The long-awaited sequel to "Hellboy" hits theaters tomorrow (July 11), and it looks like it's going to be fun as hell. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" comes more than four years after the refreshingly playful adaptation of the comic book introduced movie audiences to the cigar-smoking wiseacre known as Hellboy. Not since "Spawn" has the progeny of hell done good, or caused so much damage.
The film has drawn favorable comparisons to "Hancock" and "The Incredible Hulk," both of which opened to poor reviews but a blockbuster ticket sales. "Hellboy II" stars Ron Perlman, John Hurt, Selma Blair and a host of computer-generated trolls. It's written/directed by Guillermo del Toro, the visual genius behind Pan's Labyrinth, which won three Oscars in 2007.
Here's what the critics are saying:
Variety praises del Toro's "preoccupation with detail, and a flair for combining state-of-the-art technology with his taste for the antique, the gothic, the Catholic" in its "Hellboy II" movie review:
In a previous life, del Toro might have been a maker of clocks -- clocks inhabited by gargoyles instead of cuckoos, and which exploded on the hour. But there's a precision to the visual ornateness of "Hellboy II" that exceeds even that of its predecessor. It's certainly a more deliberately (and successfully) funny movie, thanks largely to the drily ironic Hellboy -- Ron Perlman, who returns with the rest of the cast, and without whom an onscreen Hellboy would have been almost unthinkable.
In its "Hellboy II" movie review, USA Today has just one complaint about the film:
Similarly freakish and fascinating beings populate Hellboy. The film's main drawback, however, is their multiplicity. A barrage of mind-blowing beings borders on overkill. One longs to concentrate on maybe half a dozen weird creatures.
In his "Hellboy II" movie review, Roger Ebert notices some parallels to "Star Wars":
There are, come to think of it, other whispers of the "Star Wars" influence in "Hellboy II." Princess Nuala doesn't have Princess Leia's rope of hair (just ordinary long blond tresses), but she's not a million miles distant from her. And Abe Sapien looks, moves and sort of sounds so much like C3PO that you'd swear the robot became flesh and developed gills. I also noticed hints of John Williams' "Star Wars" score in the score by Danny Elfman, especially during the final battle. Not a plundering job, you understand; more of an evocation of mood.
MSNBC's "Hellboy II" movie review is more mixed in its praise:
On paper, this all sounds like perfect material for del Toro, whose "Pan's Labyrinth" represented a quantum leap for a filmmaker whose unique style often obscured whatever substance his films had. But in "Hellboy II," we're back to pretty pictures and opaque plotting, with a screenplay (by del Toro, based on a story by del Toro and Mignola) lacking any momentum or even verve.
Despite some reservations of its own, The New York Press's "Hellboy 2" movie review says the movie hits the mark:
In theory, Hellboy II is ... exactly what a comic-book movie should be. It lets its actions speak louder than their back stories and features an ample cache of weapons, creatures, locales and obstacles for our heroes to contend with. It's a long sprint through a series of loosely connected episodes that feel like the serialized issues of a comic.
One Guy's Opinion gives the film a C+ in its "Hellboy II" movie review, noting:
Visually the latter del Toro outdoes himself with this sequel, which gives his eye for gloomy beauty, his love for intricate mechanisms and his delight in creepy critters animated in Harryhausen style full rein. Unhappily, it's all tied to a story that only intermittently captures the sense of goofy, off-the-wall fun that marked the first film.
The International Herald Tribune's "Hellboy II" movie review sums everything up by saying:
"Hellboy 2" is not a great movie - its narrative is at once too busy and too perfunctory - but it is lovable in its prodigious grotesquery. It was made with the kind of heedless, geeky enthusiasm that has been drained out of the standard, somber superhero melodramas that crowd the multiplexes these days. It's an artful, clever throwaway that may, over time, turn into a valuable collectible.
Hellboy II has earned a healthy 86 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The release of the movie has also encouraged some, like the people behind ComicMix, to revisit the old comics and list their favorites.