Viewed: In theatre
Release Date: July 11, 2008
writers: Guillermo Del Toro (w/ Mike Mignola)
director: Guillermo Del Toro
I was about to profess my love for Hellboy in his various incarnations, but it would be a big fat lie. If I actually loved Hellboy as much as I claim I do, then why haven't I bought any Hellboy action figures, why haven't I purchased the Animated movies, why did I only buy the 2-disc special edition of the first live-action film and not the mega-4-disc one, and why haven't I bought a Hellboy comic in seven years?
To be honest I don't know. I think in my head about Hellboy and I have a strong reaction, I think he's awesome. But he's not a flawless character, and not everything that's based on him or has his name on it is going to be great. There was the Hellboy Jr. comics that really didn't impress me much and looking back at my reaction to the first film (and my review) I'm surprised at how underwhelmed I was by it then, considering how highly I think of it now. It's become one of those movies that I can pull off the shelf and sit back and enjoy the comforts of it. It's not perfect but it's a fun interpretation of the character (difference between then and now is I can understand the need for different iterations of stories and characters when presented different media).
My reaction to the announcement and lead up to Hellboy 2 was unbridled anticipation. My affection for the first film had obviously grown, and I was looking forward to more of Ron Perlman in the red bodysuit, makeup and shaved-down horns. The trailers promised something much for fantastical the second time around... more creatures, primarily, an obvious love of writer/director Guillermo Del Toro (all of his films have dealt with paranormal creatures in some respect or another). Not needing to introduce the character or deal with his origin story, I was hoping the sequel could steer back into the comic books' strengths, that of a paranormal high-adventure story, like a crossing of Indiana Jones and the X-Files. What was delivered was a junior level fantasy, a tweeners movie that's been marketed towards adults (what parent is going to take their 10 year old to a movie about a demon, even if it's as harmless as Harry Potter?).
Release Date: July 11, 2008
writers: Guillermo Del Toro (w/ Mike Mignola)
director: Guillermo Del Toro
I was about to profess my love for Hellboy in his various incarnations, but it would be a big fat lie. If I actually loved Hellboy as much as I claim I do, then why haven't I bought any Hellboy action figures, why haven't I purchased the Animated movies, why did I only buy the 2-disc special edition of the first live-action film and not the mega-4-disc one, and why haven't I bought a Hellboy comic in seven years?
To be honest I don't know. I think in my head about Hellboy and I have a strong reaction, I think he's awesome. But he's not a flawless character, and not everything that's based on him or has his name on it is going to be great. There was the Hellboy Jr. comics that really didn't impress me much and looking back at my reaction to the first film (and my review) I'm surprised at how underwhelmed I was by it then, considering how highly I think of it now. It's become one of those movies that I can pull off the shelf and sit back and enjoy the comforts of it. It's not perfect but it's a fun interpretation of the character (difference between then and now is I can understand the need for different iterations of stories and characters when presented different media).
My reaction to the announcement and lead up to Hellboy 2 was unbridled anticipation. My affection for the first film had obviously grown, and I was looking forward to more of Ron Perlman in the red bodysuit, makeup and shaved-down horns. The trailers promised something much for fantastical the second time around... more creatures, primarily, an obvious love of writer/director Guillermo Del Toro (all of his films have dealt with paranormal creatures in some respect or another). Not needing to introduce the character or deal with his origin story, I was hoping the sequel could steer back into the comic books' strengths, that of a paranormal high-adventure story, like a crossing of Indiana Jones and the X-Files. What was delivered was a junior level fantasy, a tweeners movie that's been marketed towards adults (what parent is going to take their 10 year old to a movie about a demon, even if it's as harmless as Harry Potter?).
I've become accepting of the differences in storytelling between different venues - it's why there's a comic-book Hellboy, an animated Hellboy and a movie screen Hellboy - but what makes the varying iterations work is a trueness to the source, in spirit or tone if not specifically character or story. The first film solidly established itself as different from the comic, and while it took me a while to get comfortable with that, I did eventually see it for what it was. The Golden Army pushes even further away from the comics, and even the first film.
I can accept the need for Hellboy and Liz (Selma Blair) to be paired up, and to further that relationship was a natural extension of how it was built in the first film, but the entire relationship, like much of the movie, devolves into pathetic cliche. The squabbling between characters, the reveal of a pregnancy (and twins!), the turn of Liz rescuing Hellboy, all terribly predictable and unnatural. Hellboy, in almost every iteration is a Timex ("takes a licking, keeps on ticking"), but to have him weakened and to send Liz, Abe and crew off on an adventure to save him (which turns out to be a painful and exposition-laden, deus ex machina-driven, sequel-setting-up scene) late in the film. He recovers quickly and heads towards the grand showdown with the titular Golden Army, but had the character, like everyone in the audience, remembered the key to defeating the Golden Army as introduced at the films flashback opening sequence (a neat animated/marionette sequence read by Professor Broome to his adoped son, a 10-year old Hellboy), the movie could have spared itself a lot of time and meaningless meandering.
But the meaningless meandering looked cool. The Faery realm and the creature market are fabulously realized (minimal CGI) environs, and a great location for sightseeing and a monster brawl. Its in the market that Abe Sapien (played by Doug Jones in his own voice this time) meets their adversary's twin sister and in his beefed-up role, Abe gets a love story, every bit as tragically cliche as Hellboy and Liz's, with the conclusion inevitable and predictable.
If the movie has a fatal flaw it's that it doesn't progress fluidly. It sets up the story but insists on executing it in chunks, the team of Hellboy, Liz, Abe and their tremendously disposable BPRD cohorts venturing out and back to home base far too often. I fear I may sound rather geeky, but the plot should have unfolded as they tend to do in the comics... the team ventures out on their mission, investigates clues, and follows them, Hellboy generally using his fists to get information his way and to get out of trouble. The opening sequence the opening sequence tells us that only royalty can challenge for the crown that controls the Golden Army, and the journey should have been the BPRD finding out about the plot to resurrect it, hunting down the location of the army and then challenging the Prince for his crown, no back-and-forth to home base. Sure, we would have lost some amusing Jeffrey Tambor sequences but they weren't essential, and the film otherwise felt stilted. I still don't know if I was laughing at Hellboy and Abe drunkenly singing a sappy love tune out of genuine humour or as a nervous response to pain.
Del Toro tries to punch up the story and characters, imbuing a lot of humour that falls flat as often as it succeeds. Just as he wanted more creatures, he wanted more of everything for all the characters, but it's too much. The comics succeed because they don't focus so much on character, and once you do you lose much of their charm. The actors are all well suited for their roles, but the script asks them to move their role play into awkward territory, and despite the beautiful imagery things rarely balance out.
Was I disappointed? Not too much. Once I understood where the film was going, getting very much a Buffy: The Vampire Slayer vibe from it (it felt like a collection of 3 40-minute episodes of an ongoing paranormal-fighters show rather than a full-on film), I settled into it and tried to enjoy it for what it was. But more so than the first I was left underwhelmed.
Rating: 2.5/5
I can accept the need for Hellboy and Liz (Selma Blair) to be paired up, and to further that relationship was a natural extension of how it was built in the first film, but the entire relationship, like much of the movie, devolves into pathetic cliche. The squabbling between characters, the reveal of a pregnancy (and twins!), the turn of Liz rescuing Hellboy, all terribly predictable and unnatural. Hellboy, in almost every iteration is a Timex ("takes a licking, keeps on ticking"), but to have him weakened and to send Liz, Abe and crew off on an adventure to save him (which turns out to be a painful and exposition-laden, deus ex machina-driven, sequel-setting-up scene) late in the film. He recovers quickly and heads towards the grand showdown with the titular Golden Army, but had the character, like everyone in the audience, remembered the key to defeating the Golden Army as introduced at the films flashback opening sequence (a neat animated/marionette sequence read by Professor Broome to his adoped son, a 10-year old Hellboy), the movie could have spared itself a lot of time and meaningless meandering.
But the meaningless meandering looked cool. The Faery realm and the creature market are fabulously realized (minimal CGI) environs, and a great location for sightseeing and a monster brawl. Its in the market that Abe Sapien (played by Doug Jones in his own voice this time) meets their adversary's twin sister and in his beefed-up role, Abe gets a love story, every bit as tragically cliche as Hellboy and Liz's, with the conclusion inevitable and predictable.
If the movie has a fatal flaw it's that it doesn't progress fluidly. It sets up the story but insists on executing it in chunks, the team of Hellboy, Liz, Abe and their tremendously disposable BPRD cohorts venturing out and back to home base far too often. I fear I may sound rather geeky, but the plot should have unfolded as they tend to do in the comics... the team ventures out on their mission, investigates clues, and follows them, Hellboy generally using his fists to get information his way and to get out of trouble. The opening sequence the opening sequence tells us that only royalty can challenge for the crown that controls the Golden Army, and the journey should have been the BPRD finding out about the plot to resurrect it, hunting down the location of the army and then challenging the Prince for his crown, no back-and-forth to home base. Sure, we would have lost some amusing Jeffrey Tambor sequences but they weren't essential, and the film otherwise felt stilted. I still don't know if I was laughing at Hellboy and Abe drunkenly singing a sappy love tune out of genuine humour or as a nervous response to pain.
Del Toro tries to punch up the story and characters, imbuing a lot of humour that falls flat as often as it succeeds. Just as he wanted more creatures, he wanted more of everything for all the characters, but it's too much. The comics succeed because they don't focus so much on character, and once you do you lose much of their charm. The actors are all well suited for their roles, but the script asks them to move their role play into awkward territory, and despite the beautiful imagery things rarely balance out.
Was I disappointed? Not too much. Once I understood where the film was going, getting very much a Buffy: The Vampire Slayer vibe from it (it felt like a collection of 3 40-minute episodes of an ongoing paranormal-fighters show rather than a full-on film), I settled into it and tried to enjoy it for what it was. But more so than the first I was left underwhelmed.
Rating: 2.5/5