGHT???
Where did it all go wrong James?
You were like a brother to me!
Well… more like a close friend!
Okay, a friend I only see once a month.
Erm… well, really more like an acquaintance I send a Christmas card to.
Either way…
THE DARK KNIGHT is a borderline masterpiece!
It guts me that we don’t agree! Then again, as I say WAY too often, opinions are like arseholes - every one has one and all of them usually stink!
I have a pristine copy of HELLBOY 2. I cannot stop watching it. I friggin’ love it!
After seeing The Dark Knight, the rest of my life will be downhill from here.
I wish Del Toro hadn’t gotten the friggin Hobbit deal so he could get cracking on this a.s.a.p.
I agree Dark Knight was very good but I don’t think my life will be downhill from here.
And as for Del Toro doing the Hobbit delaying Hellboy 3 - I don’t think it would have had that much of an effect as he has multiple other projects he was planning on doing before returning to Hellboy territory.
“The Dark Knight Will Return! I Think If We Didn’t Do Everything In Our Power To Make Sure That Happened And That It Happened To The Highest Possible Standard Then We Would Have A Fan Revolt On Our Hands That Would Bring Our Studio To Its Knees!”
- Warner Brothers
(from Teletext UK, Friday 15th, re Batman 3 rumours)
Did anybody really think that they wouldn’t do at least one more movie with Bale, Nolan et all?
Well I was going to list any number of quotes from Bale, Caine and Nolan in the last month or so which would leave one to believe that they don’t think it could be topped and aren’t that interested in making an inferior movie.
But cursory research would reveal that these very quotes were spooned out by the very same people after BATMAN BEGINS was released, and we ended up with THE DARK KNIGHT so…
… roll on Part 3!
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