Hellboy started its life as a Dark Horse Comics graphic novel (my hometown, Portland, Oregon, is home to Dark Horse, giving us Portlanders some hope that we may yet escape our tragic fate of having providing the shell from which Tonya Harding sprang, fully formed). The first Hellboy film essayed the character's backstory, leading up to the present day, where he had been co-opted by a secret government branch, the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, that was home to various unusual and unearthly species, including Abe Sapien, a sort of half-fish, half-human psychic, and Liz Sherman, who can "flame on", a la The Fantastic Four's Torch, often unexpectedly, at the drop of a hat. Hellboy himself is not your everyday superhero, being some sort of mutant creation clearly reminiscent of the collective unconscious' vague glimmerings of The Devil. With a lobster red physique, an oversized hand and broken-off horns, not to mention an irascible demeanor and lovable fondness for cats, Hellboy is certainly one of the more unusual choices for comic book to film adaptation. The first Hellboy mined its source material brilliantly, with an over-the-top performance by del Toro regular Ron Perlman in the title role, and Selma Blair adding adequate support (and an ultimate love interest for Hellboy) as Liz.

Hellboy II picks up pretty much right where Hellboy left off. After a brief prologue showing the child Hellboy being read a rather bizarre choice for a Christmas Eve bedtime story by his adoptive human father (the ever wonderful John Hurt), we then segue into the adventure at hand, which springs directly from the story that Hurt read to the kid, Whatever honeymoon there may had been between Hellboy and Liz is obviously over, and the pair's long suffering government supervisor (a sort of annoyingly mannered Jeffrey Tambor) is attempting to get them to remain undercover, something that Hellboy is hellbent on disobeying. We have del Toro working a sort of warmup act here for his next big project, The Hobbit, with The Golden Army's story focused on a missing multi-piece golden crown (The Ring, anyone?), which will unlock the powers of a robotic army that was amassed ages ago in a war between elves, fairies and their like and mankind. After an evil elvin Prince manages to snatch part of the Crown from an auction house, unleashing some vicious tooth fairies to destroy everyone in sight, Hellboy, Liz and Abe are called in to investigate, leading them into a world of goblins, gnomes and other fantastical creatures that haunt the outskirts of fairy tales. (Indeed, I wouldn't recommend this film for younger children, as they may be loathe to leave teeth under their pillows after they see del Toro's take on this "magical" creature. Of course you penny pinching parents may want to show them the film for that very reason). Soon they're joined by a new governmental supervisor, a spirit confined to a containment suit known as Professor Krauss, who provides most of the comedy relief in the film.

This fantasy otherworld provides del Toro with the strongest outlet yet for his visionary character design. Army is full of wonderful and exciting creatures that are marvelous to behold and which give Hellboy and his cohorts chances for some fun interactions. In the vaguely human category, we get the elf Prince and Princess, Nuada and Nuala, sort of albino characters who could be Edgar Winter's long lost underworld cousins. In del Toro's version of Diagon Alley, called the Troll Market, we're introduced to a wondrous assortment of ogres and other creatures, including a loquacious infant apparently being held close to its parent who turns out to actually be a talking tumor. Most amazing are some huge CGI creations, most notably a really fascinating plant-like creature, several stories high, that opens its fronds to emit a deafening roar and then proceeds to try to destroy Hellboy. There's also an Angel of Death that is more than passingly Pan-like. Del Toro handles these characters magnificently, with some finely crafted special effects sequences. Also playing into this sort of strange mélange is a martial arts element, with Prince Nuada leaping, handstanding, and otherwise tripping the wire fantastic in true Jet Li style throughout the film.

Throughout these exercises, del Toro tries to set up some basic angst on the part of our hero, as he supposedly has to decide whether he belongs to the "other" class, a la Nuada and Nuala, or to humans. It's unfortunately one of several story elements which are insufficiently developed to really add up to much, and which are ultimately the biggest downside to this film. When Abe falls for Princess Nuala, it's handled in the most rote way, with no real development or emotional underpinnings, so that when Abe does something really, really stupid in the climax, it seems, well, really, really stupid and not sprung out of any well developed motivation. In fact it's the screenplay that is at fault for most of Army's bloated and noisy feel, with only passing, and for the most part feeble, attempts at the ascerbic humor that highlighted the first film. There's simply too much "stuff" going on for most of this film, with too little emphasis on the characters who were introduced so well in the first movie. Liz's predicament when she finds out she's pregnant is handled with about every cliché you could imagine, not helped by Blair's somnambulistic performance. With no real connection to any of the characters, the film just kind of staggers from set piece to set piece. It's big and it's flashy, but it doesn't have the character oomph that the first Hellboy did, despite the first film's relatively smaller budget. Even Perlman seems physically smaller in this film, for some reason.

But what set pieces there are in this film, most of them vintage del Toro. From the plant monster and his cascading spores, to the beautiful elfin lair to a rock giant that springs out of the Irish countryside (actually Budapest of all places), this film is full of that unique vision that del Toro has been developing for years. This is an eyeful and a half, with a glittering array of CGI creatures and other special effects that will delight fans of del Toro's previous fantasy films.

The Blu-ray

Video:
This is one staggering looking Blu-ray, in a near flawless 1080p AVC 1.85:1 transfer. Filled with those blues and ambers which seem to populate del Toro's fantasy worlds with great regularity, there's brilliant saturation and contrast and incredible detail. In fact you'll be able to count the pores on Perlman's prosthetics if the plot leaves you needing something else to do. Depth, sharpness and clarity are all first rate. The film is purposely a bit on the dark side from time to time, but black levels are consistent and contrast always strong in these segments.

Sound:
Matching the visuals every step of the way is one of the best soundscapes I've experienced recently, in a sterling HD DTS 7.1 mix that will have your neighbors phoning the police if you turn it up too loud. There are so many fine details about this soundtrack it's hard to know where to begin--from the chattering clatter of the tooth fairies to the metallic silver of Nuada's sword to Hellboy's fist coming into contact with just about everyone and everything, the listener is solidly in the center of a very brilliantly orchestrated sound design. There are also Spanish and French DTS 5.1 mixes available, as well as subtitles in all the soundtrack languages.

Extras:
Disc One features two commentaries, one by del Toro, who has to be one of the most literate directors ever and is always fun to listen to, and another by Tambor, Blair and Luke Goss (I personally would have preferred Perlman, who has one of the driest senses of humors out there--check out his commentary on City of Lost Children). There is also a U Control feature that will let you access various extras as they appear chapter by chapter, including a director's sketchbook which appends to brief interviews with del Toro. There's also a Troll Market Tour with del Toro, a Production Workshop, Deleted Scenes a Zinco Epilogue Animated Comic, a Comic Book Builder, and a Gallery. Disc Two is given over to a nearly two and half hour documentary entitled "In the Service of the Demon," which documents everything from pre-production, production and post-production perspectives. Del Toro, in a brief prologue, says he intends for it to be a "master class in filmmaking," and it largely lives up to that description, with lots of fun moments both on and off set. There's also an advertising and marketing gallery on the second disc.

Final Thoughts:
Hellboy II may not be vintage del Toro, but that still elevates it above most of the dreck that populates the multiplex during the summer blockbuster months. If it's too busy and noisy for its own good, with not enough character development to anchor the frantic storyline, it's one of the most visually and aurally resplendent films in recent memory, full of that very particular fantasy magic that only del Toro can provide. Recommended.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet