2004's Hellboy was a critical success (81% on Rotten Tomatoes) but didn't exactly set the box office on fire (making $99 million against a $66 million budget), somewhat explaining why it took a whole four years to get the sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, off the ground. A significant improvement over the original film, Hellboy II benefits once again from Guillermo del Toro's flair for visual majesty, with the movie's outstanding visual effects and production design serving as a potent tonic to that summer's gritty, ultra-realistic The Dark Knight. In addition to this, the movie is just a lot of fun: it hasn't got a single moment of serious regard for itself, and is just interested in being entertaining rather than profound. Ron Perlman again delivers a marvelous performance as the title character, easily one of the most accurate renditions of a comic book character to date, and the supporting characters on both sides of the protagonist are an absolute blast to behold. Bounding along at a breathless pace and easily one of del Toro's best directing efforts to date, Hellboy II should be held to be a classic comic book sequel. Why, then, does nobody talk about it anymore? Despite critical acclaim (87% on RT) and a significantly better financial showing than the original ($160 million profit against an $85 million budget), Hellboy II is a mostly forgotten comic book movie. One possible explanation is that it was ill-advisedly released just a week before The Dark Knight, with the shadow of The Joker essentially being the only film-related thing anyone could talk about that month.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
