When the film version of Hellboy first premiered back in 2004, it was a film that seemed to be like any average comic-book film adaptation. Yet, under the vision of Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, it became more than just some average comic-book film. With help from the comic book's original writer Mike Mignola, the film became a modest hit as well as a hit with critics who enjoyed del Toro's unique vision as well as casting Ron Perlman in the title role. Two years after the film's success, del Toro scored a massive hit with El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth) that received massive critical acclaim while becoming the highest-grossing Spanish-language film in U.S. box office history.

Along with winning three Academy Awards for art direction, makeup, and cinematography, the film also received nods for foreign-language film, music score, and original screenplay as del Toro helped usher in a new wave of Mexican cinema along with Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The worldwide success of El Laberinto del Fauno was so huge, that it gave del Toro new clout for his sequel to Hellboy where the character along with his allies battle mythical creatures to save humanity entitled Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Directed and scribed by Guillermo del Toro based on a story by del Toro and the comic's original writer Mike Mignola. Hellboy II is about a mythical army of creatures returning to Earth hoping to rule as it's led by a prince who is hellbent on riding humanity forever. To stop the prince from taking over is Hellboy himself as he along with his team decide to save humanity. With Ron Perlman back in the title role, the film is more ambitious and pays more homage to the fantasy and sci-fi genre that del Toro loves. Returning for the sequel are Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, and John Hurt while appearing in this film are Luke Goss, Anna Walton, John Alexander, Brian Steele, and Seth MacFarlane as the voice of Johann Kraus. Hellboy II: The Golden Army is an excellent, entertaining, and visually astonishing sequel that tops its predecessor from the mind of Guillermo del Toro.

It's 1955 at a U.S. army base on Christmas Eve as Professor Bruttenholm (John Hurt) tells the young Hellboy (Montse Ribe) an ancient story about a battle between humans and mythical creatures that included trolls, goblins, and elves. With the battle already reaching a peak, King Balor (Roy Dotrice) who leads the elves ask a goblin to create an indestructible army of 4900 mechanical soldiers. The goblin succeeds in creating the king his Golden Army while giving a crown that gives the king ultimate control of the army. Yet, the goblin and King Balor would later express regret over the army as the crown is broken into three pieces as a truce between the creatures and humans. Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) however, doesn't agree with the treaty between humans and his kind believing humans would break it as he leaves in exile.

In the present time, Hellboy and his girlfriend/pyrokinetic specialist Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) are dealing with relationship problems as FBI head Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) tries to stop all of the press footage and pictures of Hellboy being circulated in the tabloids as Hellboy enjoys the attention. Suddenly, Prince Nuada makes an appearance at an auction house to retrieve the human's piece of the broken crown that he needed to control the Golden Army. With his troll friend Wink (Brian Steele), they unleash a swarm of killer tooth fairies at the auction house killing everyone.

Hellboy, Liz, and Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) arrive at the place to investigate where they battle the tooth fairies while Abe makes a discovery about Liz. The killing of the fairies succeed except for the fact that Hellboy has now been officially exposed to the public. Upset by Hellboy's appearance as well as the knowledge of Abe and Liz, Manning brings in a German agent named Johann Krauss (John Alexander & James Dodd), a psychic whose ectoplasmic soul is contained in a suit, to take charge of the BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense).

Back in the mythical world, Nuada returns to his old kingdom telling the Chamberlain (Doug Jones) to let him in to see his father King Balor and twin sister Nuala (Anna Walton). With Balor and Nuala holding the last two pieces needed to complete the crown, the two refuse as Balor makes the painful decision to execute Nuada but fails as Balor is killed while Nuala flees. When Krauss makes a discovery about a secret troll market under the Brooklyn Bridge, he, Hellboy, and Abe enter where they discover the world while Abe bumps into Nuala, whom he falls for. Nuala goes to the market to retrieve a map where the Golden Army lives in as she meets Abe where they both bump into the monster Wink. Hellboy battles the troll as he helps Abe and Johann to protect Nuala. Yet, when Hellboy meets Nuada, things go even worse when Hellboy fights the Elemental, a Forest God.

Hellboy succeeds in saving lives but finds himself unaccepted by humans over a misunderstanding as he starts to question his role in the human world. Nuala stays at the BPRD base where she befriends Abe as they bond over books. Yet, Nuada's emotional and psychic bond with his twin sister leads him to her location where she's found as he demands to find the last piece of the crown. Yet, Nuada is then confronted by Hellboy, who is suddenly wounded by Nuada's spear.

With Liz and Abe realizing that in order to save Hellboy's life, they must go to the former palace where the Golden Army lives in to stop Nuada. Krauss decides to join Liz, Abe, and Hellboy to Northern Ireland where they meet the goblin who built the army. The goblin takes them to the Angel of Death (Doug Jones) who decides to help Hellboy only to warn Liz of the destiny he must play. After Hellboy heals, he and his team confront Nuada about the Army as Hellboy makes a huge challenge to Nuada for control of the army.

What makes The Golden Army superior than its predecessor isn't just a bigger, more ambitious story. It also explores the character of Hellboy who tries to be accepted by everyone only forced to grow up as Liz makes an announcement that would change their lives. Screenwriter Guillermo del Toro creates a story where Hellboy and his team fight a prince whose ignorance blinds him as he's convinced that humanity will destroy the world. Though Hellboy might agree with Prince Nuada's statements, he is someone who lives with humans as he knows that there's good in them despite their flaws. What del Toro does is create a unique story that is mystical and also delve into reality. At the same time, another aspect that makes The Golden Army superior than its predecessor is that del Toro allows a few supporting characters to get more screen time and development.

The direction of del Toro is truly superb as he creates new worlds that Hellboy and his team explore. The film also exemplifies del Toro's love for fantasy and mythology as he brings a more broader scope to the film. Though some of the look of the creatures and worlds that del Toro bring might be considered leftovers from his 2006 masterpiece Pan's Labyrinth, the world he creates including the Troll Market under the Brooklyn Bridge is truly fascinating while holding true to mythology and children's fantasy. The success of del Toro's direction is bringing in a balance of drama, action, adventure, and humor. The humor is very witty and sarcastic as there's a great comical moment that involves Hellboy and Abe drinking beers about their love life while listening and singing to Barry Manilow's Can't Smile Without You.

What the film does make clear is that del Toro is becoming more confident and ambitious in his vision while being grounded in just telling a story and developing great characters. He's a director that can do both in directing actors into what they should do while balancing out with visual effects and such. Notably the film's opening scene of the Golden Army story that is a mix of puppetry and animation as del Toro's use of style works. The result is a film that's more solid and full of visual splendors as Guillermo del Toro makes Hellboy a hero we all can love and relate to.

Longtime cinematographer Guillermo Navarro does a fantastic job with his lighting style of flashy, yellow-sepia awash colors along with blue while getting to add more color for some of the film's exterior scenes. Notably the scenes in Northern Ireland as Navarro captures a wide scope to the exterior look while a lot of the film is shot in its interiors with the exception of New York City and Brooklyn. Navarro's work is definitely top-notch though it doesn't top the brilliant, Oscar-winning work he did in Pan's Labyrinth. Longtime editor Bernat Vilaplana does a fine job with the film's editing and transitional cuts while also employing great, stylized transitions and split-shots to emphasize the film's roots in comic book form.

Production designer Stephen Scott along with set decorator Elli Griff and supervising art director Peter Francis do great work on the film's set design for the decayed but urban look of the Troll Market, the ancient yet rich world of the mythological creatures, and the BPRD base that Hellboy lives in that includes a cameo from one of the set pieces of del Toro's 2001 film The Devil's Backbone. Costume designer Sammy Sheldon does a fascinating job with the look of Nuada and Nuala's clothing that is rich and colorful that is large contrast to the more urban look that Hellboy and Liz wears. Makeup designer Mike Elizalde does great work in the look of the several characters in the film including a pale-like look for Nuada and Nuala, the looks of the trolls and the characters that Doug Jones and Brian Steele plays.

Visual effects supervisor Mike Wassel does a great job in the look of CGI-created monsters like the Elemental and the tooth fairies while adding a great visual splendor to their looks as the monsters and trolls have an innocent look as well as something menacing. Longtime sound designer Martin Hernandez along with sound editor Scott Martin Gershin do great work in the film's sound work for the growls of the monsters, the atmosphere of the different locations the characters are in and the conflicts they get into. Music composer Danny Elfman creates a sweeping yet energetic film score to accompany the film's sense of action and humor while creating great theme pieces to accompany the characters and their situations, notably Johann Krauss. The film's soundtrack is a mix of melodic alternative music, rock, metal, and surprisingly, in cheesy form, Barry Manilow.

The casting by Zsolt Csutak and Jeremy Zimmerman, who plays the auctioneer at the auction, do an excellent job in assembling the film's cast that includes a cameo from talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and a fun performance from Montse Ribe as the young Hellboy. Brian Steele does great work in playing multiple roles as the troll monster Wink along with several creatures including a spice shop owner, and the man who would give Nuala the map. Roy Dotrice is good as the aging King Balor who tries to tell his son not to revive the Golden Army. John Alexander and James Dodd do great work in playing the glass-suit wearing Johan Krauss while Alexander also does work as the Goblin who created the Golden Army. Yet, it's Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame who brings a comical, know-it-all personality as the voice of Johann Krauss, who often dukes it out with Hellboy.

Though John Hurt only makes a brief appearance as Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm, Hurt's lone appearance is definitely memorable and full of class as he tells the young Hellboy the story of the Golden Army with such grace that it was good of del Toro to give him an appearance since his character is an important part to Hellboy's story. Jeffrey Tambor is good as Tom Manning, the FBI head who tries to deal with Hellboy's yearning for publicity while finding time to suck up to Johann Krauss over his by-the-book personality. Anna Walton is wonderful as Nuala, the princess who tries to hide the final piece of the crown as she also finds herself smitten with Abe Sapien as Walton's performance is truly mesmerizing. Though the character of Nuada is a bit one-dimensional, Luke Goss makes Nuada into a truly memorable villain who is just ignorant yet powerful as he tries to wipe out humanity while being a true bad*ss who can match up against Hellboy.

Selma Blair is great as Liz Sherman, Hellboy's girlfriend who tries to deal with issues of their relationship while carrying a secret that will change their lives. Blair makes Liz into a more confident, more menacing figure than in the first film as she gains full control of her fire-starting powers while dealing with Hellboy's emotions of rejection as she makes an unexpected move into saving him. Doug Jones is superb in his work in playing three roles. While the roles of the Chamberlain and the Angel of Death are small, they're memorable for their look and presence yet it's Jones' work as Abe Sapien that is hypnotic to watch. Doing the voice of Sapien this time around, instead of David Hyde Pierce in the first film. Jones brings a new personality and innocence to the fish-like character as he deals with his first crush and love while his scenes with Perlman are wonderfully funny.

Ron Perlman is once again brilliant in his role as Hellboy by bringing that great mix of being a hero and a sarcastic figure. Yet, Perlman manages to explore the depths of Hellboy's character as he deals with rejection from humanity after a misunderstanding while pondering his role in that world. Perlman's approach to drama is subtle while getting to do more comic moments in scenes that involve Johann Krauss and Abe Sapien as Perlman's comedic timing is great. Especially since Perlman is allowed to bring a lot of charm and wit to the character of Hellboy while sharing the spotlight with his fellow actors.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a brilliant, visually-spectacular, and entertaining film from Guillermo del Toro that tops its predecessor. Though there's a few predictable moments and visual cues that looked like leftovers from Pan's Labyrinth. The film clearly shows del Toro's talent for creating entertaining stories with great visual splendor and heartfelt yet funny characters. With a great cast led by Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, and Selma Blair, the Hellboy sequel is clearly one of the year's best summer blockbusters as well as one of the smartest. With del Toro already hot and set to work on the upcoming adaptations of The Hobbit with Peter Jackson, it's clear that he's the man for the job in creating visual splendor to fantasy films. In the end, for a hero that likes to smoke cigars, have some witty one-liners, and just likes to fight. Hellboy II: The Golden Army is the film to go see.

Guillermo del Toro Reviews:

Cronos (1993):

(Coming Soon)

Mimic (1997):

(Coming Soon)

The Devil's Backbone (2001):

http://www.epinions.com/content_440198270596

Blade II (2002):

(Coming Soon)

Hellboy (2004):

http://www.epinions.com/content_436828343940

Pan's Labyrinth (2006):

http://www.epinions.com/content_309310361220

The Hobbit (2011):

(Coming in 2011)


Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Action Movie
Viewing Method: Studio Screening/Premiere
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing