I’ve decided to go back and watch a bunch of movies based on comic books. No real reason, just something I thought would be fun. This time it was the 2008 movie Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
IMDb Rating: 7/10
Rotten Tomatoes critics: 85%
Rotten Tomatoes audience: 71%
My Rating: 9/10
I’m really torn as to whether I like this movie or the first one better, but I’m leaning toward this one. It’s just an overall excellent movie.
The first thing I have to mention is the fight choreography. It’s amazing, especially for Prince Nuada. I’m not sure how to describe it properly, but there’s a fantastic blend of viciousness and grace in his fight scenes that captures the nature of the character so well. I’d watch this movie again just to see those scenes.
Another part of the movie that stuck out to me was how obvious it was that everyone enjoyed their role. There are some movies where it’s obvious that the actors are having fun, and this is one of them.
As for some of the more technical aspects of the movie, just like the first one, there’s relatively little CGI. Most of the effects are accomplished through practical means, and it makes the movie so much better. Some CGI is necessary, and it’s well done when it’s used, but the practical effects give the movie a sense of fantastic realism that’s very appropriate to the world.
The story is excellent, and the villain, the aforementioned Prince Nuada, is wonderful. Also, like the previous film, the peripheral characters really make the movie special. Each of them is unique and captivating, without distracting from the main protagonists. The only possible exception is that pretty much every human agent fills the role of a redshirt.
It’s hard for me to come up with any issues in the movie. The only one that I really noticed while watching it was that I didn’t always like the music, especially when it wasn’t just an instrumental score. I also felt like Hellboy’s fighting ability inexplicably jumped up a notch in the climactic battle. Neither of those issues are big, but they were noticeable.
Anyway, if you haven’t watched the Hellboy movies yet, please do so. They’re some of the most entertaining comic book movies around.
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