Reviewed by Geno McGahee
“You woke up the baby.” – Hellboy (Ron Perlman)
I really liked the first HELLBOY, so I eagerly awaited the release of the sequel on DVD. I don’t go to the movies because I hate those pricks with the cell phones and laser pointers that ruin the movie viewing experience. That is why I waited for it on DVD where I watched it in the privacy of my own home.
HELLBOY II: The Golden Army features the return of the great characters from the first one, led by Hellboy himself. Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is now living with his girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair) and things are not going well. “Red” the nickname that the group has for Hellboy, wants to stop hiding from the public and wants some credit for the work he is doing…keeping the public safe. His occasional public appearances drive his boss Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) crazy. In a very funny moment, Manning is showing Abe (Doug Jones) several photos where Red was caught in public. In one of the pictures, he is making the peace sign. He actually posed for the photo! It was hilarious, but that is who Hellboy is. Ron Perlman’s portrayal of this character makes this series what it is.
When you have a superhero movie, you need a super villain too. Enter Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), an elf that lives in another world with a disdain for the human race. His race has had a truce with the human beings for a long time, but he is sick of it and plans to take Earth for his own. He begins at an auction with his big friend Mr. Wink, a huge monster. Nuada unleashes a large amount of “tooth fairies,” little monsters that kill and eat everyone there. Nuada has made his statement, but he is also seeking the entire crown, which will give him control of the unstoppable Golden Army.
Hellboy’s group is sent to investigate and that gives him the opportunity to show himself to the world. He intentionally stands next to a window, knowing that Liz is going to use her fiery skills to blow up the room, launching him right into the crowd. He now will get the credit for his good deeds and become a celebrity and he does, being featured on many shows. He sits in front of his television set and rejoices, but there is trouble in paradise. Liz feels neglected and she is also knocked up and confused. Hellboy has gotten what he wanted, public recognition, but he is losing what he loves the most.
A newcomer is brought in to control Hellboy by the name of “Krauss.” Now this character I totally hated. He is a German robot that doesn’t fit with the group and although Hellboy does keep you interested in the film, Krauss was so annoying that I could have shut it off had it not been for Perlman’s performance. I have no idea why they brought this shitty character into this series. I guess the thought was to create tension between Krauss and Hellboy and that would be entertaining, but I think that they could have done better by including Manning more so and eliminating this robot.
Prince Nuada has some resistance from his twin sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton). They are connected so much so that if one gets hurt, the other one suffers the same pain. This complicates things when Abe falls for Nuala and Hellboy plans to kill the prince. He cannot kill Nuada without killing Abe’s love interest.
One of the best moments of the film is when Hellboy and Abe get drunk and sing together. I liked how the friendship was further developed between these two characters.
The fact that Hellboy is now available to the public turns out to be a bad thing as the human beings turn on him after the city is destroyed when he faces off against a huge plant monster. Nuada plants the seed in Hellboy’s head that he will never be accepted by the humans and that he is better off joining forces with him. When Hellboy is injured badly and he doesn’t get support from the government, he becomes even more upset with humanity, but he still does the right thing and tries to stop the prince.
Although this movie isn’t as good as the first, it does entertain. What it lacks is more than made up for with Perlman’s performance. I also liked that they focused on the reasoning of the villain and you understood why he was doing what he did. If you enjoyed the original, you will probably like this one too, and I am really looking forward to the third. I cannot get enough of Hellboy.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10. Perlman as Hellboy will always entertain.
I like Hell Boy because he looks like a big red cupcake. Yummy Yummy for my very large Tummy!