Reviews of new films & DVDs
Guillermo de Toro, director of the Oscar-winning Pan's Labyrinth, has yet to run out of steam. Hellboy II: The Golden Army is one of the most visually appealing and sense-stimulating flicks of the year.
The plot is straightforward. After a long-held treaty between humankind and creatures is broken, a vicious elf prince declares war against man and threatens to release the mythical Golden Army. Hellboy and his fellow members of a secret bureau must do everything possible to prevent the war.
The action scenes are carefully calculated to showcase the top-notch CGI, convincing makeup and staggering stunts. The fights are diverse, with some of the most fascinating monsters in movie history: the tiny but fierce Tooth Fairies, a Hellboy-equivalent troll, a giant plant and a troop of metallic soldiers. The visuals are simply magnificent.
On the flip side, all these magical creatures, some of which serve only to create aesthetic satisfaction, leave hardly any time for the main cast of humour-loving Hellboy, his pregnant, pyrokinetic wife Liz, and intelligent fish-man Abe Sapien.
The film touches on bigger issues like the environment, parenthood, identity and racism, adding depth to the simple plot.
