a reminder of the joy in fantasy movies as much as good-old comic-book fun

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2008)

I don't know what goes on in director Guillermo del-Toro's head, but whatever it is it'd be a sad day when it stops churning away. He's a fantasist in the purest and most enjoyable tradition, where he's so passionate and in love with these characters in worlds like Hellboy and his masterpiece Pan's Labyrinth that one has to believe in his belief of this world, and not in any naive sensibility either. In his imagination, as let loose onto film with the vibrancy of legend and the truth of a docu-drama (as with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola), it's more about the power of myth than just simple mindless comic-book blockbuster fun.
And in the case of the Hellboy 2, he's got more creative control than in the first film, and a handle on the reins of the various technical and special effects and make-up and creature and etc etc departments that has been mastered further following Pan's Labyrith. It's hard for me to figure on it being any less than the predecessor; on the contrary he's made it with a level of ridiculous impact in the regular action-movie sensibility, and with touches of romance and humor that are staggeringly good and entertaining. And as an extra kicker, it's highly recommendable for those who had such a LACK of interest that they didn't even bother with the first Hellboy or the comics. It's that damn good.
But with all of the advancements that del-Toro has vs. four or five years ago, and all of the added creatures and creations from the 'German' Johann Krauss, to the Troll city, to those delightfully vicious 'tooth-fairies', to the one mystical being in the Ireland rock that looks resembles a cousin-relation to the 'Pan' universe, the "forest" monster who's demise springs a surprisingly wonderful result, and the immense Golden army itself and how all of this is combines with a genius level of 'old-fashioned' special effects and CGI, the story comes first. And in this there's just a little more at stake, a little more for Hellboy (and Abe Sapien too) to worry about and protect, and of course all of that the-world-is-in-danger stuff comes with the package. There's even a touching, cruel twist with the main villain, an evil Prince who wants control over the 70x70-large Golden army, being connected by mind and body and spirit to the Princess, who is kinder and wiser and becomes a love interest to a character.
While it may not be too much of a spoiler to say whom, I won't for the sake of the present review. Suffice to say that romantic entanglement isn't nearly as engrossing as the one continuing and growing between Hellboy (the always bad-ass Ron Perelman) and Liz (sexy and actually good actress Selma Blair). All of the strands, however, work pretty much all in sync with the high-voltage of emotions working in and around the main narrative, which isn't too complex in truth.
Bottom line, it's a fun time at the movies, with the laughs many and often big (a line about a certain 'baby' brought down the house at my screening), and relying on the great personalities on the actors and characters, and featuring some real slam-banging action of the summer AND of the year. This filmmaker knows what he's doing, and it's thrilling to see him work his, for lack of a better word, magic.