Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Synopsis

A truce is broken between humankind and the mythical underworld as an elf Prince defies his father and attempts to awaken a sleeping ancient army that can destroy Earth. Before a war breaks out, the red, sawed off horns Hellboy must intercede and save mankind with the help of his unique team from the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development. The team journeys through both our world and the underworld, facing obstacles that test their purpose and loyalties as they try to prevent armageddon. This is director/writer Guillermo del Toro's sequel to 2004's exciting supernatural action-thriller film Hellboy.

Review

Bigger, badder, wisecracking Red is back for the second installment of the movie Hellboy which is an adaptation of the comic book superhero Hellboy. Director/writer Guillermo del Toro brings the thunder with the action and fight scenes in this motion sequel. I wanted to jump in and start throwing kicks to some heads, too. The sword battle scenes looked so nat-u-ral and impressive. I could see that a lot of thought and creativeness went into adapting these unique characters and creatures to film. The underworld creatures looked so real and were so believable, I actually went home that evening, turned on all the lights and peeked around the corners for any of the SCARIES as I would like to call them. Yikes! One monster, Mr. Wink, was humongous. He is a giant cave troll with a big metal fist that can jack you up. Let’s just say Guillermo didn't hold back. Luckily, neither does Hellboy (a.k.a "Red").

Hellboy (Ron Perlman, Outlander) is a hellspawn hero. Poor guy is rejected by mankind. Here he is thinking that humans would see him as a wonderful hero, but instead he's viewed as a monster. Let's face it. He's red as a hooker's lipstick, has a big block head with horns that he shaves down, and he certainly lacks finesse with his employer the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development. Red’s pyrokinetic girlfriend, Liz (Selma Blair, Legally Blonde) is back for Hellboy II and takes this expedition with her man to save the world. I swear she never smiles. Don't make sista girl mad or FYYYAAAHHH. I think Red gets on her nerves. He should be trying to woo her looking a hot mess like he does...NO chance in the nightclub...just plain with an ugly arm...and he's RED...oh, sorry...got off track a bit. In a weird way the couple actually fits, and their love for each other does transfer through the screen, but in a subdued type of way. 

Hellboy II takes you through two realms—the mythical and humankind—both having had a long standing truce until Prince Nuada (Luke Goss, Blade II) from the underworld resists his bloodline’s desire to maintain peace in hopes that they can reclaim the surface world. Princey also breaks a bond with his twin sister Princess Nuala (Anna Walton, Vampire Diary). He and Nuala seem a little suspect to me. I know their twins, but I could sense that something incestuous might have been going on. Mmmm Hmmm. Controversy.

Anyhoo, Prince's goal is to unleash an indestructible golden army, once controlled by his family, that can ultimately reek havoc on earth. Hellboy (this man is grown but he's still a boy for some reason) is the only one strong and fearless enough to stop him. Goss is fantastic in the fight scenes. He had to do some extensive training to move the way he does. Hold on…let me go check to see if he did....Yes, he sure did. Goss trained with swords and spears for several months for his role.

Visually this movie is magical and very artistic looking. The action gave me a jolt and Ron Perlman delivers as Hellboy. He is consistent and quite comical. His attitude is a big part of why you don’t look at this big, red-tailed thing and laugh. It's just the way he would say something. There is a scene when Abe Sapien (Doug Jones, various TV episodes) his team member does something STUPID and Red says real smooth and quick something like..."oh when this is over, we've got to talk." It's the 'oh by the way' tone with Red that made me laugh and not be embarassed watching this movie.

If you've watched the first Hellboy film and liked it, you definitely should watch the second one. And if you've never seen the first one, you don't need to in order to watch the sequel. The film opens up with some back-story which is good. Because the film has so much going on artistically, I recommend to see it on a big giant screen. Now, if monsters, mythical beings, and movies that are made from comic book stories aren't your thing, then keep it moving to the next movie. If you're into this sort of thing, or comic book movies in general, then go watch Red and his friends.

My Rating ~ 4 Reels

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