100 Greatest Superhero Stories Ever
By Steve Lam
Image Courtesy of Revolution Studios
#58. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Medium
Live-Action Feature Film
Release Date
July 11, 2008
Credits
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writers: Guillermo del Toro (Story and Screenplay), Mike Mignola (Story)
Cast: Ron Perlman as Hellboy, Selma Blair as Liz Sherman, Doug Jones as Abe Sapien, John Alexander and James Dodd as Johann Krauss, Luke Goss as Prince Nuada Silverlance, Anna Walton as Princess Nuala, Jeffrey Tambor as Tom Manning, John Hurt as Trevor Bruttenholm, Brian Steele as Mr. Wink / Cathedral Head / Fragglewump / Cronie Troll, Roy Dotrice as King Balor
The Reason It’s Great
Director Guillermo del Toro continues his wild visuals from Hellboy (which also made it to our list) in this exciting, beautifully crafted sequel. With imaginative monsters and a continuation of the titular character’s personal growth, Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a perfect blend of fantasy and superhero storytelling.
In ancient times, an elven king named Balor creates a Golden Army to fight against humans and their greed. After being overcome with guilt from the war’s devastation, Balor brokers a truce with the humans. The crown which controlled the Golden Army is broken into three pieces, with one piece going to the humans and the other two to the elves.
In the present day, Balor’s son, Prince Nuada, seeks to combine the pieces of the crown and take control of the Golden Army. He’s able to attain two pieces, but his twin sister, Princess Nuala, escapes with the third. Nuala is eventually found by Abe Sapien and brought to the BPRD for protection. Unknown to the team, Nuada uses his psychic connection with Nuala and finds her.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army is Guillermo del Toro at his finest. It’s a conglomeration of bizarre creatures and strange landscapes. The opening prologue itself is a work of art that can give Tim Burton’s famous claymation visuals a run for it’s money. This is one of those rare cases where the sequel lives up to the original.