Comic book movies are all the rage these days.
Heroes ranging from Spiderman to Daredevil have received Hollywood makeovers.
Although most are great movies, the main concept (boy meets girl, boy gets powers, etc) usually leaves room for some innovation.
Enter tall, red and demonic.
“HellBoy II: The Golden Army” is the second (duh) big-budget film based on the comic book series of the same name.
Mike Mignola’s visionary comic has won many awards (and reader’s attention) since its debut in 1993.
The comic and its films revolve around a secret branch of the government, the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.
During WWII, B.P.R.D. rescues a creature that had been summoned by crazy Nazi Occult guys.
They give him the code name HellBoy and train him to investigate (but mostly fight) all things paranormal.
In “HellBoy II,” Red and the gang are in a race to find the pieces of an ancient crown.
Once united, the crown gives its wearer control over the Golden Army, countless mechanical soldiers made of pure gold.
B.P.R.D. has its work cut out for it, however, because the son of its original wearer plans on using the army to reclaim the world.
With this in mind, one would think our brother from down under would take things a little more seriously.
He doesn’t, though, and it makes for a great film.
Red just wants to be like every other guy and smoke cigars and play with his kitties.
Ron Perlman brings a great mix of humor, heartbreak and heroism while reprising his roll as HellBoy.
Perlman doesn’t get all the glory.
Selma Blair and Doug Jones both deliver great performances as Red’s sidekicks, Liz and Abe.
Blair is perfect as the fire-starting Liz and puts a fresh spin on the whole “girlfriend of a hero” role.
Liz and Red are having relationships due to their unconventional lifestyle and Red’s longing to be normal.
Perlman and Blair play off each other and it’s both natural and a blast to watch.
Guillermo de Toro was born to direct this film.
Toro established his unique style in 2006’s “Pan’s Labyrinth”.
This creature-heavy, dark style is right at home in the supernatural world of HellBoy.
Every monster, location and special effect has a very distinct look and keeps the audience on its toes.
Another great thing about this film is the fact that there’s no “arch-nemesis.”
B.P.R.D. is an organization that solves supernatural crimes and protects the people.
The fact that there isn’t some long-lost enemy who resurfaces makes this setting even more believable.
The evil it faces is just another day on the job.
The only problem I had with it is that there didn’t seem to be enough action.
The action scenes that were there were great, but for each one there seemed to be two exposition scenes.
The story was great and innovative, but it seemed to push the action out of the limelight.
But comic book movies are here to say.
They are big sellers.
They have a ton of fans.
But for them to stay interesting, they need to change each time around.
“The Golden Army” does just this.
It takes an original concept, mixes it with a group of believable characters and the result is an unforgettable adventure.
The verdict:
“An unforgettable adventure”
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