There has always been a fascination with superheroes. They provide an outlet for a normal person’s imagination to picture a representation of himself or herself, armed with their secretly longed-for ability and facing life’s difficulties. Thus, the invincible Superman in the 1930’s gradually shifted into 2001’s Spiderman, a teenager faced with not only the social difficulty but also the challenge of his powers.

This trend is sadly, common for most superhero movies, however different the characters are or however spectacular the CGI promises to be. Whether it be a conflicted teenage mutant facing her powers and their conflict with her relationship (Rogue in X-Men), or a secure adult suddenly faced with a nigh-insurmountable condition (Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk), superheroes always seem to be the same.

Within the past few weeks, two superhero films were released that had to face this challenge, and, in fact, their marketing almost specifically targeted the traditional superhero archetype.

The first was Hancock, a Will Smith film that promised to give an interesting premise: the only superhero in the world is a reclusive, angry, bitter drunk, and has to learn how to refurbish his image and turn his life around. The second was Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, where an unlikely superhero — a demon — had to face his differences from the human world that he protected, and his own destiny.

I will attempt to keep my personal preferences for movies out of the picture, and rather examine these films on their own merits. I generally split the critique of films into four sections: acting, writing, directing, and sheer awesomeness. The last criteria allows for anyone to split their preferences amicably, and also for me to indulge my love for BAMFs like Robert Downey Jr.

Hancock
The acting in this film is uniformly decent - Charlize Theron is pretty and concerned, Jason Bateman is outgoing and honest, etc. There are no standout, especially amazing performances. Will Smith, I have to admit it, is better than a mere decent. He does an understated and admirable job of capturing a man who is utterly alone in the world. The writing (which includes the plot, obviously) is also decent. Enough wittiness, enough trademark Will Smith charm, enough sizzle to keep it bright. However, sadly, there is something terribly wrong with the plot. The first half or three-fifths of the film carry through with the trailer’s premise. A twist that I cannot reveal, in order to not ruin the film for those who have not seen it yet, transform this pleasing, original concept into a traditional, conflicted superhero who has to face life’s difficulties. Granted, it is an almost-completely new set of difficulties, but it still reeks of the overused crises that were covered in Spiderman 2. The directing is halfway decent, inasmuch as there is a coherent film narrative and ordinary special-effects. Nothing extraordinary. For sheer awesomeness, this film relies on Will Smith’s charm. That is its main strength…and also its main weakness.

Three out of five stars.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Before I say another word, I have to admit that I am prejudiced in favor of any of the director’s, Guillermo del Toro, work (the director of Hellboy 2 and Pan’s Labyrinth) because he combines visual spectacle, humor, action, and magical realism into an appealing bundle. However, I will try to restrain myself from obvious prejudice.

The acting in Hellboy 2 is also decently plain. Selma Blair is suitably emotional, Ron Perlman embodies the red, cigar-chomping superhero who just happens to be fighting a mission at odds with his nature. Doug Jones is the standout of the film; encased in physically restricting full-body makeup as Abe Sapien, he captures an emotional, wiry, hilarious and touching performance all at once. The central conflict of the film is the same as the first, so I do not believe I am betraying any plot twists when I say that the basic premise of the Hellboy films is that Hellboy is an utterly alien creature to earth and humanity. And he protects those who ultimately despise him. And I do not mean the pseudo-despise as pictured in Spider-man 2, where Spider-man momentarily faces a crisis wherein the people of New York don’t like him. No, Hellboy is actually despised by humanity. And this is where Hellboy does depart from the traditional trend of superhero films. Whereas most superhero films project the image that superheroes are just like us, Hellboy is alien, different, with a horrible destiny, and he is not one of us. It’s the story of a different species.

The writing is more than decent, with one-liners, an admittedly convoluted plot, and a few character-building though somewhat odd moments. Hellboy 2’s weakest point is its penchant for combining dark tragedy and humor too closely together…to my taste, it is all right, for others, it may be too disturbing a cocktail. The directing is again, more than decent, and this ties in the sheer awesomeness factor. Guillermo Del Toro serves up possibly the most potent combination of visual imagination and incredible CGI that I have ever seen. The magical-occult-mythological mix of legend and faerie that serves as Hellboy’s background is captured in a tantalizing brew of trolls and ogres and spidery creatures and fantastic settings in lower Manhattan, believe it or not. That is one of the film’s greatest strengths.

Four out of five stars

So, in summary, are they both decent films?

Yes. Hellboy 2 is better than Hancock. If you enjoy some decent popcorn thrills and humor, then both films are for you. If you are looking for some different humor and thrills than the traditional run-of-the-mill superhero flick, traipse over to the Hellboy 2 screen. I believe you will not be disappointed.