A wonderful slice of Hellboy

Rating: 8/10 (12 July 2008)

IF you liked the first one, this is right up your alley.
I say that mainly because the darker tone, the occult nature and the unusual imagery do have a tendency to put some movie-goers off. But if you simply want to see a movie about a demon who was raised by humans to fight evil, this is a great movie for you.
Guillermo del Toro's direction style is very kinetic and flowing. This helps keep the pace of the movie going, keeping it from feeling like it is dragging. The scenes flow very nicely from one to the next (which is also done very nicely with some creative wipes and overlaps).
The real draw for this film, however, is Hellboy and the team that has been provided for him. Ron Perlman is the absolutely perfect Hellboy. His delivery of the lines is nothing short of perfect in creating an acerbic, yet ultimately lovable (as well as loving) character. He has a wry humor about him that makes the Hellboy character something that we can all relate to. We've all had times when we feel under appreciated. We've all felt like the unwelcome outsider. Yet despite all of the inducements that he has to give up defending these humans, he continues to do it because that is what his "father" taught him to do.
Of course Abe and Liz are here as well, and Doug Jones and Selma Blair each do a wonderful job of portraying their respective characters. But this is not their movie. It is interesting, however, to see one of the story elements of the first movie get turned around to portray the other side of it in this one when the team encounters the angel of death.
In short, as I said above, if you liked the first one, this is just your kind of movie. I look forward to seeing what del Toro has in mind for the third movie. (Of course, we'll have to wait for him to finish "The Hobbit" first.)