Hellboy Sings and Kicks Butt in Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Written: Jul 17 '08 (Updated Sep 19 '08)
Product Rating:
Pros: Very entertaining movie. Good plot and cast.
Cons: Will be too different for some viewers.
The Bottom Line: Hellboy II: The Golden Army was a wonderfully entertaining movie. Fans of the first movie or the character in general should give it a chance.
dragonfire88's Full Review: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
I have seen many of the movies based on comic books that have been made. With some of them, like Hellboy, the movies were my first introduction to the characters. I really enjoyed Hellboy, so I have been interested in seeing Hellboy II: The Golden Army since I found out it was being made.
Certain things that I will be mentioning about Hellboy II: The Golden Army could be spoilers for Hellboy for anyone who hasn’t seen that movie yet. This movie does stand fairly well alone, but certain things will make more sense if the movies are watched in order.
When Hellboy was still a child, Professor Bruttenholm told him a bedtime story one night about a battle between humans and mythical creatures. The King of the Elves, Balor became able to control a golden army of indestructible warriors that slaughtered the humans in battle. King Balor regretted the creation of the army and a truce was made with the humans. His son, Prince Nuada, wasn’t happy about the truce and went into exile. The crown needed to control the army was split apart and the army was buried.
In the present, Prince Nuada put his plan to get control of the golden army into action. He got part of the crown from an auction house where he unleashed ravenous tooth fairies. Hellboy, Abe, and Liz were sent in to investigation. Things were complicated by the fact that Hellboy and Liz were having some issues in their relationship. Things didn’t go like Tom Manning wanted, and the B.P.R.D. and Hellboy became public knowledge. This caused Johann Krauss to be assigned to take control and keep Hellboy in line. Prince Nuada continued with his plan, which caused his twin sister Princess Nuala to go into hiding. She ended up with the B.P.R.D., which further complicated things.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army featured characters created by Mike Mignola for the Hellboy comic book published by Dark Horse. The characters have been featured in the live action movie Hellboy as well as Hellboy Animated - Sword of Storms and Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron. I still have not read any of the comic books. From one or two things I have read, I think that an original story was created for the movie instead of basing it on a specific story from the comic books. I do think that people who haven’t read the comics can enjoy the movie.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army started off with a short scene set in 1955 when Hellboy heard the story about the golden army. The movie then jumped forward to the present. I have no idea how much time was supposed to have passed since the end of the first movie. The relationship between Hellboy and Liz had been established in that movie and it carried into this one. That was really the only specific plot point that carried into this movie. The majority of the plot was focused on Prince Nuada trying to get control of the army while Hellboy, Liz, and Abe worked to prevent that from happening. There was also a subplot connected to how people responded to Hellboy once he was no longer a secret. There was a lot going on that kept things interesting. I didn’t feel like the plot was too complicated. Dark things were dealt with again, which won’t appeal to some. This really isn’t a movie for young children.
Magical and mythical creatures played a large part in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. There were elves, goblins, trolls, tooth fairies, and other magical creatures throughout the movie. I really liked that aspect of the movie and thought it made things more interesting. Some people might think those things made the movie too different. The more magical types of creatures were different from what turned up in the first movie, but I thought they worked well. They just added another layer to the world of Hellboy. The different types of creatures did remind me a bit of The Lord of the Rings and the game World of Warcraft.
Hellboy got into several fights, which added a lot of action as well as some violence to Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Liz and Abe were also involved in some fo the fights, though they didn’t do as much as Hellboy for the most part. The violence really wasn’t graphic, though it may bother some viewers. The action scenes, that included explosions, helped to keep the pace moving along, and were done very well. The special effects that were done for different things throughout the movie were very well done. The different characters and settings looked amazing.
Some humor was added in different scenes that helped to lighten the mood at times. That also happened in the first movie. Most of the things that made me laugh were said or done by Hellboy. He just had a way of acting that I found funny. It was even funny when he ended up in a fight with one of the other characters. Some of the other characters said or did a few things that were funny as well. The funniest scene had to be when Hellboy got Abe to drink beer and then the two of them started singing a Barry Manilow song. It was a really good scene that allowed the two friends to bond a bit and was extremely funny to boot.
The relationship between Hellboy and Liz was established in the first movie. Things weren’t perfect between them in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. That did make the relationship seem more realistic since relationships do tend to be complicated. I did like that there was something new going on with that aspect of the characters. After meeting Princess Nuala, Abe was quickly smitten with her. He was unsure of how to act around her and it was interesting to see him deal with something that was new to him. The friendships and working relationships that the group had were also important to what was going on. They all had to adapt to having Johann join the team, which caused some interesting moments.
Hellboy was basically the same as he had been in the first movie. He was still addicted to candy bars and television and had numerous cats. He had a unique way of looking at things that did rub some the wrong way. Ron Pearlman was perfect in the part. Liz had changed more than any of the other returning characters. She was in control of her power and she seemed more confident. She still had doubts about some things, but she was stronger overall. I think Selma Blair handled the part well. Abe was still considered the most intelligent of the group. He wasn’t as sure of anything once he discovered he had feelings for the Princess. Doug Jones was good in the part, and while I don’t think there is anything wrong with his voice, I did miss David Hyde Pierce’s voice for the character. I just think his voice goes with Abe better. Tom was also back, but he wasn’t around much, so Jeffrey Tambour didn’t have a lot to do. He was mostly irritated by Hellboy. John Hurt was back briefly in the scene set in 1955.
Johann Krauss was a new member of the team. He was very by the book, and was brought in to keep Hellboy in line. Johann wasn’t what anyone expected and was another very unique character. Seth MacFarlane provided the voice for the character. Prince Nuada had his reasons for wanting to break the truce with the humans. He truly believed it was best for the elves and other mythical creatures to do that. There wasn’t a lot of exploration for his motivations, so the character wasn’t as strong as he could have been. Luke Goss did well with the part. Princess Nuala wanted the truce to stand and was trying to stop her brother. She seemed to be very caring, but not much was shared about her. Anna Walton was fine in the part. There were some other B.P.R.D. agents around who really didn’t do much and weren’t developed at all.
Main Cast
Selma Blair - Liz Luke Goss - Prince Nuada John Hurt - Professor Bruttenholm Doug Jones - Abe Sapien Seth MacFarlane - Voice of Johann Krauss Ron Pearlman - Hellboy Jeffrey Tambour - Tom Manning Anna Walton - Princess Nuala
Guillermo del Torro - Director
Hellboy II: The Golden Army was a very entertaining movie. It managed to be a strong sequel that is worth seeing. Fans of the characters or the first movie should give it a chance.
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY begs any number of referential mash-ups to be used as description of its outlandish tonal and stylistic qualities. It's a ...More at Family Video
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