With ‘Hellboy II,’ del Toro improves on the franchise

In theaters

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY, directed by Guillermo del Toro, written by del Toro and Mike Mignola, 120 minutes, rated PG-13.

Guillermo del Toro’s “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” is that rare sequel that doesn’t feel as if it came only to cash in.

Unlike 2004’s “Hellboy,” which del Toro based on Mike Mignola’s Dark Horse comic book, “Hellboy II” isn’t crammed with so much chaos and disorder that it detracts from the story or the characters. This is a leaner, tighter, more balanced film, with del Toro improving the franchise with inventive action, careful character development and Academy Award-worthy special effects and set design.

Back in the red suit is Ron Perlman as Hellboy, a crimson beast with blunted horns, a right arm the size of a semi, and a big, swinging tail meant to underscore Hellboy’s virility, which apparently is substantial.

At 58, Perlman is perfect for the role. It isn’t every actor who has the necessary wit and charm that can punch through the thickest layers of latex and makeup, but that’s the case here. He makes it look easy, and you know it isn’t.

Mirroring the recent “Hancock,” Hellboy isn’t feeling much love from the locals he’s trying to protect – they can’t stand him in New York. He also isn’t feeling much love from his girlfriend, Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), who has the ability to turn herself into a raging inferno of fire and who is conflicted about whether she should leave the relationship. A plot device complicates matters for Liz, not that she is given much time to think about it.

Working against her, Hellboy and the other members of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense – fishy Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), Johann Krauss (voice of Seth MacFarlane), and their bumbling director, Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) – is Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), who wants to fight to save the planet from the humans actively destroying it.

For this reason alone, his character is given unexpected depth – how can audiences fully despise a villain with such noble intentions? It’s difficult, which offers the movie its satisfying twist. In order to fight mankind, Nuada must join together three pieces of a crown that will bring back to life the indestructible yet dormant Golden Army. Since his twin sister, Nuala (Anna Walton), isn’t willing to let that happen by giving up her piece of the crown, a line is drawn, a war begins, and all involved gather to battle it.

Mirroring the director’s last movie, the darker “Pan’s Labyrinth,” del Toro’s latest suggests an imagination that feels almost restricted by the boundaries of the screen, which barely can contain it. There are scenes in this film that obviously are inspired by “Star Wars,” specifically the fantastic Troll Market creatures living beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, but del Toro creates a new plateau by jacking it all into the stratosphere.

Now more than ever, with his confidence soaring right in line with his budgets, the director seems closer to achieving the haunted fairytale nightmare he has been honing since 1993’s “Cronos,” which firmly launched him onto the scene. Indeed, after seeing this movie, few will view the tooth fairy the same way again.

Grade: B+

New (and recommended) on DVD and Blu-ray disc

New to market are four DVDs from Koch Vision that are worth noting, with the best coming down to two documentaries that focus on that current hot spot, China, where the summer Olympics soon will begin.

First up is “Secrets of China’s First Emperor: Tyrant and Visionary,” a brief yet well-done documentary based on the life of Qin Shi Huangdi, who shaped much of that country in the third century B.C. What he left behind is a complex legacy, to say the least. While his reign is stained by his absolute disregard for human life, Qin Shi Huangdi also is responsible for the creation of Xi’an’s staggering army of thousands of terra cotta warriors, and he was the visionary behind China’s Great Wall.

Those interested in the latter should, in fact, consider “China’s Great Wall,” a two-part documentary that explores how the wall was built (in stages), while also dispensing a few myths about it, such as the idea that it can be seen from space. It can’t.

Also available from Koch are “City of Vice,” an entertaining series that follows Henry and John Fielding (Ian McDiarmid, Iain Glen) as they work to carry out the trash (the human sort) from 18th century London, and the sixth season of “McLeod’s Daughters,” with more soapy adventures taking place among the women fighting hardships and finding love in the Australian outback.

Those who prefer their action films served with a measure of drama definitely should turn to Wolfgang Peterson’s 1993 movie, “In the Line of Fire,” which is just out on Blu-ray disc in a great high-definition transfer. The film is one of Clint Eastwood’s best, with the actor cast as Frank Horrigan, a boozy, aging Secret Service agent haunted by a troubling past. When he’s pitted against John Malkovich’s Mitch Leary, a creep eager to take out the president whom Frank is charged to protect, it’s up to Frank to shake off his demons and rise to the challenge. Dylan McDermott and Rene Russo co-star.

For lighter action fare, look to “The Bank Job,” which arrives Tuesday on DVD and Blu-ray disc from Lionsgate, with Jason Statham sporting enough stubble to scrape the metal off a gun. Not that he’d want to do so in this slight, silly heist movie, which turns out to be plenty of fun.

WeekinRewind.com is the site for Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s blog, video podcasts, iTunes portal and archive of hundreds of movie reviews. Smith’s reviews appear Mondays, Fridays and weekends in Lifestyle, as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@

weekinrewind.com.