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Hellboy is not your average superhero. Unlike the others (think Batman, Superman, Spiderman), he actually detests his ‘occupation’ as seen from his wry humour and sarcastic quirks. Yet these are the traits that made him so well-liked when Hellboy first hit the silver-screen in the first installment. Contrary to the first, the sequel - Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) - actually had many fans anticipating excitedly for the official release.

The main prong of the storyline is this – a rogue elven prince openly defies his father’s orders and goes on a crusade to awaken the fearsome, legendary Golden Army to wage war on the human race. Prince Nuada had long held the makeshift truce between the mystical kingdom of his father’s and that of the humans in contempt. He deeply resented the atrocities meted out to the world by humans and their insatiable greed. Hence, he returned from a self-imposed exile to invoke the long-lost mechanical Golden Army, an unstoppable force of destruction. It is up to Hellboy and the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defence (BPRD) to stop his nefarious plans and restore balance to the world.

Other than the main storyline, there exist several sub-plots. The sequel to Hellboy explores romantic relations between some of the major characters. Most significantly, the story develops the relationship between Hellboy and Elizabeth Sherman, with Liz even bearing him children. Another unlikely love-struck character is Abraham Sapien, the aquatic empath who is usually the brains behind BPRD operations. He develops a love interest in Princess Nuala, twin sister of their adversary, Prince Nuada.

This sequel made a marked improvement from the earlier installment in the aspect of variety of creatures. Audiences would be introduced to malicious ‘tooth fairies’, goblins, trolls and all sorts of mythical creatures, borne from the imagination of director Guillermo Del Toro. The myriad of characters would dazzle you, not just by the quantity, but also the intricate details about each of them. My favourite would be the Angel of Death, sporting wings with numerous watchful eyes. You could see much thought had been put into designing such characters.

I must also applaud the performance of Ron Perlman (as Hellboy) and Luke Goss (as Prince Nuada). Ron Perlman was his usual sardonic self which made for heaps of laughter and entertainment with his blatant disregard for authority and sarcastic one-liners. I particularly liked Luke Goss’ portrayal of Prince Nuada. Although scheming and treacherous, the character seemed so convinced that he was doing the right thing. His fearsome demeanor was made all that more fearful, brought forth by the intensity of his iron will to fulfill his aims at all costs. It made me respect Nuada to a certain extent.

As mentioned, this is not a simple comic-book superhero film. Laced with wry humour, I am sure that adults would be highly entertained by this show. Coupled with some above-average visual effects,  Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) would be a good selection at the cinema.

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