Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Full
Screen) starring Ron Perlman, Selma
Blair, Doug Jones, John Alexander,
James Dodd
Reviewing The Technology, Not The Film
The feverish Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a very busy sequel that might
have looked unhinged in the hands of a less visionary director than
Guillermo del Toro. Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy, aka Red, th e Dark
Horse Comics demon-hero with roots in the mythical world but personal
ties in the human realm. Still working, as he was in Hellboy, for a secret
department of the federal government that deals (as in Men In Black) with
forces of the fantastic, Red and his colleagues take on a royal elf (Luke
Goss) determined to smash a longtime truce between mankind and the
forces of magic. Meanwhile, Reds relationship with girlfriend Liz (Selma
Blair), who can burst into flames at will, is going through a rocky stag e
observed by Reds fishy friend Abe (Doug Jones), himself struck by love in
this film. Del Toro brilliantly integrates the ordinary and extraordinary,
diving into an extended scene set in a troll market barely hidden behind the
façade of typical city streets. He also unleashes a forest monster that
devastates an urban neighborhood, but then--interestingly--brings a
luminous beauty to the same area as the creature (an elemental)
succumbs to a terrible death. Del Toros art direction proves masterful, too,
in a climactic battle set in a clockworks-like stronghold tucked away in
rugged Irish landscape. But its really the juxtaposition of visual marvels
with not-so-unusual relationship issues that gives Hellboy II a certain
jaunty appeal hard to find in other superhero movies. --Tom Keogh
Stills from Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Click for larger image)
Well, by now there have been a lot of people who have done a great job of
fully dissecting this film in terms of good/bad, so I wont write a long-winded
version of whats already been said.
However, I would like to briefly address the `problem people had with the
storyline. This ties into the fact that some felt the world wasnt in great peril.
In fact, the film isnt so much about the world being in danger of unseen
enemies, but each individual being in danger of inhabiting the world as we
know it, inhabiting the world as our society expects us to but struggling
against our nature as we were created. I think Hellboy shows a big part of
his humanity by being truly empathetic in a scene where he fights off a
giant plant creature. When it comes to him or the other guy, survival kicks
in but thats not to say hes happy about the affair unless the other guy truly
deserved it.
We all struggle with staking a claim as individuals in our world, but Hellboy
epitomizes the stance because he was born to bring humankind down and
serve the dark master. Good versus Bad has always been a fascinating
notion and a great concept when it comes to films. The greatest type of
film is the one that dares to take a step further and blur the lines between
good and bad. When the day is over, were all as confused as the next guy,
and hope we bring just a little more love & laughter into the world than
grief.
Its a shame that The Dark Knight opened up soon after Hellboy 2 at the
movies. Thats a great film in its own right, but I think this movie could have
garnered more attention and praise if it didnt have that behemoth coming
right after. Still, DVD and Blu-ray will hopefully breathe new life into it so
new audiences can discover this gem.
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