Topic: Doug Jones

Hellboy II: heroes are red, lovers are blue

By David W. Shelton | July 19, 2008 |

The world that Hellboy II: The Golden Army (hereafter Hellboy 2) presents is one that is filled with images of the fantastic, the bizarre, and the mysterious. In this world, it’s the humans that are the outsiders, while the trolls, demons, and even the Angel of Death collaborate deliver a tale that’s part parable, part adventure, and part love story.

Hellboy and Hellboy 2 joins the long line of great films that were inspired by comic books, and is one of the few comic books that I never read during my collecting days. Perhaps this is a good thing, as the film is uncluttered by previous expectations of certain villains and characterizations that must be met. In my mind, Guillermo Del Toro, who wrote and directed this film, is free to tell whatever kind of story he can imagine.

While it’s not the masterpiece of Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy 2 is a deliberate fairy tale mixed in with a brilliant observation of the nature of man - as told though the eyes of monsters. No matter how strange the images on the image might be, the film is a probe of pinpoint accuracy of just what makes the hearts of men tick. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Opinion | No Comments