HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
2008
PG-13
You can watch the trailer here
PG-13
You can watch the trailer here
To be brutally honest, the only reason I even contemplated watching Hellboy II: The Golden Army was because I once had an obsession and desire to watch every movie ever nominated for an Academy Award (Hellboy II was nominated for Best Achievement in Makeup at the 2009 ceremony). However, I have a rule not to watch a sequel or remake without watching the original film, so I watched the first Hellboy film a few months ago. After thoroughly enjoying it, I figured I might as well give the second one, which was also helmed by Guillermo Del Toro, a chance as well.
We open on a young Hellboy/Red hearing the story of the Golden Army from his adoptive father. Fast-forward to present day, where Hellboy/Red (Ron Perlman) and company are still hard at work keeping humanity safe from behind the scenes. Red desires the spotlight, however, and it starts to cause problems - mainly, the public doesn't particularly like him or his kind. When Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) makes his appearance, we learn that he wants to re-establish the Golden Army in order to destroy mankind. Red and company take chase in an attempt to stop him.
The screenplay essentially provides your standard action flick. There's some scenes of dialogue in between the action sequences that are meant to dispel any confusion, but it's not as though the plot is terribly confusing. I mean, it's about a demon-like creature who loves Cuban cigars and Tecate beer and helps save the world. There's nothing complex about that at all. However, we do get a few moments of comedy that caused some laugh-out-loud fun. Keep an eye out for a drunken Barry Manilow duet...
Since most of the cast remains the same as the previous film, there's not much to say about the acting as everyone essentially holds serve with their performances in the first installment. Goss is good as our villain, but he could have been fleshed out a little more in order to be a little more sinister. But it works just fine for this movie's purposes.
Essentially, it's big, mindless fun. There's some pretty good special effects, and it definitely has that undeniable Guillermo Del Toro stamp. If you are a fan of the first Hellboy film, then I don't see why there'd be any reason for you to pass up the sequel, even if it's just to kick back and smile for two hours.
We open on a young Hellboy/Red hearing the story of the Golden Army from his adoptive father. Fast-forward to present day, where Hellboy/Red (Ron Perlman) and company are still hard at work keeping humanity safe from behind the scenes. Red desires the spotlight, however, and it starts to cause problems - mainly, the public doesn't particularly like him or his kind. When Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) makes his appearance, we learn that he wants to re-establish the Golden Army in order to destroy mankind. Red and company take chase in an attempt to stop him.
The screenplay essentially provides your standard action flick. There's some scenes of dialogue in between the action sequences that are meant to dispel any confusion, but it's not as though the plot is terribly confusing. I mean, it's about a demon-like creature who loves Cuban cigars and Tecate beer and helps save the world. There's nothing complex about that at all. However, we do get a few moments of comedy that caused some laugh-out-loud fun. Keep an eye out for a drunken Barry Manilow duet...
Since most of the cast remains the same as the previous film, there's not much to say about the acting as everyone essentially holds serve with their performances in the first installment. Goss is good as our villain, but he could have been fleshed out a little more in order to be a little more sinister. But it works just fine for this movie's purposes.
Essentially, it's big, mindless fun. There's some pretty good special effects, and it definitely has that undeniable Guillermo Del Toro stamp. If you are a fan of the first Hellboy film, then I don't see why there'd be any reason for you to pass up the sequel, even if it's just to kick back and smile for two hours.
Movie Review Summary:
Grade: B-
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Grade: B-
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