Subtitle Hellboy II: The Golden Army
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Subtitle Hellboy II: The Golden Army
By Kelvin CedenoWe are in the midst of a Renaissance for superhero films. 2000's X-Men proved that the genre was not as dead as many had thought. This was further validated by the 2002 smash hit Spider-Man, a film which opened the floodgates for other comic book properties. The summer of 2008 saw no less than four motion picture adaptations of comic book superheroes: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and The Dark Knight. Of these four, Hellboy was the dark horse. Having neither the brand recognition of Batman and the Hulk nor the star power of Iron Man, Hellboy II had to rely on the word-of-mouth garnered from the first film along with director Guillermo del Toro's reputation from the acclaimed Pan's Labyrinth. Unlike other sequels of late, Hellboy II: The Golden Army tells a completely self-contained story that doesn't demand a viewing of its predecessor for comprehension. It introduces the idea that elves and men formed a peace treaty after a bloody war waged centuries ago. The elf prince Nuada (Luke Goss), not at all pleased with his father's decision, sets out to start a new war before his kind begins to fade out. To do so, he needs three pieces of the crown that controls the dreaded golden army, a militia of indestructible mechanical soldiers. Nuada's twin sister Nuala (Anna Walton) has one of the missing pieces in her possession and is against her brother's ambitions. She is aided by the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), headed by the demon agent Hellboy (Ron Perlman). Having recently gone public with his existence, Hellboy struggles with his need for acceptance by a society that labels him and his partners as freaks. Things get tangled as his best friend Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) finds himself falling for the princess, and Hellboy's girlfriend Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) has an unexpected burden that she's struggling to share. By his own admission, del Toro states that his first few films were creatively stifled by their respective studios. He's said that not until Pan's Labyrinth was he finally able to run wild with his imagination, and that the success of that picture allowed him to do so again with Hellboy II. It certainly shows as this is a far more daring and whimsical film than the low-key, grungy affair of the 2004 original. It also comes across as more professional. Its predecessor had its share of groan-inducing humor, and the more serious aspects (which were at times a little too peculiar) sometimes didn't gel so well with the broadness. The Golden Army's humor is usually more subdued and clever. When it opts for broadness, it does so at more appropriate times. The stranger aspects of this picture, such as the troll market set piece, have a fantastical quality to them that makes them easier to swallow than the more darkly supernatural elements of the first. Stronger plot and characterization come to the film's aid, as well. The original's villains were evil and had little personality or motivation beyond that. While Prince Nuada is undeniably the antagonist here, there are more layers and gray areas to him. This aspect helps fuel Hellboy's confliction between the type of other-worldly creatures to which he belongs and the normal humans he's spent his life with. The character of Liz is given large injections of spunk and self-assurance, allowing much growth from the dormant non-entity first introduced. Abe's romance with Nuala equips him with more to do than just spouting off helpful exposition. All of these storylines feature more heart and depth than what was previously seen in the primary Hellboy outing.That doesn't necessarily mean that this installment is without its share of problems. Del Toro focuses so much on the plot that when fantastical elements show up, there's little time to stop and truly soak it all in. Then there are elements set up, including the titular golden army, that aren't given fully satisfying pay-offs.