Monday, August 4, 2008

REVIEW: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

After seeing the new Hellboy movie, I can't help but be disappointed. Even though it has somehow gotten 88% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie did not feel like an accurate adaptation of the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. series of comics from Dark Horse.

Critics love a director as simple to describe as Guillermo Del Toro: he always uses "mystical", "fantastical" creatures and special effects, like in "Pan's Labyrinth". The problem here is that the look tries too hard. The movie bears close resemblance to "Underworld" and Stephen Sommers movies, and the plot seems very familiar too: an elf prince killing his father and taking his crown or some shit.

Despite the fact that Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy) co-wrote the script with Guillermo Del Toro, it felt mild compared to the satanic shit that Hellboy gets involved with in the comics. Things are so jam-packed in the movie its hard to gather any real meaning from the film other than the fact that Guillermo Del Toro really loves elves, fairies, and monsters.

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