RON PERLMAN - MOVIE REVIEWS: HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN ARMY

Comic books make another return to the movie theaters this weekend, with Hellboy 2: The Golden Army , starring Ron Perlman and directed by Guillermo del Toro making its debut in previews at midnight tonight (Thursday). Early reviews are mostly positive. Roger Moore, writing in the Orlando Sentinel , calls the film "a visually striking, mildly amusing way to kill a couple of hours." Likewise, Claudia Puig in USA Today writes, "This Hellboy sequel is a quintessential summer movie that delivers plenty of inventive thrills." Peter Hartlaub in the San Francisco Chronicle says that del Toro "gets the tone right throughout H ellboy 2 , and the hip retro charm alone is enough to merit recommendation." But writing for the McClatchy newspapers, Fresno Bee film critic Rick Bentley, while clearly impressed with del Toro's past work (including the critically praised Pan's Labyrinth ) concludes: "Sadly, Hellboy II is visual overkill. It is like trying to see every display in the Louvre in just over two hours. There is no time to enjoy the work. That's criminal. This movie is full of imaginative creations that will be missed if you blink."

10/07/2008