Needed More Than Just Great Visuals...

Rating: 6/10 (1 February 2009)

Before I start I need to explain something about why I rated this film the way I did. First let me say that I'm a pretty big fan of both Guillermo del Toro and the original HELLBOY film. Ron Perlman was perfectly cast in the title role and I wouldn't wish that changed for the world. The first film (also directed by del Toro) had a pretty cool story about the beginnings of Hellboy and the organization he would eventually belong to. Let me say that again, the STORY was cool. That's important, because when you get right down to it, films must have that to carry them through to audiences.
A friend of mine said that if I loved PAN'S LABYRINTH that I'd love this film. Well, he was wrong. I did love Pan's Labyrinth. A lot. In fact, it was probably the best film of 2006. It won BAFTA awards and three Oscars and a gaggle of others, so the critics seemed to agree with me on that point. But Hellboy II didn't fair so well. Sure, it got one nod from the Academy (for make-up, though), but little else; not that I'd expect a comic book-to-film story to garner much critical acclaim amongst the snobby elite of Hollywood-dom. But here's the thing: It could have! Take a look at things like IRON MAN and THE DARK KNIGHT and you'll see what I mean (sometimes the snobs are forced to take note of these otherwise overlooked gems whenever they're done with extreme care ...and I mean E-X-T-R-E-M-E!). So what was the problem? you may be asking. First let's look at what wasn't the problem.
Guillermo MUST be recognized as a visual artist. The sets and camera shots and costumes were very much on-par with what I expect from him (i.e., Pan's Labyrinth quality). The troll's market scenes were worth the price of admission alone! Stunningly dark, dreary but equally enthralling and uniquely beautiful. The Elfin lands and flashbacks were also well-done giving us a bit of history about the war between humans and elves.
But we need more than history and battles to make a great film. We need originality, and this is where the film fell short for me. Looking more like a side-story for THE LORD OF THE RINGS, the history of elves and men have been done ad nauseam (in both literature and film). Although del Toro tried to put a unique spin on the story by incorporating the elves as split between being nice to humans and wanting them all dead, the story really never found traction for me. This was due, in great part, by the incorporation of two love stories. One we're already aware of between Perlman's Hellboy and the firebranding Liz (Selma Blair), and the other comes as a bit of a surprise (and ends up nowhere, really). To me, del Toro could've easily excised this second love story and extended the history behind Hellboy and/or extended our understanding of why the division between the human-hating elves and the human-loving ones was so wide (I understand some of this was due to the twin elves' father, but much of it is not). We're supposed to assume (or so I assume!) that one of the elves is just flat-out evil for the sake of being evil. Not good storytelling.
So there you have it. I liked the film as a diversion, but I wasn't at all captivated as I was with the first Hellboy. Story, story, story. It's so important. I hope that with the next Hellboy flick (and I really hope there is another because I WILL watch it) that del Toro directs again and can give us a fresh story with the amazing visuals we've come to appreciate from him.