Hellboy 2 Review

[This was originally going to be entered in a competition, hence the word count of 300. Sadly I missed the deadline by a day, due to stupidity.]

Hellboy was a bad film. It was loud, obnoxious, and stupid – basically it possessed all the characteristics of a summer blockbuster. This being said I went into Hellboy 2 with mixed expectations. The effects look very good, and the world looks fully crafted this time around. Sadly, this is where my praise comes to a halt.

The script is the centre of my concerns, it simply isn't consistent enough. A pun laden superhero film script, or a script with potent subtext and relevance in the real world would have been fine. Both of these have a place within the superhero genre (See The Dark Knight if you disagree with the latter point), however when they are combined; bad things happen.

The script genuinely tries to introduce deadly serious concepts like genocide, and the loss of innocence at various points in the film, however the film simply isn't brave enough to push these ideas to their full potential, and often reverts to obsessing over the intricacies of puns. Puns about genocide just aren't funny.

The acting in Hellboy 2 is as good as it possibly can be. Each of the actors show incredible talent when given the chance. Unfortunately the script is so laden with puns and spontaneous character development (the worst character for this is Krauss, who switches his viewpoint on Hellboy at the end of the film for no reason at all) that no amount of talent can fix it.

Ultimately Hellboy 2 is disappointing because it shows a wealth of acting and directorial talent, hampered only by the script, which shows potential but becomes loud, obnoxious, and stupid. I would say that Hellboy 2 is a good summer blockbuster, however there are far better films on offer at this point in time.

6/10