Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with some brief thoughts on Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

I say brief because I just got back from the AICN/Alamo American Teen screening (which was a blast, all the kids being very personable and chatty with an audience that seemed to have an endless supply of questions) and I’m due at the early, early morning brunch with those guys tomorrow before a big 1 on 5 interview. I have to be bright eyed and bushy-tailed if I plan on wooing Ms. Bailey.

So, that gives me about 6 hours of sleep if I can knock out this review in 20-30 minutes. Let’s get to it.

Of course I’m predisposed to love Guillermo Del Toro’s work. Ever since I was a teenager and I saw Cronos for the first time I knew this guy was the real deal and I’ve loved everything he’s put out since, even MIMIC.

But I am a little curious as to some of the buzz going around about how this HELLBOY leaves the first in the dust and how much better it is, more visionary, etc. I agree completely that the world is bigger and taking HB out of the Lovecraftian horror element and putting him smack dab into a fairy tale does separate the film stylistically from the first, but it’s not a sequel that makes you forget the original, for good or ill (good in my case, I dug the original).

Granted, there is a complete focus on the creatures this time out, now human character to be our “eyes.” Del Toro has confidence enough to let us experience this movie through Hellboy, Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman.

But the humor, the make-up, the over-all feeling is very much in sync with the first film, just as Mignola’s character is in sync within different styles in the comic book.

The film opens up with Professor Broom reading to a young Hellboy, telling him the story of The Golden Army. It was great seeing John Hurt back and the make-up on adolescent Hellboy was hilarious. It all led to a great VFX sequence of the background story, but told with digital puppets, like a bunraku theater experience.

One thing that I think makes this film stand out a little bit was the amount of screen time given to Abe Sapien, an incredibly smart move. He’s one of the most interesting characters in the film, both visually and emotionally, especially now that they give him a crush in the form of Anna Walton’s Princess Nuala.

And Doug Jones deserves a specific shout-out here. He not only voices Abe to perfection, but he really knocks the body language out of the park, getting the chance to play drunk as Abe (in probably my favorite scene of the movie) as well as inhabit other creatures such as the awesomely designed Angel of Death. It's really his full work as Abe, though, that deserves the credit. He really is that character now, through and through.

We also get to see more of Hellboy and Liz’s relationship, which has moved on to the next stage where there are constant fights and make-ups. Ron Perlman really makes you feel his love for Liz and the way the two Guillermos (Del Toro and Navarro) film her, you fall in love with her, too… I don’t know if Selma Blair has ever been sexier while not showing off any R-rated or higher body parts.

Our heroes are flawed and so are our villains. You find Hellboy torn between protecting a world that is scared of him and taking his place in a world where he belongs. He’s not a 100% sure which way he’s ultimately going to lean. Then you have Prince Nuada (played by Luke Goss, Nomak himself) who is damn close to executing a plan that will wipe out the human race, who he believes to be greedy and thoughtless animals. But he has good reason to believe that, having been a warrior in the ancient battle in which humans slaughtered many of his people.

He is a noble being, though, believing he is defending the fantastic world in the same way Hellboy is defending the human world that we know.

Lots of grey in this movie, which I love. When characters aren’t black and white it’s not as easy to guess where they’re going, which decisions they’re going to make. In short, that keeps the film interesting.

Not that it needed much help. Visually, Del Toro paints us a beautiful canvas of fairy tale creations. There are hundreds of creatures that you can believe came out of the mind (or creative team) behind The Pale Man and El Fauno. I particularly loved the crazier creatures, like the dude with a cathedral for a head (I’m not kidding).

And Del Toro forced the use of as many animatronics as he could and they show. I love practical effects work and Spectral Motion was in top form here, creating not only characters memorable in design, but also in personality.

Johann Krauss (in suit) specifically. And I love that Seth MacFarlane voiced him. I had no idea until I saw the credits. Del Toro was asked about that during the Q&A and he stuck up for Family Guy, which made me happy. I catch so much shit for liking that show that it’s good to hear some support.

Anyway, the flick’s out today. It’s a fun film, an emotional film and a film that expands upon, but retains the overall feel of, the original.

I have interviews with Mike Mignola, Doug Jones and Guillermo coming to you today and this weekend. Keep an eye out for those!

-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com