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Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
When watching a sequel, it’s always wise to be a little sceptical, especially when the first movie is as enjoyable as Hellboy was. Fortunately, Guillermo Del Toro realised that what his audience enjoyed from the first movie was the action sequences, things getting beaten up, blown up or shot, while the character development and plot could be thrown aside. Because he realised this, he managed to deliver a sequel that was so much more awesome than the original. In fact, it even classifies for being referred to as “The Awesome!”
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army almost manages to dispense with the plot just with the title, but, just in case this is your first foray into this type of movie, they neatly dispense with all the plot exposition in the first five minutes of the film, before the opening credits have even rolled. This is pretty cool as it allows you to safely shut down all higher brain functions and just enjoy the pretty lights.
After the opening credits, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army takes you on a rollercoaster ride of dodginess. The highs are just about every scene in the movie as the dodginess level just rises throughout the film. The lows are the moments of plot and character development required to keep the story rolling along smoothly. Fortunately, the lows are long enough that they allow you to process the dodginess that preceded them, but short enough that boredom remains at bay.
Dodginess
This is one of the easiest films I’ve had to rate in a long time. Even with the penalties imposed on Hellboy 2: The Golden Army by dint of it being a sequel, it still manages a 5 on the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man scale. While watching this film I kept asking myself how I was going to decide on the dodgiest moment in the movie, when each scene seemed to be in contention. There was the attack by the tooth fairies, the fight in the troll market, and even Hellboy getting beaten up by a wall of lockers. Then, Guillermo Del Toro threw in a musical number, “Can’t Smile Without You” performed by a drunk Abe Sapien and Hellboy. After that, the title race looked like the 2008 Olympic 100 metres final, with the rest of the movie competing for second place. In fact, this contest wasn’t even as close as the 100m final was.
Rewatchability Rating
Rating a movie on how rewatchable it is from a single viewing can be difficult. In this case, it wasn’t. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army will definitely be finding a way into my DVD collection, probably as soon as I walk into a shop and see it, and manages to score a well deserved 5 on the rewatchability Index.
Most Memorable Quote
There were a number of quotes in contention for this title. “Can’t smile without you” “Yep, I’m gonna need a beer too,” comes to mind. But the winner has to go to “I’m not a baby, I’m a tumour.” This one was thrown in out of the blue and made abig impression.
Final Thoughts
Guillermo Del Toro really hit the nail on the head with this one. There’s minimal plot, even less character development and tons and tons of dodginess. From the opening sequence, in which he really sets the tone for the rest of the film, right up to the final showdown with the Golden Army, the dodginess just keeps on coming. You have to watch this one, or better yet, buy it so you can appreciate it repeatedly in all it’s dodgy glory.