Hellboy 2: The Golden Army / Hellboy 2: L'Armée d'or (Bilingual)

Guillermo del Toro is the perfect director to bring the characters and events of Mike Mignola's horror comic Hellboy to the big screen, and manages here in the sequel to the mostly satisfying Hellboy to create a fully realized and seamless vision of a fantastic underworld that overlaps with the everyday. Del Toro's unique sensibility, that combines a strong sense of whimsy and a keen eye for the macabre, matches precisely the story of an orphaned demon from Hell, raised by a kind-hearted gentleman who happens also to be an expert on the occult. Hellboy, as played by Ron Perlman, is one of the coolest fantasy heroes ever brought to the big screen; he's tough as nails with a heart of gold, both brutish and tender, the kind of guy who'd single-handedly destroy a monolithic monster, and save a kitty with the other hand.

Here Hellboy, or "Red" as he is known to his friends, has to deal with a rogue elf prince, who plans to eliminate humanity, because of its callous indifference to the magic and wonder of the world. At the same time Red's trying to figure out his girlfriend, a human torch played by Selma Blair (in my mind, her best role -- she's never looked better nor seemed so at ease in a role), and deal with the obnoxious authorities who want to impose rules on a force of nature. A scene where Hellboy and buddy Abe-sapian commiserate and get drunk to Barry Manilow's "Can't Smile Without You" is pitch perfect hilarious - yet the demons and monsters are inventive and scary and the swordplay, effects, and action is intense and thrilling throughout. While it may lack some of the profundity and depth of some of the greatest fantasy, you'd be hard pressed to find a fantasy thriller that is more flat out entertaining than this one, at least for those with a geek sensibility like me.

Guillermo Del Toro has become the new master of dark fantasy -- first with the quirky clockpunk "Hellboy," then with the Oscar-winning "Pan's Labyrinth." Not to mention forthcoming travels to Middle-Earth.

So you know he has the skills to pit Mike Mignola's scarlet anti-hero against an army of fairies and elves, and not make it silly. Instead, it's a spectacular dark fantasy full of humor, action, quirky appeal, romance, and some truly astounding special effects. But what really shoves this movie over the top is Del Toro's brilliant direction, and the stunning performance by Ron Perlman.

Decades ago, Professor Broom (William Hurt) told a small Hellboy a yuletide bedtime story about the Elf King Balor and his unstoppable Golden Army, and how the crown that controls the Army was split into thirds and divided among fairies and humans.

Well, you can't really expect that kind of power to never be revived.

Cut to current day. Hellboy (Perlman), Liz (Selma Blair) and Abe (Doug Jones) investigate a strange supernatural attack on an auction house, where the archeological curiosity known as the Crown of Bethmoora was being sold -- only to be attacked by savage tooth fairies. Turns out the crown was stolen by Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), a resentful young elf who is determined to take the world back from humanity -- using, of course, the Golden Army.

And while Hellboy chafes against strict new commander Johann Krauss (a suit filled with ectoplasm), Abe encounters Nuada's sister, Princess Nuala -- who also happens to have the last third of the crown. But Nuada will not allow anyone to oppose him as he searches for the Golden Army's location, and Hellboy and his friends must venture into a strange, ancient kingdom to stop him from destroying all of humanity.

The worst you can say about "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" is that it retreads the idea of a demonic outsider with a dark destiny, and his continuing romantic woes. Hellboy realizes anew that he'll never fit into the world of humans, because he's big and red and has horns and a tail. Okay, we got it. Next big psychological issue!

Fortunately those flaws are relatively minor ones. Del Toro is able to spin up a straightforward fantasy story, but then he conjures up some truly glorious trappings -- a fey civilization running parallel to ours. And he populates it with truly bizarre creatures (the eye-winged Angel of Death), clockpunk robots, and trippy underground goblin markets. And when this ancient civilization lashes out, Del Toro does not pull punches -- giant thrashing tentacle-vines and a one-on-one duel between Hellboy and Nuada are among the highlights. And the Golden Army itself is all gears and fire -- pretty amazing.

But Del Toro doesn't neglect the script -- lots of solid snappy dialogue and some poignantly romantic moments, including some startling actions from dear ol' Abe. And he also adds little moments to this epic story that remind us that these are supposed to be people -- such as Hellboy's bickering with his new ectoplasmic boss, or Abe and Hellboy getting drunk and having a little Manilow singalong together. It's just so cute.

But what really sets this movie apart is the "children of the Earth." No flitting Victorian sprites -- these are creatures that are weird, grotesque, dangerous and immensely powerful, from nasty little tooth fairies up to creatures with buildings for heads and plant gods. There's an alien, bizarre aesthetic to these creatures that feels wholly real, as if Neil Gaiman casually dropped a few sketches onto the drawing board.

But as amazing as the visuals are, Del Toro never neglects the characters. Perlman is perfect for the role of "big Red" -- he's gruff, sarcastic, moody, but also endearing and self-deprecatingly likable. There are more hints of his potentially dark future and the temptations he faces, but Big Red's good heart is still very much in the forefront.

Blair gives a more lively performance here as a spunkier Liz, who also has some surprising developments in store. Jones is pitch-perfect as the fish-man, who experiences the first pangs of young love for Nuala, and Goss gives a chilling, whispery performance as a rebel prince who is willing to do whatever it takes -- even kill members of his family -- if it helps him restore the fey kingdom.

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" is a wild, darkly ornate ride through the world of half-forgotten gods and fey. While it has a few flaws, those are far outweighed by the brilliant of Del Toro's vision.

4.5 out of 5

Long ago a war was fought between mythical creatures and humanity and, during that war, King Balor, leader of an elfin race, had an unstoppable Golden Army created for him, one that laid waste to humanity. The army marched and destroyed everything in its path. Amidst the piles of bodies and oceans of blood, the king felt great regret so a truce was made between mythical creatures and humankind. The agreement: the mythical creatures stuck to living in the forests whereas humanity could have the land. As well, the special crown that King Balor (or anyone of royal blood) used to control the Golden Army was split into three parts, which two were kept for himself, the third to humans. Also, the Golden Army was hidden somewhere on Earth in dormancy, locked away.

King Balor's son, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), didn't like the agreement so exiled himself and waited for the right time to strike and take control of the Army and remove the humans from the planet.

Enter present day, where business flows as usual for Hellboy (Ron Pearlman) and the rest of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). That is, until, Nauda resurfaces and begins slaughtering humans as he tries to piece the crown together so he can control the Golden Army again and find out the secret location as to where the Army is hidden.

To add to the B.P.R.D.'s distress, Hellboy and Liz (Selma Blair) are having issues. She wants him more domesticated; he wants to remain free-spirited. Also, Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) is taken with Nuada's twin sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) and, unfortunately, she is linked to Nuada so everything that happens to him happens to her as well. Nuala wants to stop her brother for what he has planned.

The B.P.R.D. seems to have met its match, especially when things turn south and the Golden Army rises once more.

I was super late seeing this movie. In fact, I just saw it prior to this review. It wasn't for a lack of trying either, but life happens and other movies come out and, well, the next thing you know it's almost two years later and you're finally playing catch up. Let me just say it was worth the wait. I was a fan of the first Hellboy and though this one carries with it the same undertone as the first, the overall feeling of it is different: the first one was more monster oriented and this one was more fantasy oriented. I felt at times like I was watching a cross between Lord of the Rings and Van Helsing.

Ron Perlman as Hellboy was pure awesome. I love the down-to-earth nature of the character plus the fact that despite him being a kind of rock `n' roll tough guy, he's really just a big kid underneath all that red.

Selma Blair was feisty and dark as always, and she and Perlman had excellent chemistry in their Liz/Hellboy relationship.

It was cool, too, to see Abe Sapien get more of the emotional spotlight this flick with him falling in love with Princess Nuala. At first I thought the dude was all about books and that was it. Looks like there's a tender heart underneath those gills after all.

The layered storytelling was great, and there was a sense of history to the Army, the elfin race, and things on Hellboy's side of the fence. It wasn't just some standard good-guys-versus-bad-guys stuff. Cool beans.

The action was superb, hardcore and fun. The epic scale for some of the battles rocked, especially when Hellboy goes up against the big green guy that grows trees. Cool fight and Hellboy's big hero moment/pose on top of the hotel sign hanging onto that baby was comical yet cool as well.

Was this as good as the first? Hard to say. Tied for sure, though the first one is still my favorite.

This sucker's worth 4 and a half cigars in my book, though.

Recommended.

A.P. Fuchs
Canister X