"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" Review -- Written by Anthony Thurber

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Year: 2008
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Stars: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Studio: Universal Pictures
Running Time: 110 Mins
Review Rating: 4 Stars

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is the latest film from probably the best horror/fantasy director that’s working in Hollywood today, Guillermo Del Toro. This is the sequel in the 2004 original film Hellboy. In this film, the mythical world is out of control when a prince from the underworld sets out to declare war against all of humanity. That’s when Hellboy and his team over at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense set out to stop the prince. The prince has other plans, as he sets out to find the missing piece to a crown that would unleash an army that is so indestructible that no one can stop it. Now Hellboy is the only person who can stop this prince before he finds the missing piece to the crown that controls The Golden Army.

If anyone going to see this film and expecting Hellboy 2: The Golden Army to top or come close to Guillermo Del Toro last film “Pan’s Labyrinth,” you are insane and should be committed. I’m sorry but Pan’s Labyrinth is one of those films that comes along every five to ten years, where there everything in the movie is perfect. Great story, great acting, great visual, and great screenplay. The movie is in my top three films of all time and it’s one of those films that leaves an emotional impact after you leave the theater. So yours truly didn’t go in expecting that film all over again. I was expecting close to pretty much the same as the first Hellboy film. The film did a pretty good job meeting my expectations.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army proves that Guillermo Del Toro hasn’t missed a beat from his last epic Pan's Labyrinth. This was a very action packed film. Del Toro direction of the film was just great, as he still proves that he is the best horror/fantasy director out there. He does a great job creating this comic book atmosphere that is needed for this film to succeed. Del Toro manages to make the images in film feel like it came out of a comic book. If there is another thing that he also great at it is the direction of the actors. The acting, like the previous one, was also very good. Del Toro does a great job making the actors bring these comic book personalities to life. Ron Perlman was very good here again as Hellboy. He still manages to be perfect in this role. Perlman makes this character a very badass character while also being humorous at the same time. One of the most oddly scenes, in the film is when his character along with Abe Sapien were drunk and singing a duet together. I felt that was a good humorous scene by him and co-star Doug Jones (who also provided the voice for the character along with the movements, in this one), as it gave weird funny feeling at the same time. That’s also probably my favorite scene from the whole film. Anyway, the film also has a very good supporting cast that including Selma Blair (the upcoming TV series Kath and Kim), Jeffery Tambor (Arrested Development) (who both appeared in the first film) and Seth MacFarlane (TV’s Family Guy), who provided the voice for Johann Krauss.

Del Toro’s screenplay was also very good, as he brings this surreal noir-ish look to the screenplay. It something that not many people can do, in this genre. He also expands the development of the main characters from the first film. Del Toro does that by focusing on the characters and their personal life too. I liked how he goes into the Hellboy-Liz Sherman relationship more deeply in this film, as it helps move the mythology of Hellboy further. He also does a very good job with the Abe Sapien character here too, as he felt part of the main story, unlike in the first film. We get to know more about the character unlike in the first Hellboy film, where he felt like a minor character. There is also a lot of action in the film. Del Toro balances the story and the action in his screenplay. He does that so that so he can get the story across, while making the film entertaining and accessible to the average viewer.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is a very good follow up to Guillermo Del Toro's classic Pan’s Labyrinth and I suggest you check it out amidst the clutter of superhero movie that are out there this summer.