Hellboy II: The Golden Army

My wife and I have a tendency to see supernatural comic-book action movies when we go out on dates. On our very first date, we saw Constantine and we went out of our way to see Ghostrider, despite knowing it would be terrible, simply because it was a supernatural comic-book action movie. So, it was only natural that we see Hellboy II: The Golden Army when it came into theatres.

Hellboy II is visually stunning and incredibly fun, but it had the opportunity to be so much more. While I enjoyed the film immensely, I was ultimately disappointed.

The character of Hellboy is rife with potential for exploring the themes of alienation and inner turmoil. He's a monster (specifically a demon) raised by a human (specifically a Catholic). As the perennial outsider longing for acceptance, the appearance in this movie of a community of similarly strange creatures is the perfect opportunity to explore this theme. So, what happens when Hellboy is given the opportunity to truly belong?

Well, not a whole lot.

Before I get into what I feel is the main failing of this movie, a brief recap is in order; I definitely enjoyed this movie and I don't want to dive too far into the negative so that I lose sight of the positive. The movie opens with Professor Broom, Hellboy's adoptive father, reading a pre-teen Hellboy a bedtime story. The story, of course, is the history of the "Golden Army" of the title and is wonderfully illustrated by what appear to be computer animated wooden dolls. It's a fantastic conceit that captures the imagination and is much preferable to the overwrought narration that could have been used. We learn that the Golden Army was created by the goblins for use by the elven king in their war against the humans. The army, controlled by a crown, is unstoppable, indestructible, and unbeatable, so much so that the elven king regrets his decision and arranges a peace treaty, breaking the crown into three pieces, giving one to the humans and keeping the other two with the elves.

It is abundantly clear from this opening that the recovery of these three pieces will be the central plot of the movie. Unfortunately, the opening also blatantly foreshadows the conclusion. The crown must be worn by someone with royal blood and only works as long as no one challenges his right to rule. Obviously, the army will be stopped by someone challenging the crown-bearer's right to rule. If it wasn't for the fact that this led to a fantastic fight scene in the climax of the movie, I would be very disappointed.

The opening also introduces our villain: the bad-ass elven warrior, Prince Nuada. Kudos to director Guillermo del Toro for avoiding Tolkien-esque clichés in creating his elves, as they are very distinctive in appearance. Del Toro clearly has a way with mythical creatures (see Pan's Labyrinth; seriously, go see it) and the various monsters populating the world of Hellboy II are brilliantly conceived and are a visual feast. Much of the credit should also go to Sammy Sheldon, whose costume designs are wonderful.

Luke Goss puts together a wonderful performance as Prince Nuada, but, unfortunately, Nuada never quite materializes as the sympathetic villain he was meant to be, which is the cause of my main issue with the film. Nuada feels that the treaty between the elves and humans was a terrible idea, as the humans have done nothing but destroy the earth, including the forests that are meant to be the homes of all the mythical creatures. Thus, he intends to reunite the pieces of the crown, take control of the Golden Army, and destroy the human world. Ta-da! We have a villain!

His motivations are, of course, entirely noble and right in his own eyes. In bits and pieces throughout the film we see that the world of monsters and mythological creatures has been reduced and confined by the advancement of mankind and his cities. Nuada sees himself as the saviour of the "people" and that his actions are just. Unfortunately, none of the other fantastical creatures seem to agree with him. When he kills his father, the king, to reclaim one of the three pieces of the crown, there's a general buzz about the room, but no one leaps to the king's aid other than his guards (who are consequently killed in a stunning display of bad-assery by Prince Nuada himself). No one leaps to join Nuada either. Rather than leading a rebel uprising or an army of similarly-minded creatures of myth, Nuada apparently goes into hiding and is next seen all alone tinkering away on a golden egg, which turns out to enclose an elemental or forest god. Which he then uses as a weapon.

This is exactly my issue with Hellboy II. Nuada's only real follower is Wink, a large troll-like creature with a mechanical gauntlet on his right hand that rivals Hellboy's massive mitt. He doesn't lead an uprising against the human world; he's a lone gunman. Indeed, he uses some of the mythical creatures as weapons, such as the forest god and the tooth fairies that Nuada buys and subsequently starves to make them extra hungry and vicious. He is hardly a hero of the "people" and clearly does not represent the monsters in any way. The only other monsters that Hellboy and his pals meet are either afraid to say anything about Nuada or are against him, such as his twin sister Princess Nuala and the no-legged goblin that created the Golden Army in the first place.

So, when Hellboy is presented with the choice of joining Prince Nuada and his fellow creatures of myth against the humans, it's a false dilemma. Nuada presents his offer after Hellboy and his friends have been in the Troll Market, a market bazaar hidden beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Surrounded by monsters and mythical creatures, Hellboy expresses his joy at the fact that no one is staring at him and making him feel out of place. Clearly the intention is to show that Hellboy would love to be a part of such a community. As they escape the Troll Market after killing Wink, Nuada sics his forest god on Hellboy and the rest of New York. Hellboy climbs up the side of a building to gain the higher ground on the several-story tall plant elemental, and is met at the top of the building by Prince Nuada, who apparently has the magical ability to suddenly appear wherever the plot needs him. Nuada attempts to tempt him over to his side, explaining that the forest god that Hellboy is so thoughtlessly shooting (apparently forest god's have one fatal weakness: bullets) is a beautiful, noble creature that is the last of its kind.

This would have been a wonderful argument, except for the fact that Nuada had just ordered this beautiful, noble creature to kill Hellboy, placing the beautiful, noble creature in harm's way. Congratulations, Nuada, you just sent a forest god to its death. Way to cause their extinction.

Because Nuada is so obviously a villain, the choice that Hellboy must make between humanity and monstrosity is never realized, leaving Hellboy with no significant character arc. The choice is just too easy. At least in the first movie, he had to make a significant choice: cause the apocalypse, thereby saving the woman he loves, or save the world. Here, his only significant choice is whether to punch the bad guy or shoot the bad guy. There is a sub-plot dealing with his relationship with the pyrokinetic Liz Sherman, but it's ordinary and predictable. Does Hellboy care more about Liz or more about everyone else? Gee, I wonder what his answer will be...

In any case, all of this would be less frustrating if it wasn't so clear that it was meant to be a tough decision. Nuada is constantly portrayed as being a sympathetic character (even when he clearly isn't) and Hellboy is rebuffed by the humanity that he so desperately wants to be a part of. After saving the city from the forest god, the bystanders get predictably angry at Hellboy and he's hit by a thrown rock/bottle/some other projectile, which somehow manages to cut him, despite the fact that he was just punched numerous times by a metal fist causing no bruising or lacerations. At the same time, the movie goes out of its way to portray Hellboy's humanity, specifically in a wonderful scene where he and Abe Sapien, his Icthian friend, get thoroughly drunk and talk about their problems with women. It's a hilarious scene that clearly shows how close to being human they really are. It's really too bad that this was never turned into a legitimate conflict.

Fortunately, Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman both have their own significant choices to make. Abe falls for the lovely Princess Nuala, a fellow telepath, and must choose whether or not to give Prince Nuada the final piece of the crown in return for her safety. Unfortunately, he makes his decision based on love rather than reason and almost destroys the world. I'll blame residual amounts of alcohol in his system as well as plot for that decision. Liz also chooses love when her choice comes around; she's informed by Guillermo del Toro's creepy stand-in for the angel of death that Hellboy is destined to bring about the apocalypse and wonders whether she still wants to save his life knowing his destiny. Of course, she's pregnant with twins, so that may have affected her decision as well. She would rather have her children raised in a post-apocalyptic landscape than grow up without a father. Fair enough.

Beyond the missed opportunities to make Nuada a well-rounded and sympathetic villain and present Hellboy with a legitimately serious character choice, the movie is fantastic. I especially appreciated the fight scenes, which eschew hand-held, crazy jump-cuts (favoured by so many modern action films) for clearly shot and beautifully choreographed duels. The closing battle between Hellboy and Prince Nuada is especially brilliant; Nuada leaps and flips around effortlessly while Hellboy attempts to keep up, swinging his massive right fist. It's a beautifully shot scene in an intriguing setting; the giant gears that take up a portion of the room are well-used and make for more than just eye-candy. The battle ends, of course, as everyone knew it would as soon as they found out that Nuada and Nuala are so connected as twins that they share injuries as well. Princess Nuala stabs herself in the heart, killing them both. While predictable, it's still a poignant scene, as Abe Sapien races to her side and shares one last telepathic link with her before she dies.

While it's a missed opportunity, the film is still good summer blockbuster fun, with a large helping of the creativity and innovation that most summer blockbusters lack. The strange creatures populating the hidden fantasy world are worth the price of admission alone. The fight scenes and great sense of humour make this an even better deal. Guillermo del Toro continues to improve as a director; I just wish his English-language films were as intriguing and in-depth as his Spanish-language films. After the strange fairytale of Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy II just wasn't as fulfilling.