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Hellboy (Ron Perlman), and his girlfriend, Liz (Selma Blair) |
Devilish humour makes Hellboy II heaven sent
HELLBOY II : THE GOLDEN ARMY
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
Certificate 12a
WHAT a contrast Guillermo del Toro’s light-hearted Hellboy offers to the seriousness of Dark Knight, the Batman film released earlier this summer.
Both are based on comic book heroes, but, while Batman takes on the form of some kind of adult epic which gazes importantly at its own navel, Hellboy instead shouts loudly: I am a comic book adaptation, therefore I am going to tickle the audience! Stand by for ridiculous jokes, stunning imagery and a far-from-serious, only-one-man-can-save-the world story.
Plot-wise, it would be rather formulaic (baddie tries to kill us, goodie tries to save us) if it were not for the artistry applied by del Toro.
Here is a quick recap of the tale so far: Hellboy is the son of the devil who was found by US soldiers as a baby during the Second World War – he had been brought to Earth by occult-worshipping Nazis. Enlisted into a secret government department which looks after other agents with “special” backgrounds with a red complexion, sawn-off horns and flickery tale, he becomes an unlikely hero for the free world.
Hellboy, who is a beer-drinking, blue-collar, average Joe, has a rather handy gang to help him do good deeds. His girlfriend, Liz, can burst into flames at any given moment, and sidekick Abe Sapien, who is half man, half fish, has a rather large intellect.
Other characters include special agent Tom Manning, the under-pressure, anti-acid pill-munching civil servant who has to make sure Hellboy’s existence is not public knowledge, and his new superior, the Germanic rule-stickler Johann Klauss. Both offer regular chortles.
These ne’er-do-wells have to stop the devious plan of a fierce creature called Prince Nuada. He lives in an alternate, underground world and plans to raise a mechanical army to rid the Earth of humans. Nuada is, incidentally, beautifully played by – wait for it – Luke Goss, of 1980s super-pop boy band Bros.
Hellboy is simply splendid to look at. This is what special effects should be about. It’s like watching a futuristic W Heath Robinson cartoon come to life. There are beautiful gadgets and scenes of marvellous cogs and wheels and pulleys which operate the lair of the Golden Army. Hellboy’s kitten-laden home is like the perfect teen lair.
Jokes and asides run through each scene. From the off, when our heroes get attacked by calcium-craving tooth fairies, the tone is set. The drama then races through the streets of New York, into a wonderful underground trolls’ market complete with the sort of characters that populated del Toro’s Pans Labyrinth. Then it’s over to County Antrim, Northern Ireland, where the Giant’s Causeway makes a scene-stopping appearance.
Hellboy, played by Ron Perlman (who was in the City of the Lost Children), is an endearing character who makes this is a wonderful modern fairytale. I look forward to the next instalment of his adventures. |
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