Monday, July 14, 2008


Hellboy_II _8
Originally uploaded by mediaatmidnight
In concept I am torn on the subject of Hellboy II. It has nothing to do with the film. It’s the ad campaign.

I saw the first Hellboy when it came out and loved it. I thought the director was someone to watch and the movie was phenomenal; it was by someone nobody had ever heard of – Guillermo del Toro. I remember getting into verbal sparring matches with people in film school because I thought it was well directed and well made. I was a del Toro fan.

Then a little movie called Pan’s Labyrinth came out. It was phenomenal to be sure, and I knew it would be because of del Toro. Suddenly, everyone was on the del Toro bandwagon. As much as I loved that film, I was not sad The Lives of Others won the best foreign film Oscar – it was better. I waited for the next film del Toro would make.

What steps back into pop culture but Hellboy II: The Golden Army. I was excited. Until the ad campaign started.

Suddenly, the ads were all about “from the creator of Pan’s Labyrinth” and everyone was so excited that Guillermo del Toro was directing a Hellboy!

I sat back, dumbfounded. Did no one realize that del Toro directed the first one? Aparently not. I became less interested in the film the more people toted Pan’s Labyrinth and how excited this made them for what he would do with Hellboy. I sat through many people bashing how they were not interested at all in the first Hellboy, but “my god! This one is by the man that made Pan’s Labyrinth!”

Fortunately, I got over my distaste of the audience as I realized this was not del Toro’s fault, and I am glad I did. Hellboy II is a great movie. It’s not a story arch straight out of the graphic novels, but rather a new arch written for the big screen by the man that created the original material. It’s a film that deals with outsiders, and how they deal with the realization that they will never be accepted.

The monsters are beautiful. The imagery is creative. The actors are phenomenal. It’s everything that the audience wanted out of a comic book movie and the director of Pan’s Labyrinth.

I’m sorry to disappoint you all but this film is directed by the same man that directed the first film.

Director & Writer: Guillermo del Toro
Story: Mike Mignola & Guillermo del Toro
Hellboy: Ron Perlman
Liz: Selma Blair
Abe Sapien: Doug Jones
Johann Krauss: Seth MacFarkane
Prince Nuada: Luke Gross
Princess Nuala: Anna Walton
Manning: Jeffrey Tambor

Hellboy: I know; I'm ugly!

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