KATIE BRADFORD

KOURIER-STANDARD
If I was a movie executive
(a.k.a. my wildest dreams),
there are few directors that
I would choose to direct a
fantasy flick over Guillermo
Del Toro.
The only one, perhaps,
that might trump him is
Peter Jackson (Lord of the
Rings), but he seems to be
booked solid these days.
In fact, when Jackson
couldnt direct the upcom-
ing Hobbit film, who took
the reigns? You guessed
it: Oscar nominated Pans
Labyrinth director del Toro.
What makes del Toro such
an excellent director of fan-
tasy films is his experiences
working with prosthetics and
makeup as a younger man.
This experience leads
to films where, similar to
Jackson, many of the magi-
cal creatures are actually
real and standing before you
rather than animated into the
scene later.
Hellboy II is a film close
to del Toros heart, hav-
ing passed up such films as
Harry Potter and the Half-
Blood Prince in order to
complete it, and its prede-
cessor Hellboy (2004).
Might I first mention that
I am already at a disadvan-
tage, having not seen the
first film. This is an issue
mainly because the film
relies heavily on the previ-
ous film for audience com-
prehension, a tactic which
may backfire.
It follows Hellboy (Ron
Perlman) as he and his band
of FBI paranormal investi-
gators they fight all sorts of
strange creatures in secret
(or, at least, they try).
When a prince from an
ancient land named Nuada
(Luke Gross) returns to
wage war against humans
and awaken the unbeatable
Golden Army, the team
bands together with his twin
sister Nuala (Anna Walton)
to stop him from destroying
the human race.
The film also focuses
heavily on the romantic
sidebars between Hellboy
and the fiery Liz Sherman
(Selma Blair), as well as
fish-man Abe (Doug Jones)
and Princess Nuala.
This provides an inter-
esting element of romance
and comedy that, while not
always successful, is greatly
appreciated as a change from
the action between Hellboy
and the scary, yet fantastic,
creatures he faces.
For those like myself
who have not seen the first
Hellboy film, I would rec-
ommend watching it before
the sequel.
Although it is still enter-
taining, those new to the
series will often feel out of
the loop. The flash back of a
young Hellboy at the begin-
ning of the film was excel-
lent, and could have been
used to create more of an
understanding for the audi-
ence.
Overall, the dedication
and understanding that del
Toro possesses for the char-
acter and story is evident.
The film is visually stun-
ning, funny, and generally
entertaining to anyone who
is a fan of the director, the
comic book series, or fan-
tasy films in general.
JULY 18, 2008 - KANATA KOURIER-STANDARD - PAGE 25
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Arts & Entertainment
REEL REVIEWS
Original movie must be seen before watching Hellboy sequel
KATIE BRADFORD
3 OUT OF 5 STARS