Film: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

After learning that Pan's Labyrinth's Guillermo del Toro was to direct Hellboy II I suddenly begun to look forward to the sequel of the 2004 anti-superhero flick. I didn't think much of Hellboy and figured that del Toro's grim yet fantastic imagination would add much needed excitement to the series. What I didn't realise at the time was that he also directed the first film too.

And in fact not much has changed with Hellboy II. Sure there is a lot more fantasy, with weird demons and creatures abound, but the film still manages to merely tick along, generating a few scraps of genuine interest along the way. For example, look out for the breaking of the fourth wall during the auction house scene.

I did enjoy it more than the last film, but since it fails for the same reason I can't bring myself to recommend it other than as part of an evenings DVD viewing. Disappointing.