Thanks to the worldwide critical acclaim of Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, Universal Studios green lit production of the Hellboy sequel, after two other studios passed up the opportunity. Considering the first Hellboy wasn't a huge hit, it's a minor miracle Hellboy II - The Golden Army got made at all. However, the end result was very much worth the wait as it finds Del Toro working on all cylinders, mashing a mainstream English-language sensibility with his trademark, fantasy-imagination unleashed to it's full potential.
The plot is a dark fairytale, as a fairy prince, fed up with humankind dominating the world, decides to take back the magic kingdoms share by unleashing The Golden Army, a bunch of indestructible clockwork robots.
It's bonkers...much more so than the first film. Gone is agent Myers, our human guide to the monster world, leaving us with hero creatures Red, Liz, Abe, and Johann Krauss to take us round their crazy world of trolls, spirits and mythical monsters.
The humour, characters and creature design is amplified in this installment...taking what gave the original it's edge and turning this into a signature work of an auteur.
When a talented film-maker with a vision, is given free-reign to express himself in the medium of film, the result is usually 10 time better than a director for hire trying to appease the wishes of a studio, producer or movie star.
And that's what you get here. Roll on The Hobbit.
1 comment:
I love Del Toro's films. I love is aesthetic and the dark fairytale vibe he brings to his work. I love his love for monsters and of his making them his heroes. Because I share that love, ever since I was a kid brought up on Universal and Hammer horror and reading all the monster books and stories I could from Bram Stoker to Stephen King and Richard Laymon amongst others. Monsters are scary, weird and interesting and they say something about how humans view each other and the world around them. And, like Guillermo knows, they also just look creepy fab too.
I loved the first Hellboy film with its clockwork Nazi and Lovecraftian tale of other dimensional gods and monsters - the big tentacled beasty is a direct lift from Lovecraft's Cthulhu (of which Del Toro is a big fan.)
But HB2, like the excellent Pan’s Labyrinth, takes us well in to Del Toro’s love of dark fairytales. HB2 introduces a hidden and fading fairytale world that had once been at war with humanity and whose rebellious elements now want to strike back and reclaim the world by unleashing the terrible might of the Golden Army. And the only thing that can stop them is a big, cigar smoking, kitten loving, and beer guzzling red skinned demon with a stone fist and a grumpy attitude. Yep, Red is back. And in the form of the awesome Ron Perlman he is the coolest, most charismatic, funniest ass whuppin’ demon around. HB2 is an awesome movie with everything being kicked up a notch from the first one. It looks amazing and is packed with great characters, wickedly inventive and creative ideas (the troll market is genius) and plenty of thematic depth. It is a fabulous film and a sequel that is better than its excellent original. I do love Pan’s Labyrinth but Hellboy 2 is probably my favourite of all Del Toro’s films to date. We’ll see if The Hobbit can compete.
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