Synopsis: The fate of mankind hangs in the balance when a ruthless prince awakens an unstoppable army of creatures and wages war with the human world. It’s up to Hellboy and his team of paranormal outcasts to face off with the forces of darkness in the ultimate battle of good versus evil!

From the visionary director of Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy II: The Golden Army takes you into fantastical worlds with imaginative creatures and thrilling fight sequences unlike anything you’ve ever seen before!
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Hellboy II: The Golden Army 7.5

What can one expect when watching the sequel to Benicio Del Toro’s successful ‘Hellboy’ movie? Think ‘Return of the Jedi’ vs. ‘Underworld’ vs. ‘Lord of the Rings’; it has a little bit for everyone who likes action/sci-fi/fantasy/horror. So one should expect it to be tremendous, right? One might think that, however this mishmash tends to rest on its laurels (or someone else’s, as the case may be!) and serves up a toned-down version of the original; basically, compared to the first film, the bads are less bad, and the goods are less good.

Case-in-point, Selma Blair has never been better. It’s not saying much, obviously, considering the immensity of her inability to act, but she’s watchable here. Heck, she might even be less wooden than Keanu Reeves! Meanwhile, Ron Perlman does a good job, but he doesn’t draw forth the character’s inner life quite like he did the first time around. Still, he plays his character as a monstrous, self-loathing Han Solo, and that works as well as it can, in a devilishly fun, but somewhat vacant, aloof, kind of way.

The film plays up the adventures, ramps up the excitement, and injects much more overt humour, but it all plays to the detriment of the series’ traditionally grounded, realistic tone. Unfortunately, it felt more like an amusement park ride than I think this series deserves. It might have been intentional, perhaps to open it up to a broader audience. Except that ‘Hellboy’ can simply never be a mass market series – some people will always be repulsed by its darkness, and, conversely, those whose appreciate that side of the equation will invariably be repulsed by attempts to Disney-fy it. Conundrum.

On the plus side, the audio visual presentation is spectacular. The Blu-ray wields an awetastic 7.1 lossless audio track that is all one could ever hope for. And, evidently, any Del Toro film has eye-candy in abundance. ‘Hellboy II’ certainly has eye-candy to spare, and it leaps off the screen on this release. So, all in all, it’s a very enjoyable ride, and it certainly beats the Ewoks out of most Hollywood blockbuster-types. But it could have been more. Much, much more.