Rating:

Watching the first Hellboy the other night, I felt very underwhelmed. Sure, its a fun piece of popcorn entertainment but in terms of scope, especially when taking other del Toro projects into consideration, it feels very restrained. As far as adaptations go, it’s a fairly accurate and entertaining exploration of Red’s origins and while it does give us some classic villains (more specifically, Kroenen), it never gave me the vast array of creatures I expected. If anything, it’s a lesser del Toro but, when you realize that other mainstream director’s wish their filmography was half as good, that’s not exactly an insult.

When it underperformed at the box office, Columbia dropped the rights since they didn’t want to fund Revolution Studios anymore. Even as del Toro was receiving worldwide acclaim for Pan’s Labyrinth and comic book films had reached new record highs, the original was still not a “box office draw”. Luckily, Universal saw the potential and has given del Toro the budget he needed to create what will, no doubt, be the surprise hit of the summer.

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Much closer to the fantastical world of Pan’s Labyrinth than its predecessor, Hellboy II starts with a bang, as we’re told a the story of an ancient war between the human and mythical world and the truce made after The Golden Army, of the film’s title, stormed the battlefield. Centuries later, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) has lost faith in humanity and sees fit to resurrect the Golden Army. Problem is, he needs to reunite the three pieces of the Bethmoora crown. The last remaining piece is in the hands of his twin sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), who is under the protection of Hellboy, the BPRD and a new leader, Johann Krauss (voiced by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane).

The film starts out much in the same vein as the original, a (partial) voice-over narration of the exposition and continues on with a battle between the BPRD and Tooth Fairies. But, that’s really all Hellboy II offers up in comparable tone with the first film. In reality, its a well-balanced, though often bizarre feeling, family-dysfunction comedy mixed with fantasy-action. The first film has its quirks about it, causing smirks and a few minor chuckles, but Hellboy II will cause even the more serious to bust in laughter more than a few times. And quite honestly, I can’t tell you whether its because it worked better because it was unexpected, when comparing it tonally to the first, but it does work, much in the same way that Men in Black does.

The film almost starts as a minimalist level, continually building up with bigger and better set pieces as the running time sprints forward at a breakneck pace. One of the most common arguments I heard against the first film was about its slow pace and sluggish spots and if you’re in agreement with that, the non-stop action and larger than life set pieces are reason enough for you to give the franchise a second chance.

If there is anything truly accomplished by this movie, its the complete realization of a fantasy world and its wide variety of inhabitants. Not since… well, Pan’s Labyrinth have I seen creature designed in such an awe-inspiring capacity. The villains are memorable and, on a certain level, identifiable in their actions, something missing from other extravaganzas on display this summer. The CGI used does not match the practical effects (by a long shot) and often times, its feels a lot like playing a PS2 game. Del Toro can still not get a CGI plane to look real enough, nor get Liz’s flame to fit in with its environment in any way, shape or form. Of course, when compared to the visual style and accomplishments of the rest of the film, its small potatoes.

Hellboy II might not be a masterpiece or carry the emotional heft of del Toro’s better works but it certainly proves to be one of the most fun and spectacularly imaginative films this summer. With the plot points setup for future installments, expect Hellboy III to be a darker and more personal film, and one that will be poised to become an epic summer juggernaut.