professionalprocrastinators.com

OK… Gotta say, or warn, that i am a huge fan of the Hellboy. I liked the first one a bunch. The look and feel of it was staggering to me. Awesome lighting and cinematography hooked me something fierce. The ending of it was a bit lame to me, but despite that i have watched it again and again finding new joy in each viewing. (Partly because of some of my favorite commentary tracks on a DVD EVer.) I was always a fan of the art and style of the comics as well. Its one of the few series i have made an effort to collect. Not a perfect effort, but so goes it, …and i digress heavily.

So that leads us to my views on the current HB.

I have to make a real effort to be critical here, but i think i can manage it. So… first off, well, is the beginning. The movie doesn’t start off with any sort of super impressive, for a minute or two. You get to see a preteenish Hellboy that is into Howdy Doody, revolvers, and bedtime stories. The acting is laughable, in a not funny sort of way, but once the bedtime story starts it jumps to a neat CG marionette tale of elves vs. humans long ago. Luckily young HB is one of only two parts i consider weak points. It gets kinda cool relatively quick.

I won’t go on to tell the entire story but the followup to the storytelling is showing what the angsty prince from the bedtime story is doing with his time in the real, current world. You instantly get a taste for how the fights are going to shape up in this installment of HB. Lots of acrobatics, spinning blades, and precise movements fill a training sequence of the prince in a New York sewer. Its a nice shift from the strait forward “Hulk Smash” style fights of the first movie and its fun seeing the characters actually deal with a deadly swordsman in later scenes. The action is really fun to see as its ranges from outright brawls to fights with giant behemoths, to dealing with thousands of tiny
carnivores.

The opponents in the fights are just as fun to watch. Tiny creatures have loads of personality. Large creatures have more tricks up their sleeve than just brawn, and the giant ones have awesome animations to convey anger frustration, and even dealing with pain. There are hundreds of different creatures to look at in this movie, and they all have distinct emotions and are created beautifully, almost exclusively by puppetry and makeup effects. The main characters are both a weakpoint and highpoint. Abe looks impressive, but nowhere as good as in the first one. Hellboy looks good, but doesn’t seem as well crafted as before either. Luckily the addition of a new main character kinda makes up for it. I don’t want to ruin his character, but he provides a lot of fun and some neat opportunities to use CG well.

Settings are beautifully crafted, setting the mood for almost all of the scenes perfectly. Underground markets filled with interesting creatures, giant empty catacombs, and goblin storehouses are all marvelous to see. Attention to detail really pulls the scenes together and binds them with the characters. Visually the movie is near perfection. Unfortunately all he well crafted fantastical eye candy can make the few missteps in the art department more glaring, but it amounts to very little wasted time in the style department.

The story is relatively lackluster and predictable but the movie seems to be targeting art and action more than anything. If that was the intent it hits its marks perfectly. If you want to see this movie because you are looking for the depth of character and intricate twists of Pan’s Labyrinth you may not be impressed. On the other hand, if you left Pan’s Labyrinth wanting more fantasy elements and fun you will find a comfortable home here.

Scores:
Drama Major: 82%
Action Addict: 95%
Fantasy Buff: 98%

Total:92%