Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Even though I only kinda liked the first Hellboy, I was retardedly excited for this one. Part one I thought had likable characters and some cool effects, but suffered from a lackluster story, maybe some pacing issues, and (except for that windup clockwork Nazi guy) uninteresting villains. This new one looked like an improvement, judging from the trailer. In fact, it looked like a great mix of Del Toro's strengths... like the good parts of Hellboy meets Pan's Labyrynth meets Blade II.

And it turns out I was dead-on. Especially on the Blade II thing. It has the same actor playing the villain, with somewhat similar makeup, and in both cases they are evil, magical princes who kill their father/king and have some sort of conflict with their sister/princess. But then both turn out to have somewhat complicated/sympathetic motives, and even though they are in the wrong, there is some grey area. Both movies are also sequels that change the vibe of the first movie by taking place more in an underground fantasy world than they do in the real world. And (spoilers) both movies have a scene at the end where the princess dies in the arms of the hero, accompanied by a surprisingly beautiful special effect. In Blade II, she turns to ash and blows away, and here she turns to stone.

I think now this may be Del Toro's best film, or at least it ties with Blade II. In the past year or two or whatever since Pan's Labyrinth came out, people always look at me funny if I mention that Blade II is a better movie. Like I must have horrible taste if I pick an action movie over a (presumably) more mature work of art. And I really hate that attitude, that somehow a movie like Pan's Labyrinth (which, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed quite a bit) is somehow higher art because it's more serious and isn't a genre picture. Both movies display a grand visual imagination, only I happen to think Blade II is more entertaining, and contains better, more exciting filmmaking/storytelling. And now Hellboy 2 is on that same page... yes it's less serious (or really, just more fun), and it's more of a mainstream entertainment, but I still think a much better, more imaginative film (probably in no small part due to the budget.)

I just don't get why Pan is so beloved, and the others are kind of brushed off as lightweight. Just because it presumes to be more serious? I'll be honest here, I thought PL (I'm getting sick of typing these titles) was a visually wonderful film, but it didn't do much for me on an emotional level. Yeah, I know a little girl dies and all, which means it's a "serious" movie, but I didn't care much for the drama. The story was too simple, and the bad guy was too ridiculously evil and over the top for me to take it seriously. I know the movie wants to work as a fable on some level, but it seems to me that if part of the movie is contrasting a fantasy world with the harsh realities of life, then the real life parts of the movie should feel more real. Instead, it all feels equally heightened and unreal, and way more black and white than real life.

Ironically, B2 and HB2 are more mainstream films, and yet are far more complex, and more interested in an moral grey area. In both of those films, the bad guys may be fantastical, monstrous villains, but they also have complex motives. And it's not always clear that the good guys are fighting for the right side, or allied with the right people. It's not exactly a happy ending when they slay their foes. I mean, for big budget action pictures, they contain some admirably non-simplified ideas of right and wrong. And beyond that, I got to say that the characters in Hellboy seem more nuanced and interesting than the PL characters, and I found myself caring a lot more about them. And to top it all off, it's got a lot of great action. No mean feat.

I think HB2 is going to give me better ammo next time I argue that PL isn't del Toro's best flick. Because it has many similarities to that film, just as much crazy/brilliant imagination, but I think a lot of improvements and a deepening of the themes. And it's more entertaining. I'm tired of this idea that a fun movie can't be great art. In their own way, for what they are, Blade II and Hellboy 2 are great art, or at least a great use of the medium. Hellboy 2 contains some of the most grand, fantastic images I've seen in a film in many years, and that should be celebrated. A lot of the reviews, even though they are positive, treat this movie like it's a step down. So apparently fantastical monsters + a dead girl = masterpiece, but fantastical monsters + action movie = featherweight summer entertainment. Fuck that.

Sorry to shit on you so much, Pan's Labyrinth. I still dig you. Although I'm gonna have to shit on you just a little more when I write up The Fall...