Ever since I’ve seen the first Hellboy film, I fell in love with the characters.  Both the feature film and the two animated films are great pieces of entertainment and since then I was hoping for a sequel.  Finally director Guillermo del Toro was able to create another Hellboy film even though the first film was for the most part a box office failure.  In 2004, on a budget of $66 million, Hellboy only got back $59.6 million with a worldwide take of $99.3 million.  Overall it might have made its money back but the domestic box office is what major studios look at when considering a sequel.   Hellboy II at the time was unlikely but a few years later and a new studio, Hellboy II: The Golden Army hits the silver screen and was one of my most anticipated films for 2008.  Hellboy originally created by Mike Mignola, Guillermo del Toro returns from the first film to direct the sequel starring Ron Perlman as Hellboy.  Also reprising their respective roles is Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor with John Hurt making a cameo as Professor Broom.  Joining them is Luke Goss and Anna Walton as Nuada and Nuala, the Prince and Princess of the Elven world with Seth MacFarlane voicing the new BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense)  character Johann Krauss.  Hellboy II: The Golden Army starts with the story of The Golden Army, used by the Elven King Balor  in a war against mankind during ancient times.  After a truce was formed The Golden Army was buried away in a secret place but the Kings son Prince Nuada felt betrayed and put himself into exile.  Now in current times, Nuada returns to reclaim The Golden Army to take over the world which he believes rightfully belongs to the mystical creatures that the world forgot.  Standing between Nuada and the humans is Hellboy and the BPRD, once again called upon to save the world from destruction.

Hellboy II paid off the anticipation that I was holding on too, granted with a few complaints but overall doing the first film justice.  Guillermo del Toro once again proves to us that he can create such amazing worlds for monsters, myth and the imagination.  Several scenes in Hellboy brings us that imagination, such as the Troll Market, the Elven Court and the Tomb of the Golden Army.  Both the Troll Market and the Elven Court is host to a wide variety of creatures and monsters that I myself love watching, such is the reason why I love fantasy films like this.  Del Toro with his creators, animators, and practical effects artists created such an abundance of mythical creatures that really makes this movie worth watching for people who love these things, like me.  I don’t think there is any question that Ron Perlman is perfect as Hellboy so rehashing how good he is when everyone knows it, is a waste of time.  However, adding to the perfection of Ron Perlman is Hellboy’s new boss, Johann Krauss.  Without a doubt every moment Johann Krauss is on screen is AWESOME!  The character along with the voice of Seth MacFarlane is simply great and made for some funny scenes.  The locker room fight with Hellboy is really funny but MacFarlane’s German accent really makes the character perfect and his addition to the film makes for a better picture. 

What always makes a movie great is a compelling villain.  Coming from another Del Toro production, Blade 2, is Luke Goss as Prince Nuada.  Right off the bat is his introduction and damn was it cool.  His intro basically shows us what kind of bad ass warrior Elf he is and he continued to prove that throughout the film.  Some of the best villains in movies are villains that don’t consider themselves evil, they consider what they are doing as the right thing.  In this case Nuada is not only doing what he think is right, he’s doing it for the old mythical creatures that the world forgot.  Between the style of the character, the acting and the fight scenes, Nuada turns out to be a really great character even if the character has shades of Nomak from Blade 2, also played by Goss.

Honorable mentions also go to Selma Blair (Liz Sherman), Doug Jones (Abe Sapien) who also voiced his own character in this film, and Anna Walton (Nuala).  I’ve heard talk that Selma Blair is dry and flat in Hellboy but I don’t see it that way.  I thought she’s fine and I’m glad to see she had more to do in this film.  That goes for the same with Doug Jones but at the same time it can be a little odd without David Hyde Pierce voicing Abe, Pierce who voiced Abe in the first film, but for me at least it isn’t bad or distracting from the film.

What is distracting is the over abundance of a love story.  I’m usually not against a love story in a film and I wasn’t against it in the first movie because the first one was balanced where in this one, besides being an action film it is a huge love story for Hellboy and Liz.  They really needed to bring it down a couple of notch’s and concentrated on the story at hand.  To put it simply, I really don’t care all that much on the issues that the lovers have in the film.  I’m not against certain developments and there is a really funny scene that involves both Abe and Hellboy drinking beer over women, but when it’s too much, it’s just too much.  I don’t want to give too much away but a development with the relationship is shown  it really doesn’t need to be in the movie.  Obviously I don’t know if it’s supposed to set up a third film but if it is, it better damn well be a good story for this development.  The whole love story in Hellboy II really took down the rating for this film.  Another issue I had, even though it’s minor, it’s not as comedic as the first one.  Hellboy I is a funny movie…  It had a lot of really funny scenes in it but Hellboy II was lacking that a little.  Don’t get me wrong, you’ll see a couple of laughs but not as much as the previous. 

Those of you who enjoy fantastic worlds will like Hellboy II for its quality in creature creations.  The world that Del Toro creates from the Mike Mignolia comic is an amazing thing to see on the big screen.  Hellboy II: The Golden Army turns out to be a slightly better film than the first film with a fantastic villain, amazing fight scenes, Johann Krauss awesomeness, practical creature effects and not a CGI fest with Ron Perlman antics, Hellboy II is a winner.  With luck it will bring in a lot more money than the first film and maybe we’ll be able to get a sequel.  Del Toro said himself that he’ll love to do a sequel after he wraps on The Hobbit, prequel to The Lord of the Rings.  Del Toro will bring his skill as a filmmaker to the LotR universe while working alongside Peter Jackson to recreate and add to another great chapter in the Tolkin world.  For now, until the next Del Toro film, Hellboy II will most definitely do.  In my book, Hellboy II: The Golden Army scores a rock solid 7.5 out of 10.

-Phil