Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
BY THE POLSKI SAMURAI I JULY 14, 2008
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IMAGE PROVIDED COURTESY OF IMPAWARDS.COM |
The wisecracking, cigar smoking red demon is back. Four years after the release of Hellboy, Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman team up again in Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. With all the hype regarding this summer's big comic book blockbusters Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and the upcoming The Dark Knight, Hellboy was on the short end of the stick. Derived from a smaller comic book publisher, Dark Horse, Hellboy coming to the big screen was actually a surprise . Many people hadn't even heard of Hellboy before its film debut, but with a clever combination of dry wit and dazzling special effects, people are simply entertained to see a fifty-eight year old man in a molded red body suit.
Guillermo del Toro's first movie since his critically acclaimed Pan's Labyrinth takes us on another spectacular visual adventure where a CGI festival is not always commonplace. Hellboy—referred to as "Red" by his accomplices—embarks on another fantasy-driven story with a six-pack in hand. Many other familiar faces return from the first movie. Doug Jones returns in the role of Abraham Sapien ("Blue"), this time using his own voice instead of David Hyde Peirce, and Hellboy's pyrokinetic lady, Liz, played by Selma Blair expands the complex situation of living in secret government headquarters while having a complicated relationship with a demon that is predestined to destroy the world.
A new character also comes into play, Johann Kraus, a German scientist who only exists in a smoky vapor trail and whose arrogant yet admirable intelligence helps add to the film's antics. Not to mention, Kraus stands out wearing a mechanical diving suit contraption when not floating around. Two new minor characters, Wink and The Angle of Death, exemplify costume and makeup at its best and really help set a darker mood.
The plot, however, is not on the A-list of spectacular storytelling. There are many times where you will ask yourself “how did we get here?" and "why did that happen?" A bizarre tale of intertwining reality and fantasy with not much explanation leaves the viewers dissociated with the storyline. The beginning has a lot of foreshadowing with the backstory told through a fairytale. Then the movie goes back and forth between both protagonists and antagonists creating a reason to care for and understand both sides. But unfortunately a strong motive is lacking and all efforts of trying to make audiences care are wasted.
Luckilym, del Toro is one of the best special effects directors in the industry and grabs a hold of the scene by throwing in everything at once. With incredible animatronics and makeup, del Toro makes his world more believable by not computerizing every given opportunity. Even so, his CGI effects are not always up to par, but it doesn't take away from the film's illusion. Mainly how the characters look and interact nonchalantly with one another truly makes the movie more interesting.
One thing that really surprised me was all the directions in which the film went. The tone of Hellboy 2 really jumps everywhere from action to drama to comedy to fantasy. Unfortunately, this mixing pot of emotion does not balance out too well. The film was trying to be too many things at once and needed to stay on the same course. The first Hellboy focused more on origin, character development, and story while having a couple side jokes here and there. Hellboy 2 does not follow this same pattern and has full sequences of comedy that make viewers simply confused (wait till you see when Hellboy and Abe kick back some beers). But Ron Perlman has his character down so well he is able to carry on the role regardless of outlandish dialogue.
My conclusion regarding Hellboy 2: The Golden Army may not be any surprise to the average movie buff. I was very entertained and preoccupied by the wonderful look and feel of the movie but really wasn't sure where I was going. I had a few laughs along with some satisfied grins but honestly was not expecting the detours and u-turns down the road. Visuals and characters are what make this movie passable. I was entertained, and that was the movie's goal.
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