HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

For centuries, humans have lived a truce with the elf people, but Nuada, the prince of the fantasy kingdom, is determined to break this truce and to do so, he must seize the two parts of a crown that would make him capable of controlling the indestructible golden army. Hellboy and his colleagues from the Department for Paranormal Research and Defense learn of the apocalyptic plan of Prince Nuada and will have to venture into the labyrinths of the fantasy kingdom to prevent the army of massive golden robots from being awakened and wiping out humanity. International press has now dubbed Guillermo Del Toro the "visionary": Del Toro will be remembered as a visionary director. But isn't that reductive? All the films that this brilliant Mexican author has directed so far are a piece of a huge mosaic (not yet complete) that describes with imagination and intelligence a universe parallel to ours, in which fairy-tale characters, humans, and historical knowledge of politics coexist and intertwine continuously. His cinema is a huge freak show composed of millennial vampires, mutant cockroaches, fauns, orcs, and devils with planed horns that feel a bit human. A circus of wonders and horrors that is continually balanced between citational horror, virtuosic action, and black fairy tale for adults. "Hellboy - The Golden Army" arrives four years after the very successful first chapter and, although it does not reach the peak of its predecessor, it carries within it all the authorial personality of Del Toro, blending it with great skill with the language of the Hollywood blockbuster. This second adventure of the devil with the stone fist is an incursion into the territories of pure fantasy, where the pale horrific accents suggested by the Lovecraftian atmospheres of the first film are here completely replaced by European folklore and the fairy-tale imagery so dear to the director of "Pan's Labyrinth". Hellboy and his friends Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman find themselves having to face creatures that seem to come straight out of the director's previous film ("Pan's Labyrinth", precisely) but fortunately, the work does not limit itself to a complacent display of visual style and imaginative suggestions (the risk was great) and "Hellboy - The Golden Army" carries within it the genes of at least four different cinematic genres. There is fantasy, which represents the predominant component, but there is also the action provided by spectacular and beautifully choreographed combat scenes, the melodrama that arises from the romantic relationships between the characters, comedy. Perhaps it is the comedy component that sometimes proves excessively present, even when not requested, capable of delivering absolutely successful scenes and others definitely more gratuitous. Although it does not present a particularly "sophisticated" screenplay, "Hellboy - The Golden Army" has the great merit of managing to deepen characters that would hardly be taken seriously. Thus, the likable Hellboy (played by the talented Ron Perlman) is always ready to break the rules to seek a bit of human warmth from a potential crowd of fans, but at his own expense, he realizes that he is considered a monster, a different one assimilable to the creatures he himself fights rather than the humans he has protected for years. In this second chapter, that inner conflict and awareness of his demonic nature begin to emerge in the character, which could serve as a pivot for a potential third chapter. Moreover, more space and depth are given to the singular character of Abe Sapien (again played by the chameleonic Doug Jones), the sensitive amphibian who represents the "brain" of the Department for Paranormal Research and Defense, here more "human" than in the previous film and shown dealing with romantic problems. One would have expected greater prominence for the character of the incendiary Liz Sherman, now capable of controlling her powers, and for the villain Prince Nuada who, despite the excellent performance of the actors who portray them (Selma Blair and Luke Goss), appear a bit marginal in the overall work. The great protagonists of the film are the monsters, the freaks that Del Toro loves so much, here splendidly realized by stunning old-style special effects (sometimes mixed with computer graphics) and capable of supporting a film of over two hours without making it seem grotesque or causing the viewer to become alienated. As you will have understood, "Hellboy - The Golden Army" shares little or nothing with horror, and thus, as in the case of the first film, do not expect scenes of tension or bloodshed, but this does not mean that the ultimate horror cinema fan cannot appreciate this opulent fairy tale for adults, confirmation of the talent of one of the most established "young" contemporary directors.