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I’ve just finished watching Hellboy II: the Golden Army, and it was satisfying. The main reason why it was satisfying was because it was shiny as fuck. Guillermo Del Toro knows pretty imagery, and isn’t afraid to use it and use it and use it some more until you choke on the sheer overload of pretty. Still, not every pretty movie makes a satisfying movie. The second reason why Hellboy II falls in the enjoyable category is also quite simple. The bad guy rocked.

Now there are two types of ‘good’ bad guys. There’s either the guy you understand completely, and there’s the guy you don’t understand at all. Hellboy’s Nuada was understandable. I mean, hey… His father is letting the filthy hoo-mans destroy the world, and for what? Parking lots and shopping malls? Give Nuada some spots on the apples, but leave him the birds and the bees. Anyway… Understandable. Dying breed, fighting for the survival of his kind. Maybe he’s not going about it the way we would, but we can definitely understand why he’s miffed at humankind. And that makes him a good bad guy, because you sympathise with him. Decent acting also helps his case a lot.

The same actor is actually the reason why I liked Blade 2. God knows Wesley Snipes had very little do to with my enjoying that movie. No, Luke Goss made sure that Nomak was understandable. Even if the jaw thing was icky. Here was a man cast aside by his father, suffering from a terrible hunger from which there was no relief. His anger was understandable. When he finally embraces his end, you can feel his relief. Probably the best moment in that movie. Also directed by Guillermo del Toro, which makes me wonder if we’ll see more of Luke Goss in his movies. I like that thought.

Of course there are scores of good bad guys to be had. Christopher Walken, John Malkovic, Willem Dafoe, just to name a few. And there are also some people who should give up playing the bad guy, because they fail at it. Sorry, Morgan Freeman. You know I like you, but you make a shitty villain.