Hellboy II: The Golden Army

The devil spawned Ron Perlman is back

DETAILS:
Released - 20 August 2008
Certificate - 12A
Running Time - 119min
Director/Screenwriter - Guillermo del Toro
Executive Producer -Chris Symes
Cinematography- Guillermo Navarro
Editing - Bernat Vilaplana
Music - Danny Elfman
Theatrical distributor - Universal
Country - USA


SYNOPSIS:
It has been centuries since the indestructible Golden Army has been active. Left dormant due to its inhumane massacre of the humans by order of King Balor (Roy Dotrice) a treaty was reached to keep the peace between both races. But cut to the present day and his son Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) still has a bitter taste in his mouth. Angered by the human's everyday naivety and arrogance he rebels against the long established treaty and is determined to up rise and kill all humans with the assistance of the army. Determined to bring out all mythical creatures from hiding and reassert their greatness all that stands in his way is the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence run by Agent Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor). Here he has such employees that include human torch Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), amphibian Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), German gas bag Johan Krauss (James Dodd, John Alexander, Seth MacFarlane) and the man himself, Hellboy (Ron Perlman).

REVIEW:
Mexican auteur Guillermo del Toro has a somewhat peculiar scheduling system when it comes to making his films. Unimpressed with Hollywood duming down his work to make it more mainstream he now consistently swaps between making his own foreign films and his films for Hollywood. He makes one film for himself and once this is finished he will make one for Hollywood in a recurring pattern. Therefore he has the ability to be commercially successful as well as critically acclaimed which only a few filmmakers can rightly claim.

After his instant classic Pan's Labyrinth (a film for himself) his next film for Hollywood comes in the form of Hellboy II: The Golden Army. However, this seems to have instantly broken his articulate system of filmmaking. Distinctly alternative for a supposedly mainstream film it appears the studios have had little input into his latest masterpiece. If you prefer his foreign work you will be pleasantly surprised. Guillermo del Toro’s talent to switch between fantasy and reality is just so coherent. In a similar plot structure this is without a doubt the American Pan's Labyrinth.

For a superhero film Hellboy II has so much atmospheric and visual identity. It is more gothic than Batman and layered than anything else. One particular confrontation with flesh eating ‘tooth fairies’ lifts off the screen and is simply astounding to sit back and watch. But most importantly aside from his extravagant set pieces and visually inventive fighting the characters morals are at the films heart. Despite my earlier enthusiasm for Iron Man and The Dark Knight, Hellboy is a lot bolder in distancing itself away from typical Hollywood.

The key to Hellboy’s individuality is in its European aesthetic. In a reversal of roles, the token antagonist Prince Nuada actually has a moral posture. He has a legitimate cause to fight for with every right. This in turn changes Hellboy who slowly comes to realise he has no reason to defend the humans who keep him hidden and are starting to turn against him. This is what gives the film its edge. Hellboy has no legitimate reason to save humankind and we do not know whether he will necessarily save the day which completely defies the conventions of the superhero genre.

Although there would be no Hellboy if it was not for Ron Pearlman himself. Born to play the character his massive haggard and expressive face means the make-up department have little work to do. First and foremost a character actor, he uses the make-up as best to his advantage. Not just anyone could play Hellboy like other heroes e.g. Batman.

But if all this wasn’t enough there is a surprising amount of humour and light heartedness about this feature. Either visual or verbal there is no language barrier when del Toro’s knack for humour is evident. Twinned with Perlman’s loveable rogue lack sure attitude his rendition of ‘cant smile without you’ by Barry Manilow is guaranteed to light up any audience.

TO SUM UP:

The underdog of comic book adaptations seems to have bridged the gap between a blockbuster hit and artistic cinema with its latest instalment. A feat that was often considered impossible I eagerly await del Toro’s future project, The Hobbit.

Click Here to see a better edited version of my review for Nottingham Uni paper, Sanctuary