Awwwww Hell(boy)!

Went and caught 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army' over the weekend and, while enjoyable, it proved to be a slight blemish on the bright face of a Summer filled w/ excellent comic-book adaptations. To be fair, the bar was raised pretty high based on how much I enjoyed the first and a recent foray into the comic itself.

The amazing Guillermo del Toro is back at the helm as director and screenwriter with the same incredible visual style, but a story that kind of felt rambling, unfocused and (for lack of a better word) goofy at times. This was surprising to me, considering it was written w/ Hellboy comic-book creator Mike Mignola...a genius in his own right, in my humble opinion. More specifically, it seemed more rooted in LOTR-esque fantasy than the classic horror/pulp influences of the first film and comic. Maybe that's a good sign for Del Toro's work on the upcoming 'Hobbit' films, but in this capacity it kind of blew the mood.

Even above that, the film seemed to be rife w/ more goofy jokes and snappy one-liners than the first film. Now, i'm really okay w/ a sense of humor to these type of films, but the level of it wasn't at all what I had expected going in. Said moments end up being kind a weight on the film's pacing and ended up making it feel like it was dragging until the next stellar action scene...of which the film still delivers PLENTY of.

Ron Perlman does an excellent job once again as the title character, but the performances by the rest of his B.P.R.D. team-members left me a little cold. Selma Blair is fine and all, but she's playing a much less-screwed up Liz Sherman in this, to less interesting results. Finally, both 'Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane's voice work for and the lack of charchter development of ectoplasmic Johann Kraus ends up both unfunny and annoying.

Wow, reading back through that, sounds like I hated the film...which isn't the case. I just expected something completely different. I kind of have a suspicion, that knowing what I do now, i'll enjoy the second time around on DVD...in a fun 'Big Trouble in Little China' way. If you're not carrying as much baggage as I am in that you've never read the comic and/or seen the first film...you may really dig it. Otherwise, i'd tell you to lower your expectations, check out a matinee and just have fun with it.