Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Not as good as the first

Rating: 8/10 (2 September 2008)

Sequels. So common nowadays and most of them just don't add up to their predecessors, and Helloby II: The Golden Army is no exception. Ron Perlman returns as the big, red monster hunter who was brought to Earth as a baby demon through a portal opened by Nazis. This time, he battles Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), an elf who wants to unlock the unstoppable Golden Army, which he will use to take the world back from the humans. Also, ectoplasm Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) is joining the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence.
Ron Perlman again gives a great performance as the hero of the movie. Ex-singer Luke Goss is very impressive as the villain Prince Nuada and I hope to see more acting roles from him in future. David Hyde Pierce sadly doesn't return to provide the voice of Abe Sapien and I have to say I missed him. His voice was perfect for the character and with Doug Jones now doing it, it doesn't feel the same.
Just like any sequel, Hellboy II will be compared to its predecessor. Although the sequel is bigger and more creative than the first movie, I was surprised to find that I preferred the first. After seeing its trailer, I thought I would love Hellboy II and that it would be amongst my favourite films, but I was left slightly disappointed.
In the first movie, the amount of humour was just right to keep it going, but in the sequel the humour completely overloads. Although hilarious at some points, there's so much humour that it feels like a comedy and it doesn't work. In the opening scene we see Hellboy as a youngster being told the story of The Golden Army by Professor Broom (John Hurt) and it's unintentionally funny. The young Hellboy looks ridiculous and the only good thing about the scene, apart from the Golden Army sequence, is the short appearance from John Hurt. It's terrible as an opening scene.
I mentioned in my review of the first movie that I was disappointed by the villains who became uninteresting after a while. But, the sequel certainly doesn't let down in that department. Prince Nuada is a great villain and is played brilliantly by Luke Goss. Also, the strong troll Wink is spectacular along with the rest of the many creatures, all created by writer and director Gullermo del Toro. But, the medal for best creature goes to The Angel of Death.
The special effects in Hellboy II are quite simply spectacular. As you would assume, they're a step up from those of the first movie. They're at their most impressive during the fight between Hellboy and the elemental and also when he is battling The Golden Army. During the opening scene we see how The Golden Army came about and this is shown through animation. The animation is unexpected but it works very effectively.
It may not be as good as the first movie, but Hellboy II: The Golden Army is still very impressive. I give it 8/10.