Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Alexander, James Dodd, Seth MacFarlane, Luke Goss, Anna Walton, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Rated: PG13

reviewed by Charity Bishop
 

I have always had a taste for comic book movies and Hellboy is a surprisingly decent romp. It's rare that a sequel outshines the original but in this case, everything about the second film is bigger, funnier, and more memorable -- and most of the fans agree with me.

Discovered by a branch of the military when he was just a child, Hellboy (Perlman) now protects and defends humanity against supernatural evils in a secret branch of the government. But he seems to have forgotten the term "low profile," since he keeps appearing on television and in newspaper images all across the country. This stresses out his insecure handler and puts a further strain on his relationship with Liz (Blair), who blasts doors off their hinges and chars the apartment whenever she gets mad enough to burst into flames. His shenanigans have encouraged another individual to head up their team. Johann Krauss (Alexander) was human until he dabbled in an experiment that reduced him to smoke. Now he walks around in an empty wetsuit and barks out orders... and his take-charge attitude doesn't take long to get on Hellboy's nerves.

But squabbling and girlfriend troubles are the least of the bright red half-demon's problems. Centuries ago, a pact was made between mankind and the elf nation to reach a comfortable peace with one another. The elves retained ancient knowledge that would allow them to command an army of unstoppable mechanical beings programmed to wipe out the human race. Prince Nuada (Goss) wants to awaken the army and take back control of the earth from mankind, but his more moralistic sister Nuala (Walton) is determined to stop him. Her precarious flight leads her directly into the arms of Abe (Jones), a sea monster in league with Hellboy, and they race against time to try and prevent an awakening that will bring about the world's destruction.

I didn't have much hope for this movie and so it surprised me with how original it was, how wonderful the characters turned out to be, and how fun the action sequences actually were. Most comic book movies suffer from absurdities but this one was more tolerable than most. It asked me to suspend my disbelief only that these people exist, not at their actions and as such I was caught up in the story immediately. The writer and director had a lot of fun with this film and it shows. The characters are memorable and fun. Abe loves classic composers. Liz is an inferno most of the time. And Hellboy, well, he saves babies and uses a giant gun... and cannot stand the thought of anyone hurting kitties. So basically, he's awesome in my book. The script has some really fun portions offset with cool fight sequences.

When the trailer first came out I thought the elves looked unoriginal but once you grow accustomed to them, their concept is neat. Whenever they die they transform into a statue and disintegrate, which I thought was a nice touch. If you can overcome the concept (a half-demon destined to destroy humanity instead seeks redemption through protecting it) then there is not much to be troubled about in terms of content. Hellboy tries to repress his deeper nature by keeping crosses and rosaries within reach. He risks his life to save people and other creatures on a daily basis and insists he will never "go bad" and turn against mankind. Both Abe and the elves have telepathic abilities. The supernatural stuff isn't over-emphasized and doesn't bear much on the plot. There is quite a bit of violence but most of it is non-gruesome and what gore there is is of the demon-kind (green goo and occasional blood). Lots of action sequences with kicking, fighting, and explosions.

There's a fair amount of mild profanity and two harsh abuses of deity, along with an intentional slurred word that is interpreted by the characters as an f-word and one coarse reference to the male anatomy. Liz and Hellboy live together outside marriage. She is twice seen in a tank top and panties. There are a few "weird" moments, such as when a creature with a dozen eyes in its wings interrogates Liz about whether or not she should let Hellboy live, if his destiny is to destroy the world. That was a little creepy but in general it was full of great imagination. I loved the hilarity of having characters walk down a long corridor and the audience getting peeks into different rooms where various monsters are being dealt with, and I enjoyed a visit to an underground market where all sorts of monsters, ghouls, and fairies are fluttering around. It's a movie that won't appeal to anyone but die-hard comic book fans, but if that's your thing, is just bursting with imagination and fun.