Even Better Than the First

Rating: 10/10 (25 August 2017)

Although the first film was great, Hellboy II: The Golden Army blows it out of the water. Visually, the movie is spectacular; Guillermo really captures breathtaking fantasy (reminiscent of Pan's Labyrinth) but makes it more gritty as to suit the Hellboy universe. The movie used a lot of constructed props and puppetry, as opposed to pure CGI, and it worked wonderfully. The film had so many settings that were amazing to watch and had so much intrigue to them.
The story, although arguably not the strongest part of any superhero movie, held my attention and made sense. Although the film's plot and even its antagonist were never mentioned in any of the comics, that didn't stop the story from being interesting. The film also transitioned very nicely from the first one and I'd recommend watching that one before you watch this one.
The action scenes were another strong part of this film. Although Hellboy himself may not have the coolest powers or fighting abilities, watching him fight against Luke Goss's character was a real treat. They really stepped up these action sequences from the first movie!
Ron Perlman's portrayal of Hellboy is perfect; there was really no one else who would've suited the role better. Doug Jones also brought a lightness to Abe Sapien's character that wasn't really shown in the comics but was greatly appreciated. I loved the chemistry between Hellboy, Liz, and Abe in the film. The rest of the main cast also were good in their parts--they were very well cast.
Over all, I'd definitely recommend this film to any superhero fans and especially fans of the Hellboy/BPRD comics. Although the story and the characters may not be completely true to the comics, I didn't mind the changes at all. The movie took me on an emotional train ride: there are parts where I laughed out loud and parts that were definitely touching. Although I'm biased, being a huge fan of the comic books growing up, these two movie installments of Hellboy will always be my favourite superhero movies and I hope you enjoy the movies as much as I did.