
Moving toward Hellboy III

Hellboy I set the stage, taking off from the comics, and Hellboy II continues it, under the direction of Guillermo del Toro and enhanced special effects and an even better story than Hellboy I.
This time out Hellboy, played to perfection by Ron Perlman, is having family problems. Life with a partner is never perfect, even for realistic comic characters. Despite the overall strangeness of the situation, viewers quickly adapt and accept that this is a world where the rules are slightly different than the one they're used to. Then it's up to the characters, the plot, and the director to make it realistic and compelling.
Del Toro, Perlman, and Doug Jones and Selma Blair all add to the believability of an unbelievable situation, reflecting back to ancient mythology, yet keeping a tenuous hold on present day reality as well.
There is plenty of action, of course, and that plus the special effects is all that attracts a certain kind of viewer with an adolescent mind-set, but there is also plenty of character development, which is what causes the more mature, reflective viewer to return to the picture and continue to find new areas of interest.
It is like the difference between the viewer who immediately turns the picture off (or leaves the theater) as soon as the credits start and has few comments other than "cool effects" and the one who wants to see who the cast and crew were, where the picture was shot, who was the director, and later what the influences were and what philosophical points can be garnered from reflecting on it.
Hellboy II offers plenty for both, and should be headed toward an even better conclusion to the trilogy that will hopefully include Hellboy III.
Review ID: 10000000010011865

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