Movie Review: Hellboy 2

For those wondering if my preview of Hellboy 2 was any good, here is my review of the movie. But I must note that the film I saw was not the film you will see. Because I’ve been so crazy with several work projects, a potential interview with an elected politician, ad offers, and a new house I had to rely on a website that provides films for free. The trade-off is these bootleg films often lack the visual quality of seeing eye dogs, soundtracks queued up to characters either seen or forthcoming in the film by 5 minutes and other maladies.

Even so one thing was absolutely clear. Guillermo Del Toro has a very fertile imagination that would give most people nightmares. I on the other hand thought it was beautiful.

The visuals are the real appeal to this film. Unlike the very CGI “monsters from beyond” found in the first film, all the creatures are far more realistic in this film – if such a term can be used. The version I saw really did not do justice to the elemental in the film, nor most of the creatures. The rendering of the Golden Army was particularly bad, which is a shame since they still looked pretty good.

If you are looking for an improved plot in this 2nd film you will both be amused and disappointed. There are fewer plot holes or gaps in logic than the first film, but the constant foreshadowing (of a third film) detracts a lot. Plus there are a few moments when you just have to say “Why do that?” or “The solution is really simple here”.

Of course there is another love story in the film that is more a waste of time than anything else. It eats up time and slows the pace, but it also does give an interesting excuse for an American Idol-esque duet (not meant in a good way which is why it was funny).

There is more of a reality base in this film though. Hellboy has relationship problems, problems with authority, and moral crossroads. He is both very humane and very 16 throughout the film. Which at times works and is silly at others.

I can’t really comment on the sound either as portions were problematic in the version I saw. The acting was fine though. No Oscars out of this film but every character gets a moment to shine, more or less.

And it should be noted that this film is more about the other characters Hellboy calls his family than him really. Still seeing the world and the ‘other world’ through their eyes was refreshing since they all stem from Del Toro’s eyes.

The film in a nutshell is good. Not great, not fantastic. I felt it was better than the first, which is all you can really ask of a sequel. And, had I the time, spending the money to see this in a theater beats the experience of watching it on a flat screen any day.

So the film was basically what I was hoping for in the previews. So far this summer Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Hellboy 2, and WANTED have been worth the journey. I only hope that The Dark Knight will exceed my thoughts about the Joker (hype about Heath Ledger getting an Oscar aside) rather than turn into the abysmal failure that War, Inc. and Speed Racer were. But I’m not holding my breath on it.