After reading the Hellboy 2 article in the latest Wizard Magazine, I am way beyond pumped for this movie. I really am doing backflips over Del Toro’s involvement and “Pan’s Labyrinth” influence. However, I stop to think about all the die hard Hellboy fan’s that might not be too happy. This flick will have creatures and awesomeness right down to the last still image on the reel, that’s for sure. What this flick seems to be lacking though as far as I can tell is Hellboy as we’ve come to know and love it. The solomn adventures of Big Red mixed with the witty bitterness and lonely inner thoughts are not to be found here. Sure, not many people would see a movie about the solo adventures of a wandering beast who plays cards with ghost pirates. I know there must be a selling point. 

In this pictureplay, Hellboy and Abe seem to be in love as Johann tries to take over the leader role of the team.Uh…wait a minute. When has there been love this heavy in the Helliverse? I can’t recall. However, be prepared to see it on the screen. Big Red and Liz will have their differences explored as they try to retain their relationship and deal with Hellboy “going public.” So far this sounds like the Odd Couple. He’s messy and egotistical. She’s a neat freak who loves the being vegetarian. Let’s see how they remain together. Meh. No thanks. I’m sure it will be done well but that’s just not what we want.

One thing this flick really has me going crazy over The Golden Army is the intentional Jack Kirby nod Del Toro placed in this movie. Awesome! The tentacle creature we see Hellboy fighting on the neon sign is supposed to be a throw back to Fantastic Four. We’ll have to see how that plays out. This feature is not for hard core HB fans. I guess the first flick really wasn’t either. However, you will catch me in the theaters probably 3 times for this movie. Del Toro is one of a kind. With Jim Henson gone, Del Toro really fills that void for me. And that is worth every advance they- he and Mignola had to take to bring this to the big screen. Count me in.