Hellboy 2

I should start this post off with a confession. I haven’t seen Pan’s Labyrinth yet. It’s on my ‘to watch’ list but I just haven’t got round to it. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it based on the fact that everyone else who has seen it has told me I will.

However, I’m equally sure that it’s not going to be as easy to watch as, say, Die Hard 4, which my brother and I watched on this Saturday while recovering from our Friday induced hangovers. A film like Pan’s Labyrinth is obviously going to require a little concentration and effort to watch and not just because of the subtitles.

Fortunately for me, Guillermo del Toro doesn’t just make films that require me to really concentrate. A lot of his films can just be enjoyed as popcorn fodder such as the very enjoyable Hellboy, the sequel to which I went to see this weekend.

Del Torro has become the man of the moment when it comes to creating fantasy worlds on film. I’m anxious to see what he has in store for us with the Hobbit over the next few years. However, while all of his films are visually stunning, they aren’t necessarily all good, with Blade 2 immediately springing to mind.

Unfortunately I was reminded of this disappointing sequel within ten minutes of the start of Hellboy 2. It was with no small sense of déjà vu that I observed Luke Goss playing the role of an immortal prince with daddy issues trying to wage war on humanity. Luke may play this role very well but I was a little surprised to see him doing it twice.

Fortunately this is where the similarities between the two films end and I was able to enjoy a good, and very pretty, comic book movie. Ron Pearlman is once again enjoyable as Hellboy who is well supported by the likes of Selma Blair and the very funny Jeffrey Tambor.

Unfortunately I did leave the cinema feeling a little underwhelmed as the film didn’t quite meet my expectations. However, I’m not going to blame Del Torro for this. In fact it was all my fault. The film had been given a great deal of hype in recent months and I think I became caught up in that. I was expecting the brilliance I have been promised from Pan’s Labyrinth in a film about a cigar smoking, wise-cracking, hell demon who is trying to save the world.

If you like comic book movies you’ll probably like this. Just don’t go expecting anything more than that or you might be disappointed.