Hellboy 2:The Golden Army

I have to be honest, and start off by saying that I ha never read the Hellboy comics before the first movie came out, and I was not a huge fan of the first one. It just didn't capture me the way I was hoping it would. I have tried viewing it, on occasion, on TV and DVD, hoping that, maybe, my mind would change, but it never does. The new film, though, which marks the return of the original cast and director Guillermo del Torro, was a pleasant surprise.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army picks up a little while after the last film left off, and introduces us (through a REALLY cool computer animated/stop motion sequence) to a world of mythical creatures that have learned to hide in the human world after a long and bloody war lead to a truce between them and the humans. When an exiled prince returns, though, to awaken an unstoppable army, in an attempt to defeat the humans and solidify his reign, Hellboy and the Bureau of Paranormal Affairs has to step in and stop him.

There's not much to say here, as far as performances or directing goes. They're all top notch. Watching Hellboy 2, you feel like you are in familiar territory, and there really isn't any aspect of the film that lets you down. del Torro's mind is a fantasy land, and he lays out everything in front of you, drawing you in, and allowing you to enjoy his world for a little while. I really enjoyed the little bit of back story on Hellboy that we get, and hope that, if there is a third installment, that del Torro will include even more. The new character, Johann Krauss (oddly enough, voiced by Seth McFarlane of Family Guy), is a good edition that allows for a couple of more funny moments in the film.

Even though I was not a big fan of the first one, The Golden Army definitely leaves me with a taste for another one. Here's hoping del Torro has it in him.