Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Three things you should know about me and Hellboy II:

1. I didn’t watch the first one

2. I haven’t read any of the Hellboy comics

3. I was primarily attracted to go see the second one because I really liked Pan’s Labyrinth, and I knew that Guillermo del Toro was directing it. (I didn’t find out until afterward that he directed the first one as well.)

After watching the trailer, I was prepared for and expecting an action-packed superhero movie, with bits of fantasy elements woven throughout the story. It did deliver in this respect, although the charm and appeal from the trailer just didn’t hold up through the movie, partially because it was overshadowed by an unexpected cheese factor.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the romance in my superhero movies, but this was a little much. I remember some people laughing during certain cheesy scenes, and maybe the cheese was supposed to provide comedy, but I was wincing and sinking in my seat; this was cheese of the terrible and painful variety.

Even my dislike for cheesy romance aside, it just didn’t seem to mix well with the other elements of the movie. It felt like the movie was trying to accomplish too much, trying to spread itself across too many elements—action, fantasy, comedy, romance.  While I’m not saying it’s not possible to have all of these things and still have a good movie, Hellboy II just didn’t incorporate them well enough into one smooth presentation. The end result was kind of choppy, and out of place.

That’s not to say the movie didn’t have its good parts though. It was still entertaining, and some of the fantasy visual elements of the movie (especially the creature design) were fantastic and definitely inspiring.

On the whole, Hellboy II was an average movie. Not sure if this is one I’d consider worth spending $10-$12 on to see in the theater, but not a bad one to rent on a slow Sunday. Just beware of the cheese:

Overall Rating: 6/10