Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) Review

"God, I hate YouTube!"
-Tom Manning



Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his girlfriend, Liz (Selma Blair) are having some relationship troubles.  To deal with his frustrations, Hellboy exposes his existence to the entire world and it doesn't have the reaction he was hoping for.  At the same time, the Elf-Prince, Nuada (Luke Goss), abandons his exile, determined to assemble the legendary Golden Army and wipe humanity from existence.


What Works:

I think most of the strengths of Hellboy II comes from the fact the villain is almost the secondary plot.  The main focus of the film is on the relationships between Hellboy, Liz, Abe (Doug Jones), Johann Krauss (Seth MacFarlane), and Princess Nuala (Anna Walton).  Nuada's evil plans almost serve as a backdrop for the interpersonal conflict between our heroes which is really interesting.

This movie also has one of the single funniest sequences I have ever seen and I swear I almost died from laughing.  Watching Hellboy and Abe get drunk and talk about how much they are in love with Liz and Nuala was utterly fantastic.  I can't stop thinking about how great those scenes are.  It also plays an important part in the story because Hellboy has to try and fight Nuada while intoxicated.  It's utterly brilliant.

The set design is truly fantastic and Guillermo del Toro did a great job of bringing his world to life.  I loved the Troll Market.  It was an engrossing location and everywhere you looked had something of interesting.  I also thought the 3rd act final battle on the gears was really cool and added an interesting dynamic to the showdown.

The addition of Johann Krauss to the cast of characters was a lot of fun.  This ghostly guy had a great dynamic with Hellboy and realizing that Seth MacFarlane did the voice makes it even better.

The group's realization that the Golden Army is truly indestructible is also well handled.  Seeing all of their fighting be for nothing was a sobering revelation and showcased what a threat this army is.

Finally, I think having an action sequence where Hellboy is holding onto a baby the whole time was a stroke of genius.  


What Sucks:

I got nothing for you.


Verdict:

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is the rare sequel that surpasses the original in every way.  This film is amazing.  The cast and their chemistry is fantastic and I love that their relationships are the focus of the film rather that the villain's evil plan.  The production design is fantastic, the humor is sharp, the action is more than solid, and the scenes where Hellboy and Abe are drunk are some of the best things I have ever watched.  Without a doubt, this movie has got it going on.

 10/10: Amazing 

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