Amazing to behold, but the script is mediocre

Rating: 8/10 (13 July 2008)

The ads for Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy sequel declare the director "a visionary", and I honestly can't argue that at all. Pan's Labyrinth contains some of the most gorgeous imagery of any fantasy film. Hellboy II, I would argue, goes even bigger, with its undoubtedly much bigger budget. For once, here's a summer special effects movie that makes me think "WOW!" There are a lot of fantastical creations to be seen, from giant trolls to fearful demons with eyes on their wings. Unfortunately, much like my reaction to Pan's Labyrinth, all the gorgeousness is pretty much for the purpose of nothing. The script is very formulaic when you boil it down, and it occasionally hits points that make little sense. For instance, there is a classic comic book moment where Hellboy helps a crowd of human beings but is then accused of being the villain when it couldn't be more obvious that he just saved everyone's life. It didn't take me too long to realize that, aside from the awesome character design, I wasn't identifying with these characters much at all. I would still highly recommend the film to people looking for some dazzling visuals and some good action sequences.