Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Guillermo del Toro 2008)
Posted on August 31 at 16.13, 2008 by Eric Mahleb
I must be getting old. Everyone seems to be raving about Del Toro’s sequel but I found myself bored at what I consider to be a lame attempt to take Hellboy mainstream.
Oh sure, there are plenty of gore and gross, albeit not in the least scary, moments, but that clearly falls under mainstream these days and does not in any ways grant Hellboy II with coolness or cult credentials. Whereas the first Hellboy seemed content to target a geeky and comic book audience (and that was one of the film’s strengths – that it did not aim to please too many people) and kept the silly one liners to a minimum, Hellboy II just goes way overboard and noticeably goes after the common denominator Hollywood blockbuster crowd. The monsters and creatures come and go as Hellboy robotically blows them to smithereens, removing in the process any type of tension and suspense and leaving us with a feeling of frustration and boredom at this gratuitous spectacle of recycled ideas. Hellboy is no longer the cool, dark and misunderstood fallen devil, he has become simply a circus clown, made to deliver as many ‘comic’ lines as possible for our cheap amusement. And the acting also seems to have taken a step back with Selma Blair in particular being quite excruciating to watch.
However, credit must go to what Del Toro’s and his crews usually excel at: creating fantastical and magnificent decors as well as sublime costumes.
Disappointing for a director whom we know to be much more talented than this.
My vote: 
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