Reds BACK.

Rating: 8/10 (22 July 2008)

I liked the original Hellboy, which is odd because I only heard about it after it had been ported to DVD. Wishing I could have seen it on the big screen there was little option when I got wind that Del Toro was fashioning a second movie after the red devil with the rock fist. I also liked Pan's Labyrinth, which was released shortly after another favorite of mine was in the theater, Mirrormask. Both dealing with depth of fantasy that were rich and dark, some of this feeling spilled over into the latest Hellboy movie. Del Toro brought much of the feel of Pan's Labyrinth into this movie. As in many movies of today, plot development is simple and age old: Good against Evil. Someone always wants to take over the world for some personal or obscure reason. Given that, the movie has a solid script and some interesting but not all unforeseen surprises. I have to admit, one sequence involving a locker of beer, a Barry Manilow tune and a heightened sense of warm fuzzies had me in stitches. The down side of that was that the Barry Manilow song was retained in my head for DAYS after. The reality of the creatures, the ferocity of the Elves, the constant bombardment of battles and day to day issues just make this movie a great summer popcorn flick, and even worth the price of an evening theater viewing. As a side note, seeing Del Toro will be manning the helm of the next addition of Tolkien movies, I will be watching the boards on the progress he and Jackson do with The Hobbit with great interest.