While I thoroughly enjoyed the idea, and trailers, of Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, I found it just too difficult to become attached to the film itself. Don't get me wrong, I believe Guillermo del Toro did an excellent job with the art direction, as he has proven capable of before (Pan's Labyrinth), the actors did a great job with the script they had to work with, and visually it was far more impressive than the first film, but The Golden Army lacked the action and suspense that we saw the first time around. Extensive dialogue and overuse of comedy really pulled this film down and caused it to lose its focus all too often. In truth, it just didn't feel all that significant by the time the credits began to roll. There was never a point for me where I felt that the situation was in any way hopeless.
Also, while I greatly enjoyed the "villain" of the film, Prince Nuada, he didn't give off the imposing sinister feel of the previous Hellboy antagonist. He seemed more like a disturbed child than a true villain. This was by no means the fault of the actor though, because I honestly felt like the script failed to bring out the strength in most, if not all, of the actors and actresses.
In spite of my disappointment, I am still going to award Hellboy 2: The Golden Army 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5 for it's stunning visuals and imaginative design. Poor writing, extensive dialogue, and lack of true focus really kept this "decent" film from being "great" though. Live and learn I suppose.
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