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HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
(***)
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Movie Review by:
Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski
Directed by:
Guillermo del Toro
Written by:
Guillermo del Toro, Mike Mignola
Starring:
Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor
Running time:
110 minutes
Released:
07/11/08
Rated PG-13
for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some language. |
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"...as boundless as del Toro’s gusto is, he’s still short a certain ability
to rein all of his ideas in and sharpen his storytelling skills to a fine,
effective point."
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2004’s “Hellboy” was a sprawling, mysterious, comical, slimy, and idiosyncratic
monster movie. “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” has all of those qualities and one
more: restraint. Well, at least a newfound sense of limitation; this sequel
overdoses in a big way on fantasy tangents, yet, unlike the earlier picture, it
clicks together with a greater, more direct geek panache.
On orders to keep his crimson mug out of the public eye, facing the domestic
wrath of pyro-ready girlfriend Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), and trying to console
amphibious friend Abe Sapien (Doug Jones, in both body and voice this time out)
as he explores love for the first time, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) has a full dance
card of problems. When ancient royalty Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) rises up to
seize control of a magical crown that controls the all-powerful robotic Golden
Army, it’s up to Hellboy and the BPRD to stop him. However, as the
human-friendly demon gets closer to killing Nuada, he’s forced to reconsider his
place in the world, and where his allegiance truly lies.
It goes without saying these days that writer/director Guillermo del Toro has
one of the most powerfully erect imaginations in the entertainment business. His
insatiable desire for all things supernatural is a stunning obsession, leading
to a career slanted toward the continual evocation of the unreal. The effective
“Blade II” aside, “Hellboy” was truly del Toro playing in a conventional
Hollywood sandbox, and it seemed to wear him down. For a film sporadically
delightful and containing unforgettable characterization, “Hellboy” felt
hopelessly immobile, losing itself entirely to the excesses of genre
requirements in the final reel, stealing the small handfuls of glee almost
accidently left behind.
It’s interesting to note that “Golden Army” is del Toro’s first film since his
2006 triumph “Pan’s Labyrinth,” and a familiar fantastical blood still courses
through his veins. The new Hellboy adventure plays as though it was made by a
man emboldened by his recent directorial choices, taking a beloved franchise and
embracing it with every bit of love and newfound power he could muster. “Golden
Army” is an uninhibited snapshot of del Toro’s gummy ambitions, now allowed a
proper big-ticket budget to imagine worlds beyond our own, creatures of every
possible angle and temperament, and a threat worth summoning building-smashing
bravery to fend off. However, as boundless as del Toro’s gusto is, he’s still
short a certain ability to rein all of his ideas in and sharpen his storytelling
skills to a fine, effective point.
“Golden Army” loves its monsters: there are creatures stomping over nearly every
frame of the film, filling this expanded world with a community of hostile
outcasts to find a more suitable context for our hornless hero. The make-up and
CG work in the film are outstanding, but it comes at a crushing price: it
distracts del Toro. With a veritable “Muppet Show” of goblins and assorted blobs
running around, the director becomes enamored with every Forrest Ackerman
detour, often applying brakes to the film to monitor the horror, which
effectively loosens the already threadbare tension of the film (the Nuada
subplot is a dud). There’s little doubt del Toro puts on one helluva show, but
he’s a kid in a candy store in every release, absent a specific discipline that
could merge wondrous beastly expressions with a rigid pacing and exhaustive
dramatics. Could you imagine “A New Hope” set entirely inside the Mos Eisely
cantina? “Golden Army” comes dangerously close to that unpleasant aesthetic too
many times.
Once del Toro is pried away from his fiendish vices, “Golden Army” reveals
itself to be a wonderfully touching character odyssey for Hellboy, as he
struggles with his place among the humans, not to mention his difficulty
expressing love for Liz. Perlman is just so positively perfect in this role that
every scene with Hellboy that doesn’t involve things going kablooey is a
delight, furthering the soul-searching needed to temper the outrageousness of
his exterior. The director even manages to sneak in magnificent, beer-fueled
bonding time between Hellboy and Abe, refreshing the friendship between “Red”
and “Blue,” while also giving the fish-man a little more to do with a bizarre,
yet quite fruitful romantic subplot. There’s also a new boss for the BPRD in
Johann Kraus, a steampunk-inspired creation who looks like a robot and speaks
with a goofy “Hogan’s Heroes” German accent (voiced by Seth MacFarlane), who
brings fresh energy into the film. An energy that takes a good half of the movie
to compute, but eventually falls into line with del Toro’s exaggerated comedic
beats.
I enjoyed “Golden Army” more than the original “Hellboy,” but the concept still
needs a fixation outside of ghouls and goblins. The moments that light up this
sequel are the personal asides, infusing resplendent warmth that del Toro could
manipulate even further for maximum investment. Surely “Golden Army” fulfills
every sci-fi fantasy around, but watching Hellboy find his purpose, contemplate
his newly complicated future, or recall his past (a lovely prologue shows the
character a curious boy in a veritable Jean Shepherd Christmas card) is where
the real awe of the premise is found, not by dancing the “Monster Mash” until
your eyes bleed.
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HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY © 2008 Universal Pictures
All Rights Reserved
Review © 2008 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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