10 Reasons Why Hellboy II: The Golden Army Is Still ICONIC
One of the most underrated comic book films of all time.
With the impending release of the David Harbour-starring, Neil Marshall-directed Hellboy reboot growing ever closer, its important to remember one thing; Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a motherf***ing cinematic classic.
Coming out in 2008, Hellboy II hit at a peak time of change in the world of comic book movies. Marvel Studios had just released a little film called Iron Man. DC and Warner Bros. were prepping to release a modest follow-up to Batman Begins called The Dark Knight. And right in the middle of it all was Hellboy II.
Since then, Marvel has turned that one film into a twenty-plus-film-spanning franchise, DC has recast Batman twice, and Guillermo del Toro has won a bunch of Oscars. And Hellboy is getting a reboot. But regardless of its quality, it's important to remember just what a stellar film Hellboy II: The Golden Army is and what a pivotal role it played in the career of one of our generation's greatest auteurs, Guillermo del Toro.
Here is all of the irrefutable proof as to why Hellboy II is still the best.
10. Ron. F***ing. Perlman.
Perlman has been an established commodity in Hollywood for decades now. He rose to prominence in the late '80s as the titular beast in the Beauty and the Beast television series, he became an acclaimed voice actor in his own right, and even as recently as the early 2010s was still delivering scene-stealing character work on shows like Sons of Anarchy.
But no role in the entirety of his career has ever quite achieved the level of symbiosis that he and the big red guy have in Hellboy II.
His performance in the first film is incredibly solid, but its this sequel where Perlman truly makes the character his own. Imbuing him with all the humor, heart, and gruff sensibilities of himself, Perlman makes Hellboy not only an iconic hero but a vastly more interesting character.
Where other actors could have easily disappeared under the dozens of pounds of prosthetics and make-up, Perlman's performance here seems more honest and sure-footed than ever before.