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 In cinemas Thursday Aug 28 [M]
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Runtime: 120 mins
I was flipping through the letters pages of the latest Hellboy comic miniseries last night (The Crooked Man – superbly creepy by the way) and notable was the editorial tone in seeming almost to apologise for how different Guillermo Del Toro and Ron Perlman’s Hellboy is to the original Mike Mignola-created character. Film adaptations that divert from the source material are nothing new, but Hellboy comics fans are notoriously passionate about the big red son of a demon – raised on earth by kindly Professor Bruttenholm (played here in flashback by John Hurt once again) – and while complaining about little things like the filmic Hellboy’s love of cats is hair-splitting, in some ways the more vocal commentators have a point.
Hellboy II sees Del Toro develop the character in even more diversionary ways – the original concept of Hellboy just being a kind-hearted Regular Joe (despite his lineage as a demon and possibly the cause of the end of the world) who gets caught in outrageous supernatural situations – is extended to make him essentially an overgrown teen who just wants to fit in with humanity. He has a ‘human’ (albeit pyrokinetic) girlfriend – Liz Sherman, played by the consistently dull-eyed Selma Blair, and he rails at authority like every good non-conformist social outcast. He may even become Helldad by the film’s end, and that certainly isn’t the Hellboy fans of the comic know and love.
That said, Del Toro’s strength here is in visualisation, not character. If anything the increased focus on Hellboy’s BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defence) teammates in this outing, including the amphibious Abe Sapien – performed and voiced by creature-actor specialist and long-time Del Toro collaborator Doug Jones; and the ectoplasmic Johann Krauss – voiced by Family Guy creator Seth Macfarlane; means that Hellboy is just the biggest, reddest member of a fascinating team.
The Golden Army sees Hellboy and BPRD combating the plans of an ancient elf prince, Nuada (a surprisingly excellent Luke Goss, former bleached flattop-sporting singer in ‘80s popsters Bros), who wants to avenge a broken pact between his people and humanity by awakening an army of unstoppable metal automatons and waging war. His sister Nuala (Anna Walton) isn’t as keen on the affair, especially when Abe Sapien takes a shine to her, but Nuada and his hulking troll henchman won’t be easily stopped.
As noted, visually Hellboy II is a feast – the costuming and make-up are wonderfully inventive, and the main set-pieces for the film are beautifully realised. The ‘Troll Market’ sequence is particular is excellent, with the type of carefully detailed creature design you don’t see enough of. The following street battle with a giant plant god released by Nuada is also impressive, despite being one of the film’s few moments of reliance on CGI over physical effects. Unfortunately the film’s climactic battle with The Golden Army goes too far down the CGI path, robbing the film of the visceral impact apparent in the scenes involving physical FX work.
Perlman continues his gruff but sweet turn as Hellboy, although the overgrown adolescent mentality and his I-want-to-fit-in attitude are by the far the least interesting aspects of the film. The relationship between he and Liz still never quite works for me, although a run-in she has with ‘The Angel Of Death’ – another Doug Jones character who informs her that when Hellboy finally comes in to his birthright as bringer of Armageddon, she will “suffer the most” – adds a pathos to the romance thus far lacking. Abe Sapien remains an engaging supporting character, even without voicing from Frasier’s David Hyde Pierce this time, and Jeffrey Tambor as a BPRD department head provides some extra humour as someone for Hellboy to butt heads with.
It’s all very enjoyable and gorgeous to look at, but some simplistic and incongruous character work does let it down a little. That said, casual movie-goers should find Hellboy II to be an exciting kids film for grown-ups – it’s a fun fantasy diversion from Iron Man and Dark Knight-style attempts to anchor comics in the ‘real world’, and a reminder of just how good a fantasy film can look when the right creative imaginations are involved.
***½
TOPHER HEALY
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