Hellboy II ~

I really don’t want to spend too much time on this film. I felt totally let down. Not funny, not even a titter. Whilst I loved the first film, and perhaps I’m being too hard on it by comparing it too closely with the first Hellboy and other recent action/adventures (such as Batman which was viewed the week before), I can’t help but feel something got lost in translation between story line and celluloid.

I can’t think of anyone else who could play ‘Hellboy’ as well as Ron Pearlman nor anyone as sassy and dark-humoured as Selma Blair to play the much maligned Liz but that said, Guillermo del Toro has lost the plot. Literally. What started the series as a dark, other-worldly vision of an alternative anti-hero has turned into a slightly edgy kids flick. I did not need to see the big, brash climax with its wandering, stomping tree-headed baddie. I did love the secret city beneath the ‘real world’ but there wasn’t enough of it. I appreciated the love story between Abe Sapien and the princess but didn’t feel that it was necessary and can’t stop humming ‘I’m a man not a boy’ whenever I see Luke Goss (of Bros fame) on the screen no matter how ace he is at swinging a sword. Sorry Mr Bros. I’m just of that age and disposition!

Overall, a visually creative film with crappy script and OTT sound track. Again, give the ladies better screen time and stick with the notion that it’s ok to make a film without excessive violence and set pieces throughout. A pretty snoring-boring film, with a twist. Perhaps Hellboy 3, if ever there is such a thing, can repair the disappointment I feel about this chapter?