Fun all the way

Rating: 8/10 (20 August 2008)

I liked this a lot. It's nowhere near as Gothic as the comics, and if anything, it's lighter and funnier than the first one. But although I like the comics, I think I actually prefer to see something lighter in a movie.
Del Toro's visual imagination (as well as his preoccupation with intricate machinery) are both served well here - there are some great critters / monsters on screen.
Perlman's Hellboy is simply terrific. Selma Blair is somewhat underused, as is Jeffrey Tambor - both got a substantially better deal in the original movie - but this is very much Doug Jones' Abe Sapien's movie. This man has to be the best mover in movies - Abe is so expressive despite his only moving facial feature being his mouth.
The story is serviceable without being stunning, and Luke Goss does a satisfactory job as villain.
But it's fun, and never takes itself seriously for a moment.