Shawn's Hellboy 2 Review

2008 Movie #70 - Hellboy II The Golden Army

I'm pretty sure that Forgetting Sarah Marshall was my fiftieth movie on this blog and that was like three months ago. I find it hard to believe that I have only seen like 20 movies in the past while but maybe thats true. I am missing a whole lot of them so it's really not that hard to believe actually. IT also doesn't help that I don't write the damn reviews until days after I actually watch the movies.

I saw Hellboy 2 just after it opened but of course am only getting around to writing about it now. I enjoyed the first Hellboy a lot more than I thought I would back when I first watched it and have seen it a couple more times since then. The advanced word for this one said that it was a lot better than the first in just about every way. I agree that between the two movies I would give the nod to this one as the better picture overall, however it doesn't win by leaps and bounds.

I will say that the action is definitely better in this one, although the first one had some pretty good sequences as well. The scene with the huge forest elemental thing, as well as the final battle with the golden army itself stand out as the two highlights for me. However there are smaller sequences that are also well done and overall the movie stays fast paced and never slows down for too long.

It does manage to tell a pretty good story however. It's nothing too special, but it's enough to keep you invested. The characters seem to be more fleshed out this time and have a lot more to do. This could also be because the actors themselves seem to be a lot more comfortable in the roles this time around. Ron Pearlman still is fantastic in the lead role of Hellboy and it's pretty much impossible to picture anybody else working as well. Selma Blair also seems to be given a much bigger role this time around and does a good job with this screentime. It's a little strange at first to have a different voice for Abe Sabien but it's not a huge deal.

The creatures in this movie are another huge highlight. If you've seen Pan's Labyrinth then you have some idea of what to expect, only take that and times it about by about 10. This movie is literally swimming with cool creatures both big and small. It's worth watching the movie just to see some of these designs alone.

I gotta recommend this one overall. It's not the best movie this summer but it's damn sure entertaining and one that I plan on watching again down the road.

*** 1/2 /5