Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro | 120 minutes | action, drama, horror, comedy, adventure, fantasy, science fiction | Actors: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, James Dodd, John Alexander, Luke Goss, Seth MacFarlane, John Hurt, Jeffrey Tambor, Anna Walton, Brian Steele, Roy Dotrice, Jamie Wilson, Iván Kamarás, Ferenc Elek, Szonja Oroszlán, Oliver Simor, Brian Herring

The occult, the bizarre and the dirty. These are things that director Guillermo del Toro appreciates in a film. Not surprisingly, he therefore declined the offer for ‘I Am Legend’ and the last Harry Potter to return to the film adaptation of the Dark Horse comic ‘Hellboy’, which he had given a promising, but commercially unsuccessful start in 2004.

The world of Hellboy is occult, bizarre and dirty. It must have been a feast for Del Toro. The greatest strength of ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ lies in the beautiful production that sprang from the mind of Del Toro. The scene in the troll market may already make ‘Hellboy II’ worth a DVD purchase. What a wealth of details and striking characters. Other unnameable creatures in the film are also beyond imagination. It’s also nice that the director never shuns violence and blood, something that keeps the many Marvel films too good.

A mediocre story floats between all the graphic splendor: The elven prince Nuada (Luke Goss) has had enough of the peace pact that his father made with the people in the past. He decides to declare war, and with the help of a magical golden crown he wants to gain power over a legendary Golden Army, which is of course indestructible. The golden crown consists of separate parts, and the last part is in the possession of his twin sister Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), who does not approve of her brother’s choices. Hellboy -for his friends Red- (Ron Pearlman), Liz (Selma Blair) his pyrokinetic girlfriend and talking fish Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) therefore have to roll up their sleeves.

The thin plot does take its toll. Since the two love stories in “Hellboy II” are equally annoying, the film mainly relies on oh’s and ah’s for the CGI effects. It is unfortunately impossible to be impressed again and again. Especially towards the end of the film, when the umpteenth CGI scene bursts off the screen with great grandeur and the clichés slowly pile up, an indifferent yawn is nothing to be ashamed of, just so you know.

Pearlman is an excellent Hellboy, the supporting cast doesn’t stand out positively or negatively. However, the film is stolen by Luke Goss, who portrays the best bad guy ever in a comic book adaptation. The prince is philosophically savvy, a gifted swordsman and above all a character whose motives are crystal clear. A beautiful madman. Because the fighting skills of the prince are so impressive, the final fight between Hellboy and Nuada is a nice dessert. Incidentally, the film leaves no room for misunderstanding about a possible sequel. It’s coming.