Several points in the film feel underdeveloped, such as Prince Nuada's attempt to convince Hellboy that he has more in common with the elves and trolls than with the humans, who then begin to turn against him. There doesn't seem to be any real tension at all. Instead, the focus seems to be primarily on the battle between Hellboy and an earth elemental, and secondarily on how Hellboy handles a baby caught in the middle of the action. Hellboy almost acts as if he didn't even hear Prince Nuada, and yet doesn't pursue Nuada as he should. The most glaring example of this story clumsiness comes near the end of the film, so I must remain vague to avoid too much of the plot. Our protagonists set out on a life-or-death rescue mission, at the conclusion of which they should be able to safely return to New York. And yet, rescue mission accomplished, they continue on to confront Prince Nuada unnecessarily, setting up the final conflict. One of the crew had every reason to push for continuing, but the other three did not, and there was never even any on-screen discussion of the point. Since the climax of the film depended on a confrontation, a confrontation there was.
Where Pan's Labyrinth occasionally threatened to sacrifice story for visuals (but ultimately delivered the promised pathos), Hellboy II delivers on the threat. Fortunately, the story moves quickly enough that there is no time to linger over the clumsier parts of the story. The characters are engaging, if occasionally two-dimensional. The encounter with the Angel of Death may not hold as much tension as it might in the hands of a different writer, but the depth of passion in the relationship between Hellboy and Liz is enough. It may be unrealistic, but this is a story about a prince of Hell and his pyrokinetic girlfriend, so it may be the wrong place to look for realism. Both the visual effects and the story are better than the first Hellboy film, and the overall experience is a lot of fun.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
You have time to watch movies?
I agree with your assessment of the script's flaws, but it didn't bother me too much, although the whole thing between humans not liking him seemed forced and didn't go anywhere.
I am curious what you mean by "weak story is a reflection of the source material more than del Toro's ability." del Toro and Mignola worked on the story and del Toro wrote the script. It's not based on any "Hellboy" storyline.
2 - Phillip Winn
El Bicho, I generally catch the late showings of films. I think it was 10pm for Indy 4, 10:40 for Hancock, 10:50 for Iron Man, and 10:30 for The Incredible Hulk, but it was "only" 9:55 for Hellboy II on Saturday night. :-)
By "source material" I simply meant that the graphic novels haven't provided the same level of rich detail that Tolkein's books have. Although I haven't read all of the Hellboy series, the few I've read haven't seemed like the sort of source material that lends itself well to very complex characterization.
In some ways, the simple-mindedness of Red's devotion to Liz is actually nice, even though it's hard to imagine any relationship surviving that sort of pressure.
I'm not sure I managed to adequately how much I enjoyed this film in the the review. In many films, plot problems or story problems ruin the experience for me. In this one, I noted them but didn't really care. It's really a blast!
I think my next movie is a midnight showing of The Dark Knight on Thursday.
3 - Phillip Winn
I need to watch this one again!