Hellboy 2 : The Golden Army

Review by Sean Lynch

For once, the Americans had it right. Hellboy 2 : The Golden Army was brilliantly scheduled for release pre-Dark Knight.

Not surprisingly the flick - with nothing superior to compete with - went onto take the number one spot at the US Box Office in it's first week out, just before Batman hit the screens and broke every box office record imaginable.

However, the Aussies opted to wait which clearly affected it's cinematic run.

The thing is, Hellboy 2 is pretty damn spectacular. It's a vast improvement on the first film (which, aside from the stunning visuals was pretty hollow) and it is without doubt the most uniquely original comic-to-movie adaption of the lot.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army continues in very much the same fashion as the first movie, this time giving the audience a humorous glimpse at Hellboy as a 12 year old boy (you know the drill - voice breaking, horns growing in "weird places") being told a "mythical" bedtime story - which coincidently serves as a rather entertaining prologue.

Cut several years down the track and the same childhood tale comes back to haunt "Big Red" in the form of a ruthless leader who defies his bloodline in order to awaken an unstoppable army of creatures - The Golden Army - in an effort to control the world.

Now, it's up to the swag of mutants and supernatural beings at the Bureau for Paranormal Research (which looks remarkably similar to HQ of the Men In Black) including Hellboy's pyrotechnic squeeze Liz (Selma Blair), aquatic empath Abe and German protoplasmic mystic Johann (American Dad's Seth McFarlene) to travel between unseen magical worlds and our own in order to bring calm to the impending chaos.

If The Dark Knight was as gloomy as a comic-book film could go, Hellboy heads in the opposite direction. It offers plenty of light-hearted moments and visually captivating action sequences on a truly epic scale.

Without Guillermo Del Toro at the helm, the Hellboy franchise would be no more worth seeing than an old can of beans rotting in a gutter next to a passed out Andy Dick. Sure, it's fun, but in terms of story, dialouge and characters - it's nothing we haven't seen before.

But the sense of magical whimsy served up by Del Toro is fascinating, and at times, mind blowing.

Every single frame (CGI or otherwise) looks as though each comic book character was painstakingly sculpted by the hands of DaVinci.

It really is that impressive.

The cast do what they can with what they have, with some really cheesy lines spurted throughout but within the context of the film it works.

Selma Blair continues to go under the radar in Hollywood (which is a shame, because I still stand by the fact she oozes sexy - it might be her eyes, I'm still not sure) but delivers yet again as the future Hell-Mum, while Arrested Development's Jefferey Tambor (who is normally excellent) spoils things slightly with his ultra hammy presence.

If your expectations of comic book movies have been unfairly heightened by Chris Nolan & Co - then avoid Hellboy for at least a few months after you've been devoured by Dark Knight. But once your head is clear, Hellboy II : The Golden Army is well worth checking out.

By no means memorable, but a fun distraction.

DVD EXTRAS

There is a very cool Special Editon of this floating around, and for Hellboy fans it's not to be missed. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a better piece of DVD packaging (what can I say, I'm a package nerd!)

Along with your usual extras (featurettes, deleted scenes, commentaries) the Special Edition box comes with an uber cool book and a minature Golden Army Robot.

Plus... it just looks damn impressive!

One for the comic book fans, and for those who just like their action, a must-rent next time your heading to Blockbuster.

Conclusion: Movie 70% Extras: 75%