After the solid “Hellboy” (2004) laid the groundwork, director/co-writer Guillermo del Toro and his team get to play in their sandbox in “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (2008) – and boy, do they have fun, as did I while watching it. The top-shelf production design is still there, but now with a steampunk-meets-fantasy flavor.
We visit a troll market that’s like an underground version of “Valerian’s” open-air market, and meet a secret agent named Johann (for some reason voiced by Seth MacFarlane) who is literally a cloud of vapor contained in a deep-sea diver’s suit.
Mignola joins screen team
Perhaps because Mike Mignola, writer and artist of the “Hellboy” comic book, co-writes the screenplay, “The Golden Army” finds the title character (Ron Perlman) and his allies doing more investigative-style work and less fighting.
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (2008)
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writers: Guillermo del Toro, Mike Mignola
Stars: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones
But when they do fight, it’s worth the wait, especially our hero’s epic closing battle against Elf warmonger Prince Nuada (Luke Goss, who played a similar role in 2002’s “Blade II”). Giant gears, presumably part of the forge that created the titular army, slowly turn as hero and villain face off, always threatening to crunch Hellboy if he falls.
The sequel does great work with all the heroes and their relationships. A drunken Hellboy invites the equally lovesick fish man Abe (Doug Jones) to crack a few cold ones with him. Abe is listening to his favorite song, Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You,” as he thinks about Elf Princess Nuala (Anna Walton).
As is always the case with del Toro’s catalog, we can imagine one small storyline inspiring him to create a whole ’nother project, and this aquatic being’s love story segues perfectly into “The Shape of Water” (2017). On a more minor note, if you combine the witch with eyes in her wings — rather than on her face – along with Abe, who senses feelings with his hands, you get Jones’ famous eyes-in-his-hands creature from “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006).
As the friends down brews and think about the girls they love – in Hellboy’s case, Liz (Selma Blair, getting more action in the sequel) – it starts off as a mildly amusing interlude in a superhero actioner. But the sequence permeates the movie’s tone from that point forward, rather than letting CGI action spectacles take over (although there’s definitely a good one toward the end, featuring the army).
It embraces fun of the genre
By the time “The Golden Army” closes with “Can’t Smile Without You” over the credits, it struck me that this film is similar to “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017): It embraces the fun of the genre and rides it to the finish line.
If “Ragnarok” is 1980s video game-y in its tone, though, “The Golden Army” is classic elves-and-monsters fantasy – not something I’m normally into, but I got into it here – along with those steampunk touches. A lot of the appeal is because, incongruously, the production design and creature creations carry less of the weight this time around.
On the first film, I marveled at how it looked. But the sequel flows better, with everyone having an arc, and even Jeffrey Tambor’s comic relief (as the agent who thinks he’s in charge but isn’t really) grew on me.
The stakes are life and death for our heroes – heck, even the fate of humanity is at stake — yet it’s on point that Hellboy addresses Prince Nuada as “Your Royal Assness” before a duel. Sometimes a movie catches a groove as it mixes tones, like a song finding a perfect riff, and “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” is a standout example.