Hellboy II: The Golden Army

365 Films

Entry #141

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Directed by Guillermo Del Toro

If Hellboy was Mr. Del Toro’s unleashed id, than the follow up known as Hellboy II: The Golden Army is like that id having a baby with the Tasmanian devil and unleashing it into recess with a group of caffeinated, sugared-up fourth graders.  And I do not AT ALL mean that as a backhanded insult, in fact it’s one of the things I love most about Hellboy II and what makes it to these eyes, a superior entry in the series.  Gone are the draggier, introductory (albeit necessary) beats of the first film and in its place is a sheer headlong rush into whatever fantastical image pops into Mr. Del Toro’s seemingly boundless imagination.  It’s difficult to describe the way Mr. Del Toro assaults you with images, ideas, and side narratives while simultaneously allowing you to luxuriate in the very environment of the film.  The troll market sequence and subsequent battle with the elemental creature almost seem like a Hellboy short film packed within the larger narrative in the way that you almost want that story to go on and your heart yearns to spend as much time as humanly possible exploring the various designs at work in said troll market.  I think what endears me the most to Hellboy II is the sly domestic comedy Mr. Del Toro weaves within the larger fabric of a story of a decimated civilization attempting to kick start an apocalypse and regain control of the planet.  Similar themes of familial sacrifice and villains motivated more by pride than faceless evil are mixed with the genuine pathos of realizing one can no longer occupy the consequence free lifestyle that so many other comic book heroes are promised.  In fact, all of the B.P.R.D. characters throughout the course of the film are faced with decisions that they must make in which the fate of one close to them is pitted against that of the entirety of civilization.  I can’t think of another comic book movie that successfully evokes sympathy for a city-destroying monster the way Del Toro does for the elemental creature, and the absolutely beautiful sequence caused by his eventual destruction is truly one for the comic book film hall of fame.  Aligned with his theme of maturation and teamwork, Del Toro also goes out of his way to supply a rather complicated and empathetic presence for his villains.  None of the antagonists in this film are pursuing mass slaughter simply for the fun of it; they are simply trying to regain a piece of what they once had.  In fact, they are not all that different from the heroes of the story and when it comes time for them to meet their ultimate fate, Del Toro never takes the easy way out with something as facile as a cool death and a clever punch line.  There are real world consequences to his Hellboy universe and death is not something from which any of the witnesses will easily walk away.  That’s not to say these films are a slog through comic book revisionism.   I can’t think of another sequence in a comic book film that has plastered as big of a goofy smile on my face as the one in this film where Abe and Hellboy do drunken karaoke together.  Nor can I think of another comic book movie that would dare to stop dead in its narrative tracks in order to achieve such a scene.  That scene in essence captures the essence of the Hellboy films in a way.  It’s genuinely touching because of the detailed character work Del Toro has laid before it, it’s genuinely funny because it’s two grown man slathered in an unholy amount of make up singing Barry Manilow together, and most importantly it feels completely of the wonderful world that Mr. Del Toro has created. The series that began as feeling somewhat off had beautifully hit its stride by entry number two, I just hope we get another one someday.