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We seem to be having a good Summer for movies. The usual mindless explosion movies have been replaced with well-made, finely crafted blockbusters, and we've even had a masterpiece roll our way last month in Wall-E.
Now, the hits keep on rolling with Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
Hellboy part deux pretty much picks up where the last one left off, and the trailers have told you pretty much everything you need to know about the film's premise, so I'm gonna skip that part of the review. What I will tell you is that our good movie season has yet to be spoiled. Hellboy II kicks just as much ***, if not more than the last one.
Don't let the Power-Rangers quality make-up work fool you. This movie is visually stunning from start to finish. The set design is some of the best I've seen in recent years, and the special effects are very fancy, but never fall into generic Hollywood glitter. Hellboy II has a visual style that is hard to explain. Think "Pan's Labyrinth" if it were a big-budget action movie. That means when the action starts, the movie's cool style adds to the already large ooooh and ahhhh factor.
If you remember enjoying a few laughs in the first Hellboy, this installment won't disappoint you either. Hellboy has nearly twice as many one-liners, and some situations are clearly played for laughs, but never seem out of place. However, even though the characters are adequately developed, they're never really feel authentic. This is a live-action comic book from start to finish.
Overall, if you're looking for one more movie to hold you over until "The Dark Knight" opens this weekend, make it this one.
8.8/10
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