by Nick Maziarka

Created on: July 14, 2009   Last Updated: July 30, 2009

A Devil, a Fish, and Some Beers.

Seeing as this is the summer of outstanding superhero movies (Iron Man was a hell of a ride; The Incredible Hulk was an amusing, nostalgic trip; The Dark Knight was simply groundbreaking), I felt obliged to see this, as well.

I loved the first Hellboy, plain and simple. Ron Perlman is absolutely charming as Big Red. And as for Guillermo Del Toro...if he directs a bad movie in his career (I've forgiven him for Mimic), then hell may, in fact, freeze over. So when I heard that there would be a second film in the Mike Magnola-created franchise, I was both excited and incredibly expectant of something wonderful.

Let me just say that this film is not quite like the first one. It has an action-driven story, sure. But I would honestly say that, first and foremost, it functions as a quirky comedy. Shifting a great deal of its focus to satirical views on human (well...) relationships, Hellboy II takes the path that not many superhero films care to. Thanks to each character's particular charm, this technique actually works, too. How many movies this summer are going to let you see an amphibious creature and an immature, demonic man belt out cheesy 70's love songs, while enjoying a few brew-skis.

As for the story itself - it's not all that complicated. The legend of the great Golden Army is quickly and easily explained within the first 10 minutes of the movie. Thankfully, this allows for a development of the characters that the film re-introduces and the ones that it beautifully creates. A story not overly focused on complicated mythology also leaves much time for comedy. And a majority of the jokes made, as cheesy as they are, are successful in provoking a snicker or two. For a film that could, if taken in another direction, be a pure sci-fi/horror film, bravo.

The ultimate prize, though, goes to the special effects and make-up. Del Toro, who blew me away with Pan's Labyrinth in 2006, always creates a stunning variety of creatures that are fully capable of intriguing, spooking, and mystifying the audience simultaneously. Add Doug Jones and his physical presence to this, and you have a merman whose stuttering affection for an ancient princess almost makes you forget that he's blue and lacks a projectile nose.

That is the magic of Hellboy's world. It's charming and relatable enough to draw you in, yet it's the oddness of it all that keeps you fascinated.

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