...my second favorite film of 2008.
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I absolutely loved the first "Hellboy" film and thought it was one of the better releases of 2004. At the time I didn´t expect a sequel considering the $66 million dollar film had done only $60 million domestically. However, the strong sales of the subsequent video releases and director Guillermo del Toro´s stock rising after the critical success of "Pan´ Labyrinth" provided what I had thought was unthinkable; a sequel to "Hellboy." With Ron Perlman returning as the Nazi-summoned demon who now fights the good fight for the United States Government, "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" is another engaging film that was a higher profile release with a slightly larger budget and greater expectations. Whereas the first film was one of my favorite pictures the year it was released, "Hellboy 2" became one of my most eagerly awaited films of this year, 2008.
Beginning with a little background, the character of Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is summoned to Earth by Nazi cultists who work along with Rasputin to summon a powerful demon who will have the ability and destiny of destroying the human race. Unfortunately for the Nazis, the United States Army steps in and stops their evil plot, but not before Hellboy is summoned to our world. He is ´adopted´ by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (William Hurt) and raised to become a good citizen who exists in secret to aid the US Government in combating the supernatural forces that exist outside of the knowledge of the average citizen. Hellboy becomes teamed up with his girlfriend, the self immolating Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and the humanoid fish Abraham Sapien (Doug Jones). Under the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Hellboy, Abe and Liz report directly to Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor), for whom Hellboy dislikes.
In the second film, Hellboy and Liz are on shakey ground in their relationship and their arguments can be quite destructive to the surrounding environment. Doors are destroyed and they are on the verge of breaking up. Adding to his frustrations, Hellboy is becoming more discontent with living secretly at the BPRD and this causes further frustrations for Manning who tries to bribe Hellboy with Cuban cigars to keep the large red demon from signing autographs and posing for pictures in a world where YouTube is ready to promote the poorly kept secret of Hellboy from full public disclosure. Abe continues to work closely with the rest of the BPRD and is the voice or reason and intelligence for the team as they defeat the things that go bump in the night.
The antagonist of the film is Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) has become tired of living a secret life as well and he wants to return the Elf kingdom to their rightful place above ground. To do this, he desires to collect the three pieces of a crown that will allow him to awaken the Golden Army, an unstoppable force of 4,900 clockwork soldiers that could decimate mankind. Prince Nuada uses his troll friend Mr. Wink (Brian Steele) to reclaim the first piece from a New York auction house and then kills his father King Balor (Roy Dotrice) to gain the second piece. The third and final piece of the crown is kept safe by his twin sister Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), who has captured Abe´s heart and is being kept safe at the secret underground headquarters of the BPRD. To help stop Nuada from awakening the Golden Army, the ectoplasmic entity of Dr. Johann Krauss (Seth MacFarlane) joins the team.
The film sends Hellboy and his team against a number of villains and to many exotic locations of the Underworld. These conflicts and locations show the artistic nature of del Toro and provide a larger universe to allow "Hellboy 2" to become a grander looking experience than its predecessor. The Troll Market and the resting place of the Golden Army provide strong backdrops to action-filled scenes that show off the fast-paced story. Hellboy´s battles against the oversized, yet expressive Mr. Wink and the gigantic Forest God are better moments that what was mustered up during the first film. In many regards, "Hellboy 2" is a faster and more exciting film that "Hellboy" and its ambitions pay off greatly for del Toro. It is easily a more exciting roller coaster ride.
I have some qualms about "Hellboy 2," however. The intentions to add more depth and heart to the characters provide an uneven narrative that water down the thrill ride. Perhaps I have just gotten tired of the subplots involving pregnancy and settling down for characters. It is beginning to feel overused and cliché and I was distraught by having Hellboy and Liz expecting and the large red monkey soon to be a father. Having the two fight and argue was fun, but the fatherhood and family theme felt out of place in this film. I want to see Hellboy a surly and confident hero who begrudgingly does what Manning says and rebels when the timing suits him. I didn´t want to watch another movie that concentrated more on love and happiness. "Pan´s Labyrinth" was a dark and foreboding story that was unflinching in its narrative. "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" almost felt like it was trying a little too hard to be cute. I´ll admit to laughing hard when a drunken duo of Hellboy and Abe sang along to "I Can´t Smile Without You," but it should have stopped there.
This is still one hell of a ride, regardless of my slight dislike of the patriarchal and romantic storylines that dilute the film. Ron Perlman is the only actor that can portray Hellboy and the veteran actor of working behind latex and makeup has mastered the role and I certainly hope for a sequel so that Perlman may once again bring Red to life. Guillermo del Toro is a very artistic and stylish director and this was a film he desperately wanted to do and his skills as a director show. Those awaiting "The Hobbit" are surely in for a treat. This is an action packed adventure that builds rather nicely upon the first film and delivers more bang for the buck than that very entertaining debut of Hellboy. I have some dislikes in regards to "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army," but it is still one of the absolute best comic book movies yet made and bested perhaps only by "The Dark Knight."
Video:
The DVD release of "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" looks incredibly good in 16x9 anamorphic widescreen. I had first watched the film on home video on the reference-quality Blu-ray release, but I was far from disappointed with the standard definition release of the film. While you won´t see the individual textures of skin and other surfaces as clearly as you would on the high definition version of the film, this is one of the better looking DVDs that I´ve come across in some time. Detail is quite clear and the Forest God´s demise is again spectacular and shows off the level of detail and coloring that is provided by this superior release. Reds, blues and golden hues all look spectacular and the Troll Market continues to be a sight to behold and shows that the DVD also includes very strong black levels and loses nothing in the darkest moments. This really is a great looking disc.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix for "Hellboy 2" is solid as well and I will admit that it cannot rival the strength and clarity of the Blu-ray´s DTS-HD soundtrack, but this mix is aggressive and very willing to shake the plates in a china closet. French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes are included as well as an English DVS Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Subtitles are included in English SDH, Spanish and French. The film´s big action sequences sound quite stellar and show how strong the imaging across channels is and how busy each speaker is during the film. The rear surrounds are used for more than to provide bleed for the strong Danny Elfman score. They are given plenty to do and the subwoofer pounds heartedly as well. The film contains strong dialogue that is never lost during even the most hectic sequences.
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[release]24694[/release]