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Hellboy 2: The Golden
Army
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Ron Perlman
Genre:
Fantasy
Run Time: 120 min.
Release Date:
July 2008
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Before I start I need to
explain something about why I rated this film the way I did. First let
me say that I’m a pretty big fan of both Guillermo del Toro and the
original HELLBOY film. Ron Perlman was perfectly cast in the
title role and I wouldn’t wish that changed for the world. The first
film (also directed by del Toro) had a pretty cool story about the
beginnings of Hellboy and the organization he would eventually
belong to. Let me say that again, the story was cool.
That’s important, because when you get right down to it, films
must have that to carry them through to audiences.
A friend of mine said that if I loved
PAN’S LABYRINTH that I’d love this
film. Well, he was wrong. I did love Pan’s Labyrinth. A lot. In fact, it
was probably the best film of 2006. It won BAFTA awards and three Oscars
and a gaggle of others, so the critics seemed to agree with me on that
point. But HELLBOY II didn’t fair so well. Sure, it got one nod from the
Academy (for make-up, though), but little else; not that I’d expect a
comic book-to-film story to garner much critical acclaim amongst the
snobby elite of Hollywood-dom. But here’s the thing: It could have! Take
a look at things like IRON MAN and
THE DARK KNIGHT and you’ll see what I
mean (sometimes the snobs are forced to take note of these otherwise
overlooked gems whenever they’re done with extreme care ...and I mean
E-X-T-R-E-M-E!). So what was the problem? you may be asking. First let’s
look at what wasn’t the problem.
Guillermo must be recognized as a visual artist. The sets and camera
shots and costumes were very much on-par with what I expect from him
(i.e., Pan’s Labyrinth quality). The troll’s market scenes were worth
the price of admission alone! Stunningly dark, dreary but equally
enthralling and uniquely beautiful. The Elfin lands and flashbacks were
also well-done giving us a bit of history about the war between humans
and elves.
But we need more than history and battles to make a great film. We need
originality, and this is where the film fell short for me. Looking more
like a side-story for
THE LORD OF THE RINGS, the history of elves and
men have been done ad nauseam (in both literature and film). Although
del Toro tried to put a unique spin on the story by incorporating the
elves as split between being nice to humans and wanting them all dead,
the story really never found traction for me. This was due, in great
part, by the incorporation of two love stories. One we’re already aware
of between Perlman’s Hellboy and the firebranding Liz (Selma Blair), and
the other comes as a bit of a surprise (and ends up nowhere, really). To
me, del Toro could’ve easily excised this second love story and extended
the history behind Hellboy and/or extended our understanding of why the
division between the human-hating elves and the human-loving ones was so
wide (I understand some of this was due to the twin elves’ father, but
much of it is not). We’re supposed to assume (or so I assume!) that one
of the elves is just flat-out evil for the sake of being evil. Not good
storytelling.
So there you have it. I liked the film as a diversion, but I wasn’t at
all captivated as I was with the first Hellboy. Story, story, story.
It’s so important. I hope that with the next Hellboy flick (and I really
hope there is another because I will watch it) that del Toro directs
again and can give us a fresh story with the amazing visuals we’ve come
to appreciate from him.
(back to top) |
Image from Hellboy 2: The
Golden Army
DVD cost: $29.00
Purchase:
Tower.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
As in the first movie, the
agents that accompany Hellboy are named for things found while digging
in the earth, albeit decidedly tougher than the first group: Marble,
Flint, Steel (true, this is an alloy that is mostly iron, but Iron is
not a common last name).
Movie Quote: "Suck
my ectoplasmic Schwanzstücke!"
Other Actors/Actresses
from Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
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