Synopsis:

An ancient truce between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken and Hell on earth is ready to erupt.  It is up to the planet's toughest superhero, Hellboy, to battle the evil that is coming.  The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense team will travel between the surface world and the unseen magical one, where creatures of fantasy become reality.  Hellboy, a creature of two worlds who is accepted by neither, must choose between the life he knows and an unknown destiny that beckons him.

The Freak's Rating: C+ : Whenever a film comes along like Hellboy 2, it initiates conversation and sometimes debate between comic fans.  Some see it opening night while some have never read one of the comics, dismissing it as a crazy concept.  Hellboy is a crazy concept; that is for sure.  Near the end of Hitler's reign over much of Europe in the 1940's, a top scientist under his employ discovered a portal between the human world and a fantasy world.  Allied forces attacked the lab and as the scientist tossed an explosive device towards the portal hoping to destroy the machine, one creature hopped through.  This creature was a young boy with horns and a tail, nicknamed Hellboy by the military unit that discovered him and kept as a harmless pet turned adopted child, sheltered from the media and the public.

Every superhero film must have a hint of believability to be intriguing, and Hellboy in my opinion loses in this category.  Depending upon which conspiracy theories you believe, Hellboy would either be whisked away ala Area 51 or shot on site as our soldiers feared for their lives.  You must always suspend disbelief or you'll hate every film, so I swallowed this lumpy plotline pill and moved along.

Hellboy 2 is plastered with Guillermo Del Toro's name on every publicity still, every poster and no doubt soon every DVD/Blu Ray case.  This is done for good reason, as Hellboy 2 reeks of his style.  Del Toro has had a couple hits as of late, with The Orphanage and Pan's Labyrinth.  J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is his next foray and I can't wait to see what he does with it.  Del Toro has an amazing ability to make anything on screen beautiful.  Hellboy 2 is not an exception.  Cinematography is fantastic in this picture.  The storybook by the production team would be fascinating to see.  Scenes are laid out beautifully and lighting is perfect.  The picture is primarily dark, and the feel is captured well.  Opening credits are extremely cool, in typical Del Toro fashion.  The man just flat out knows what he is doing with the production of a picture and though a couple times the artistic talent is a little over the top, for the most part you just sit back and absorb the journey he takes you on cinematically.

I have never enjoyed Ron Perlman as a superhero.  For me the guy just doesn't have enough balls to play the tough guy.  Perlman is 58 years old, and though not as pathetic as Harrison Ford's turn in Indiana Jones 4, this one is getting almost as unbelievable.  Selma Blair is consistent with her monotone performance as Hellboy's love interest, Liz.  Sporting all the sexuality of a baked potato, Blair can't convince me she is anything but normal looking.  Even on fire (her character's ability), she is still not hot.  Acting by the Prince (Luke Goss) and Princess (Anna Walton) is surprisingly strong as supporting characters, but all others in the cast, minus the always funny Jeffrey Tambor, are mediocre in delivery and instantly forgettable.

CGI is a tad overdone in parts, but extremely well utilized during the creation of the "tooth fairies".  These little creatures are well designed and displayed, especially in a regeneration scene in the film.  Blending of the CGI with live action is more of a 80/20 split leaning towards CGI, which is a little heavy for some filmgoers.

The script for Hellboy 2 is full of holes and logical inconsistency.  But Hellboy 2 wasn't made for its script.  It was made for Del Toro, and more accurately speaking it was made because of Del Toro.  Had Guillermo not had the success he has enjoyed over his last few films, the Hellboy franchise would most likely have faded off into the darkness or picked up a mediocre director to drive sequels to a straight to video debut.  Fans of Del Toro will enjoy the display he has put on as it truly is beautiful to see.  Comic fans of the original Hellboy series will enjoy seeing Red destroy everything in site.  The biggest flaw in the picture is the inability to be a crossover hit, like Iron Man or even The Incredible Hulk.  After either of those pictures, I didn't feel I needed to have read the comic book to enjoy them.  After Hellboy 2, I felt left behind on some of the characters.  Fans of the first will enjoy it, for the rest you may want to brush up on Hellboy history before tripping to the multiplex.

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