Hellboy 2 Review

Disclaimer: Some of you may have noticed I have been reviewing movies that are now at the dollar theater or were recently released on DVD. To prove I am a legit movie reviewer and not just a cheap wanna be, I am going to start covering more new releases this year. I might even get in on a special screening one of these days.

Last week I rented Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. I wasn't a big fan of the first Hellboy movie. I was not very familiar with the comic book series and despite the cool special effects I just couldn't get into it. When I saw the preview for the sequel it looked much more appealing. I'm not sure if that was because I was already familiar with the characters or if it was because of all the cool visuals in the trailer. Speaking of visuals, I think it is easy to identify a Guillermo del Toro movie by his trademark artistic style. The same thing goes for any Tim Burton movie.

The story line reminded me of Lord of the Rings meets Hellboy. This movie begins by telling the story of the ancient world and how elves and men used to be at war. The elves created a merciless golden mechanical army which defeated their enemies. The army was later decommissioned by the king since they were so merciless and a truce was made between the waring factions . A disgruntled elf Prince wanted to change the world back to how it was with the elves in control so he attempts to collect 3 parts of an ancient crown which will allow him to unlock and control the golden army. Once he is able to accomplish this he can again defeat the human race.

The background for the movie is explained in the first 5 minutes and then then it changes to modern times in New York. Hellboy and his entourage attempt to stop Prince Nuada before he can accomplish his evil plan. In one of the earlier scene Hellboy and his friends blow their cover and the public is made aware of their existence. Hellboy fits the classic mold of the misunderstood superhero. Like Batman, Spiderman, and others he risks his neck for the public but despite his service many humans still fear or hate him. I really liked Ron Pearlman's performance and found myself laughing at several of his one liners. He does a great job of portraying one of the funniest and most kicked back superheros I can think of.

This movie was visually appealing and entertaining and I have a hard time requiring much more than that from a comic book movie. It is not Academy Award material (maybe the special effects are) but I enjoyed it enough to give it 7.4 out of 10 stars.