Hellboy 2

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2009)

When you have a hulking, bright red -coloured devil or rather a harbinger of destruction as the leading character and at the same time supposed to have comedic elements in the storyline, it's tough to make the film work. Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman made it back in 2004 with the great Hellboy – now they do it even better with the sequel, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008).
The film starts with a CGI puppet show – from the first minute you know you're in for something unique – recapping the legend of the golden army that once unleashed will bring the humankind to a quick and painful end. When a Prince (Luke Gross) of some sort from the Magical World starts to seek the means to control that army, it's up to Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his team of extraordinary characters to put an end to his quest - and save the human race.
Ron Perlman is Hellboy, there's no doubt about that. Underneath the thick layers of plastic and make-up, he's able to bring about a solid and rich performance as the titular character. The film of this sort lives and dies with it's leading character – it's Ron that carries most of the film's weight on his shoulders. The rest of the cast do as much as they can to support him; Doug Jones does again a great performance as Abe, Jeffrey Tambour is another highlight – the only one that really feels off is Selma Blair who seems to slumber her way through the film.
The film is visually outstanding. The sets are highly detailed, the creatures look good and the CGI is (especially in some of the scenes) very nicely done. The art direction is great – it really surpasses the first film, which already looked great. The tooth-fairies early in the film are a great example of the imaginative creature-design that the film holds through-out.
The film's packed with action, humour, great acting performances (for an action/adventure film) and great scenes – especially loved the "guys night out" -scene. What else is there to ask for? 3/4