Hell of a letdown

So you want to be a filmmaker, but you’re not big on character-driven stories or developing conflict?

Then you should take a page out of Guillermo del Toro’s book and create a multi-layered world with unique creature designs and a plot that shows off your hard work. Whatever his previous films (“Pan’s Labyrinth” and the first “Hellboy”) lacked in depth or structure was made up for by the fact that they looked like nothing that came before them.

Unfortunately for “Hellboy II,” the novelty of del Toro’s world has worn off. And now he’s forced to make his characters grow up a little, a task they’re about as well suited for as a beauty pageant.

Not saying they should be prettier, but there’s more to characterization than giving your players six inches of latex paint to act through.

Hellboy was established in the first film with layered contrast to his surroundings, making him a compelling protagonist. In the sequel, he’s pitched more conflicts than he can swing at: romance, responsibility, definition of life, self-identification with humans rather than his own kind. The plot moves from problem to problem without any of them being addressed, let alone solved. The supporting cast is quirky but without depth, and even Seth MacFarlane with his “Family Guy” fame cannot breathe comedy into the film.

But if you like action flicks where swords are twirled an inordinate amount of times, by no means should you miss this one. However, don’t look to the elves in this movie for any Hugo Weaving/Cate Blanchett acting.

To say the brother-sister pair is overdramatic would be giving soap stars everywhere a low ball. And if you’re the kind of person who keeps wondering aloud “Why the characters don’t just … ?” only to have them take your advice 20 minutes too late, the film might provide more frustration for you than it’s worth.

To its credit, many of the fights were clever and entertaining, and the special effects were nothing to sneer at. But it’s almost redundant to compliment special effects anymore unless they’re truly groundbreaking. Besides, like dates, movies can’t just look good; they’ve got to have brains, too.