Could've been so much more...

Rating: 6/10 (28 March 2009)

I watched the first Hellboy and thought it was pretty good, so when I saw the adverts for this and noticed the outstanding visuals, I thought it definitely had to be watched. Where better to watch such visual fantasies than the cinema.
It started off far from satisfactory with the worst acting I've ever seen from a child actor, I'm sure they could've someone better, luckily, John Hurt was there to save it. From that point it started to improve. I loved Del Toro's vision of tooth fairies and the scenes in the auction house were chilling. The action was crisp and imaginative. I was impressed and couldn't wait to see more. The adaptation of the elves was fantastic. They looked so other-worldly, yet human and realistic. The scene in the throne room is one of my favourites in cinema history. Del Toro paid a lot of attention to the visual details. The main story was also very interesting, I'd have loved to have seen more of it, like in a spin-off epic on similar proportions as Lord of the Rings. The marketplace was astounding, I truly believed there was really a place like that, so full of life of weird creatures of fantasy that we know nothing about. The representation of the Angel of Death was absolutely fantastic, possibly my second favourite moment in cinema history.
However, I found too many characters on Hellboys side too annoying. They're supposed to be the good guys, I'm supposed to like them. I just found them pathetic and invigorating. Abe's hastiness to fall in love so quickly and surely just reminded me of those thirteen year old kids who think they know everything about love, and they really irritate me. Krauss's accent was ridiculous and his need to obey all the rules was ridiculous, the notion that he'd then go back on himself and disobey rules was just unbelievable. However, him vs Hellboy was definitely a highlight of the film and the character got kudos. The inclusion of Liz's pregnancy was fearfully predictable and cheesy. In fact, I think the only heroic character I did like was Hellboy. In addition, the end felt like it was a bit rushed.
So to wrap up my review; This could've been so much more. Cut out the cheesiness and ridiculousness and this could've been a fantastic fantasy epic. Cut out the fantastic visuals and epic storyline and this would've been good as a cheesy, generally entertaining film that doesn't have to make sense. Del Toro was trying to merge two completely different styles of movie entertainment and it just didn't blend. I would much rather it wasn't a Hellboy film, but a completely new, imaginative and visually stunning fantasy epic, but that's just me.