Review of Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) by Stevef. — 07 Jul 2008

Director Guillermo Del Toro makes Hellboy II a must-see movie with the heft of his epic, mythic vision. Furthermore, his direction and creativity are such that he turns what would have been a standard, wondrous fantasy world into one that seems everyday in nature, and thus more sublime.

Best art direction and visual effects so far this year. The first Hellboy movie was cartoonish, and was fun and enjoyable mostly due to the curmudgeonly movie namesake. The sequel contains the same fun and some predictable and standard Hollywood shtick and humor, which is handled with class and persuasiveness.

In the end, with what would normally have been a standard fantasy story, our star storyteller, Del Toro, sweeps the movie-goer into his mythic world.