Hellboy II: The Golden Army

[Bourne101]

http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/flickr/14/00/002529111400.jpg?x=660&y=660&sig=9YXV75NEv_86hD.WucpQvQ--

Directed by Guillermo del Toro

Written by Guillermo del Toro

Genre: Action/Adventure

Tagline: Believe it or not - he's the good guy

http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/flickr/16/11/002380191611.jpg?x=660&y=660&sig=w0c99WtCdD9ga.dSgIcAwA--

Plot Outline: This summer, elves are the bad guys. Your savior? A giant, red, foul-mouthed, hard-drinking, cigar-smoking, gun-toting demon. In The Golden Army, the world of myth and fantasy is dying, thanks to the unimaginative humans who have abandoned it. So one rebel elf prince decides that rather than go gently into the good night, he's going to unleash the Brothers Grimm version of a nuclear holocaust. It's up to Hellboy, his flame-throwing girlfriend Liz, and the rest of the gang to stop the coming apocalypse.

Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, James Dodd, Seth MacFarlane, John Hurt, and John Alexander

http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/flickr/19/23/002380191923.jpg?x=660&y=660&sig=nEr.a.xpgXkeIL5v_MFszg--

Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some language.

Runtime: 110 minutes

Visually, it looks spectacular, but I don't know if that will be enough. I wasn't a huge fan of the first film, although it was decent. I'll definitely check it out, as I'd like to see how the story carries on, and also because so far it is getting great reviews.

[Homyrrh]

'Hellboy' grabbed a 6.5/10 from me. Meanwhile, del Toro earns a deserving ten for his directorial talents.

Maybe he'll take a page from what worked with his child fairy tales and fix some very apparent flaws from the series' first installment.

Will be there on debut night.

[Homyrrh]

Wait...Seth MacFarlane? Voicing whom?

[Moviefan1234]

I didn't like HELLBOY at all, and this one doesn't really look appealing to me either. I'll pass.

[Homyrrh]

Wow...

100% on RottenTomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hellboy_2_the_golden_army/)

[muttly69]

I'm looking foward to this one more than batman.

[xseanymacx]

Same here but only because, in my mind, Batman can and will not be any less than a 10/10 and certainly will exceed my expectations.

I'll be checking this opening day. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and very much like the Hellboy character.

[pablo_super1!]

This looks really great.

I loved part one and will definetly be seeing part 2 in theaters, though it's kind of sad hat this film is gonna be foreshadowed because of the release of The Dark Knight.

[electriclite]

Wow...

100% on RottenTomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hellboy_2_the_golden_army/)
Its official: This is the best summer ever!

[Bourne101]

Its official: This is the best summer ever!

Pretty much, and it's only going to get better.

[MisterChristian]

Looking forward to Hellboy II :)

Although sandwiched between Hancock and The Dark Knight...ugh. It'll get massacred.

Wait...Seth MacFarlane? Voicing whom?

Johann Krauss

[mutesaint]

Wait.....this is coming out next weekend? SHIT!!!!! SHIT SHIT SHIT. My fucking mother is visiting me. How the hell am I going to get away to see this. Damnit, Ill have to wait till the weekdays. I was waiting for this movie more than DK.

[Homyrrh]

Wait.....this is coming out next weekend? SHIT!!!!! SHIT SHIT SHIT. My fucking mother is visiting me. How the hell am I going to get away to see this. Damnit, Ill have to wait till the weekdays. I was waiting for this movie more than DK.
Weekend? My theaters at least show until past midnight.

[echo_bravo]

I may see this. THe first one was okay.

But I dont think this will make that much money at the boxoffice domestically. I could be waaay wrong though.

[Homyrrh]

I may see this. THe first one was okay.

But I dont think this will make that much money at the boxoffice domestically. I could be waaay wrong though.
It's a bit too different, and I know a lot of people are almost getting "movied-out" with all the incredible releases lately.

[mutesaint]

Weekend? My theaters at least show until past midnight.

Ooooh. Your right. Thursday midnight, before they show up. Hope is not all lost yet.

[detective mills]

I didn't like the first one, but I may check this one out. It looks like it could be better and after Pan's Labyrinth I have more faith in Guillermo Del Toro.

[mutesaint]

I didn't like the first one, but I may check this one out. It looks like it could be better and after Pan's Labyrinth I have more faith in Guillermo Del Toro.

I admitedly didn't like the first one as much for a while. After watching Pan's and going through Del Toro's filmography I gained an appreciation for it I hadn't previously had.

[detective mills]

I admitedly didn't like the first one as much for a while. After watching Pan's and going through Del Toro's filmography I gained an appreciation for it I hadn't previously had.

That may be the case with me as well. I plan to rewatch the original sometime before next friday and I may enjoy it more.

[athf1980]

I love the first Hellboy. This should be no different.

[Cinexcellence]

This should be good.

[Ender]

About damn time. The first HELLBOY was one of the best comic book adaptations of the past eight years, a great mix of two-fisted pulp action, tone-appropriate humor, and surpsingly strong emotional characterization. Sadly, this movie is probably going to have a mediocre box office performance thanks to the poor timing of its release, lost in a glut of summer superhero flicks and having only one week to strut it's stuff before being overshadowed by the box office juggernaut that is THE DARK KNIGHT. A spring release would have been much smarter.

[electriclite]

About damn time. The first HELLBOY was one of the best comic book adaptations of the past eight years, a great mix of two-fisted pulp action, tone-appropriate humor, and surpsingly strong emotional characterization. Sadly, this movie is probably going to have a mediocre box office performance thanks to the poor timing of its release, lost in a glut of summer superhero flicks and having only one week to strut it's stuff before being overshadowed by the box office juggernaut that is THE DARK KNIGHT. A spring release would have been much smarter.
That's why God invented DVD releases :D

[Sigur509]

This movie will be worth seeing just for the eye candy. It doesnt hurt that Del Toro is an amazing director and the first one kicked ass. How many films did he pass up for work on his hellboy films? Dude is very passionate about his work and it shows.

ANyone see him on Jimmy Kimmel? He brought his book/journal that has all his original art work. He has one for each film and they will be released in book form to purchase.

[ilovemovies]

Is it me or does some of the creatures remind me a little too much of Pan's Labyrinth?

Eh. Either way, Del Torro is certainly a very imaginitive filmmaker although I was kind of luke warm on the first one. It was just decent. This one looks more visually stunning if nothing else though.

[JohnLocke2342]

Hellboy was alright in my opinion, nothing that really stuck out to me, and I seem to have forgotten it. I'll be rewatching it before the second one, but I am a big fan of Del Toro (who isn't?) and have missed his last 2 movies in theaters.

Being that The Lord of the Rings are my favorite movies of all-time, I was a bit skeptical with the choice of Del Toro over Jackson for The Hobbit.. but after reading how well they have been callaborating and getting along on the pre-production stuff I'm overly excited to see what they do with it. Hellboy II looks above and beyond most of the copycat shit that comes out in hollywood recently, and I'm pretty excited to check it out.

[Frank the Tank]

I didn't like the first Hellboy, but this just looks amazing from a visual standpoint. The reviews sound great as well. I think I will be checking this out in theaters.

[DareDevil]

I'll see it just because I like movies, and because Del Toro is the shit.

Did that make any sense ?

[corran horn]

With Hancock not performing quite as well as many expected (not badly though), I think there's an opening for HB to show us what he's made of. I think it will definitely outgross its predecessor and approach 100M domestically. Like its predecessor, though, HBII will have a good life on DVD.

[Bourne101]

Hellboy II is going to have a rough go at the box-office. Regardless of WOM, I don't think it will have any legs. I would be extremely surprised if it reached $100 million.

[Mr.HyDe807]

I enjoyed the first one a bit, so i'm down to check this out (just to lend a hand box office wise and because it looks pretty sweet!

[sarah1980]

I love the first Hellboy. This should be no different.

:D

[adamjohnson]

No one has believed me yet when i tell them the first one is actually quite moving.

[corran horn]

No one has believed me yet when i tell them the first one is actually quite moving.

I do. Many parts of it were quite moving.

[corran horn]

Hellboy II is going to have a rough go at the box-office. Regardless of WOM, I don't think it will have any legs. I would be extremely surprised if it reached $100 million.

True, the competition will be rough. However, if it's as good as the reviews say it is, I could see it having some staying power.

[Bourne101]

I could see it having some staying power.

With The Dark Knight, X-Files, Step Brothers, and the Mummy coming out within the two weeks after its release, it's doubtful. It's possible, but for example, two people go to the movies, one asks the other do you want to see The Dark Knight or Hellboy... I think the easy choice is going to be The Dark Knight. Those that are keen to see Hellboy are going to see it on the opening weekend. And with Hancock, Wall-E, Wanted, and two other additions in Meet Dave and Journey to the Center of the Earth, there's less room for skeptics to try to give Hellboy a shot. Also, the first Hellboy had a large drop after its first weekend.

[chinton]

The movie is great. I didnt like the first one but it fixes most of the problems of the first one most notably jettisoning Myers. I do hope it makes money its one of the few great films so far this summer along with Wall E.

Wait til you guys see the Troll Market scene.

[bigred760]

I thought the first one was pretty good, though I haven't seen it in its entirety since the first viewing in theaters. But Ron Perlman kickass in anything he's in, and of course it's hard to go wrong with Guillermo del Toro.

I'll be seeing this one definitely.

[soda]

With Hancock not performing quite as well as many expected (not badly though), I think there's an opening for HB to show us what he's made of. I think it will definitely outgross its predecessor and approach 100M domestically. Like its predecessor, though, HBII will have a good life on DVD.

What constitutes "mediocre" performance, though? According to boxofficemojo, Hancock should make 107 million it's first week, putting it on pace (unless poor WOM causes it to nose-dive) to be the third highest opening this summer (behind only Indy and Iron Man).

Personally, I will be seeing Hellboy next weekend. I thought the first one was "above average", but because it did well financially, and because of the success of Pan's, it seems like the studio gave the director more creative control. Everything I've seen and read about Hellboy 2 says that it's one of the best movies of the summer, quality wise, and I don't think it will disappoint. I would have to agree, FWIW, that approaching 100 million domestically sounds about right. However, I would also say that this movie will surprise people. My Comic book store guy can't stop raving about this movie, and he goes to con every year, so he's seen all the preview footages.

[FireCaptain4]

When I saw Hellboy for the first time, I was thoroughly unimpressed. But I think it's a film that grows on you. I've watched it a handful of times, and with each viewing it gets better. It's just a fun, mindless, but heartfelt film. Even though Hellboy has many monsters in it, the films are all about the human spirit- they are meant to be fun. I give the first film a 6.5 or so, out of 10. The sequel looks even better and GdT is getting to make the film he wanted to this time around.

[Ender]

You know I'm surprised, I would have thought the first HELLBOY would be more popular around here. Although it wasn't without flaws, I think the first flick was really carried both by the incredible performance of Ron Pearlman and by the strength of a script that, while getting bogged down in the plot department, was surprisingly nuanced in its tone.

I was very impressed by the sympathetic and human depiction of the character of Hellboy, particularly his isolation, his insecurity, and the way that his zeal to overcompensate for his nature drives him to error. At the same time, the character is played for laughs, both with broad slapstick comedy and more subtle jabs at his immaturity, but the humor never undermines his vulnerability. Oh, and at the same time, he's fighting Nazis and demons. It's a lot of balls to keep in the air.

I think that when you take Ron Perlman, a (then) 54 year old man who, as much as I love the guy, is essentially just a B-movie actor that the mainstream public is in no way familiar with, and you've got him covered in bodypaint and prosthetics and he's about twenty minutes worth of screentime away from wrestling a giant CGI octopus, and you manage to put him into a truly touching, subtle, but pogniant romantic scene with a woman almost half his age, in which he's completely credible, vulnerable, and empathetic, I mean, that's a damn accomplishment right there.

[MisterTwister]

I really don't understand the hate for the first film. Sure it had some flaws but it was a fun fucking time at the movies none the less.

This sequel looks even better and I can't wait for Friday.

[chinton]

Like I said this film gets rid of Myers who was easily the worst part about the original. Thats a good thing.

[Bourne101]

I really don't understand the hate for the first film. Sure it had some flaws but it was a fun fucking time at the movies none the less.

This sequel looks even better and I can't wait for Friday.

The first one actually didn't receive that much hate. Critics generally liked it (80% on RT, 90% top critics), and general audiences if I remember correctly seemed to like it.

I can't say I was a huge fan of the first. It wasn't bad, but not really my cup of tea. This one looks even a little more "out there" but I will check it out and hopefully it surprises me.

[Homyrrh]

Anyone see the Hellboy II spot on BRAVO where he's on Inside the Actor's studio? Funny stuff.

[electriclite]

Anyone see the Hellboy II spot on BRAVO where he's on Inside the Actor's studio? Funny stuff.

I caught that this morning. Although my favorite has to be the "Characters to Watch" station ID for USA network:


Quiet whisper: "Commando!"

[Ender]

God the theatres are crowded this summer. Three releases on Friday.

[Jig Saw 123]

This film looks artistically beautiful. Del Toro has such an amazing imagination the only problem is the film will be ignored by the hype of The Dark Knight and the second week of Hancock...

[spacemonkey]

Cant wait to see this one on Thursday night!!! Looking forward to it!

I hope this one doesnt get ignored because of TDK, but it most likely will. Or maybe the people who dont get to go to TDK because its sold out, will choose this one as a second option? HOpe so, and I hope they realize what a load of crock Hancock is.

[Strider]

What a terrible week to release this film. I think it's safe to say that it will struggle to make money. It only has one week to show what it's made of at the box-office.

I enjoyed Hellboy myself -- not great, but a solid comic book flick nevertheless. Hellboy II: The Golden Army looks awesome and even better than the first film. Plus, it seems like Guillermo Del Toro had a lot more freedom and control on this one.

I'm looking forward to it.

Strider

[electriclite]

Saw a free screening last night. I think I need to see this one again, cause there's some stuff that hasn't quite processed. But I can say it is funny and most surreal scene involves the song "Can't Smile Without You" and some Tecate beer.



That is all.

[mutesaint]

Saw a free screening last night. I think I need to see this one again, cause there's some stuff that hasn't quite processed. But I can say it is funny and most surreal scene involves the song "Can't Smile Without You" and some Tecate beer.



That is all.

I know I got to see Wall-E a couple of weeks early, but still....I hate you.

:)

[MadMo]

Saw it Tues, 7/8 in Dallas. Great movie. I loved it. I enjoyed HB1, but only so-so. HB2 is so much better and was a blast. This movie felt like the suits were cut out of the loop & GDT was allowed to work his magic.

[Kings-Rook1]

Cant wait to see this one on Thursday night!!! Looking forward to it!

I hope this one doesnt get ignored because of TDK, but it most likely will. Or maybe the people who dont get to go to TDK because its sold out, will choose this one as a second option? HOpe so, and I hope they realize what a load of crock Hancock is.

Amen to that.

[pg13myass]

Glad to hear that HB is getting some love too. I definitely hope it does well since it's opening right before the week of Dark Knight. I loved Hellboy 1. Despite little flaws, it was still a really good adaptation of the comics. I liked how del Toro handled the character and it clearly shows. I'm looking forward to part 2 since it sounds like he was allowed to get loose more this time around.

[MisterTwister]

For those who are interested, BBFC posted the official running time-119 minutes.

[CreeperBEATNGU]

I saw it at a pre-screening last night...oustanding movie, 1000x more epic than the first, a much better performance from Selma Blair, Elfman's score is better than Beltrami's, loaded with great character driven humor, another great villain performance from Luke Goss with some great family drama to it, full of the blend of relateable human allegory and emotion in a fantastical story that makes Del Toro the genius that he is...

My only problem with it was it's too open-ended for a movie that I'm going to have to wait about four years for a follow up to.

[Kings-Rook1]

I saw it at a pre-screening last night...oustanding movie, 1000x more epic than the first, a much better performance from Selma Blair, Elfman's score is better than Beltrami's, loaded with great character driven humor, another great villain performance from Luke Goss with some great family drama to it, full of the blend of relateable human allegory and emotion in a fantastical story that makes Del Toro the genius that he is...

My only problem with it was it's too open-ended for a movie that I'm going to have to wait about four years for a follow up to.

Nice review and thanks. Screw DK and all the fanboy ejaculations; this is the movie I want to see.

[Nazgul]

Nice review and thanks. Screw DK and all the fanboy ejaculations; this is the movie I want to see.

Not me. Even though it looks good, I am still gonna see TDK rather than Hellboy II.

[Kings-Rook1]

Not me. Even though it looks good, I am still gonna see TDK rather than Hellboy II.

Ya ya, trust me we know. Try and keep your TDK love confined to the half dozen threads you guys got going; this ones reserved for Red.

[electriclite]

Would anyone like to read an interview with Ron Perlman (http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/07/ron_perlman_on_hellboy_nicarag.html)?


Yeah I thought so ;)

[soda]

Not me. Even though it looks good, I am still gonna see TDK rather than Hellboy II.

ummmm.....do we have to choose? I'm going to see Hellboy 2 and TDK. I have, however, skipped Hancock.

[Cop No. 633]

ummmm.....do we have to choose? I'm going to see Hellboy 2 and TDK. I have, however, skipped Hancock.

Same here Soda. If there is one thing I can't stand it's superhero flix that are "original" but do nothing more than take ideas from the comics and pawn it as something new. I'll probably never see Hancock and I'm fine with that...

I can't wait for Hellboy 2. We've got Del Toro, Pearlman, Doug Jones, an expanded universe. What more can you want?

[Mr.HyDe807]

I'm checking out the midnight showing tonight, i'm pretty excited!

[Kings-Rook1]

ummmm.....do we have to choose? I'm going to see Hellboy 2 and TDK. I have, however, skipped Hancock.

Ya, I must say I'm definitly going to go see it, and I skipped Hancock as well.

I'm checking out the midnight showing tonight, i'm pretty excited!

I'm 70/30 on seeing it tonight. I'm usually all gung ho till about 10-11pm then my motivation (and energy and sobriety) wanes...gettin old sucks.

[Bourne101]

Probably going to see this tomorrow night. Not really looking forward, but hopefully it will surprise me.

[Badbird]

Ya ya, trust me we know. Try and keep your TDK love confined to the half dozen threads you guys got going; this ones reserved for Red.

No shit. You can't swing a dead cat around here without mopping up a pint of two of Dark Knight jizz. Enough already.

I liked the first Hellboy. It was good, but not great. I think this one looks to really improve on it. Apparently Sony had a lot of restraints they put on the first movie (surprise...), but it seems that Universal gave them much more creative freedom this time around. Sometimes that can be good or bad, but in this case I hope it's good.

And, holy cow, I just found out Ron Pearlman is 58.

58!

So much for Hellboy III with Del Toro doing that stupid Hobbit movie(s) for the next four years.

[CyclicNightmare]

that stupid Hobbit movie(s)
Blasphemy.

[Scarfather]

I'm really digging the ads for this.

Or, the James Lipton one at least. The more real-life cross overs the better (if they're done well).

[Kings-Rook1]

No shit. You can't swing a dead cat around here without mopping up a pint of two of Dark Knight jizz. Enough already.

And, holy cow, I just found out Ron Pearlman is 58.

So much for Hellboy III with Del Toro doing that stupid Hobbit movie(s) for the next four years.

LOL ya, definitely enough already

That’s a sad thought especially after CreeperBEATNGU short and sweat review, "My only problem with it was its too open-ended." I'll have to judge for myself.

[CreeperBEATNGU]

No shit. You can't swing a dead cat around here without mopping up a pint of two of Dark Knight jizz. Enough already.

I liked the first Hellboy. It was good, but not great. I think this one looks to really improve on it. Apparently Sony had a lot of restraints they put on the first movie (surprise...), but it seems that Universal gave them much more creative freedom this time around. Sometimes that can be good or bad, but in this case I hope it's good.

And, holy cow, I just found out Ron Pearlman is 58.

58!

So much for Hellboy III with Del Toro doing that stupid Hobbit movie(s) for the next four years.

I was more blown away when Selma Blair said she was 36...I'm 26 and she doesn't look any older than me.

Perlman sure as hell has some balls starting a superhero franchise at the age he did though.

BTW, TDK does look great and I get chills everytime I see the trailer, but I'm probably one of the only people on the planet that was looking forward to The Incredible Hulk and Hellboy II more.

Hulk is my favorite superhero and I love the first HB and especially Pan's Labyrinth, I was beyond psyched for those two.
I love both HULK and both Hellboy films more than Batman Begins.

I'm still really stoked for the Joker/Batman face-off though.

[Kings-Rook1]

I was more blown away when Selma Blair said she was 36...I'm 26 and she doesn't look any older than me.

Perlman sure as hell has some balls starting a superhero franchise at the age he did though.

BTW, TDK does look great and I get chills everytime I see the trailer, but I'm probably one of the only people on the planet that was looking forward to The Incredible Hulk and Hellboy II more.

Hulk is my favorite superhero and I love the first HB and especially Pan's Labyrinth, I was beyond psyched for those two.
I love both HULK and both Hellboy films more than Batman Begins.

I'm still really stoked for the Joker/Batman face-off though.

Your not the only one. For me it was Ironman and The Golden Army; all the others were just icing on the cake. I'm looking forward to DK as well but Hellboy has got every thing I love in a one stop shop; Crazy mythos, sci-fi fun, otherworldly action, ocult wickedness, demons and kick ass characters. As far as Pearlman goes 58 isn't that old and the man is Red.

Screw the midnight show; all catch a ten-o-clock tomorrow.

[Mr.HyDe807]

I just came back from a midnight showing and i gotta say i was pleasantly surprised how much i enjoyed this movie. This is probably my 2nd favorite summer flick so far (first being Iron Man). I defintiely recommend checking it out if your interested.

8.5/10

P.S- Joann Krauss is fucking gold, and voiced by Seth Mcfarlane no less!:p

[Saint_Vengence]

For anyone who liked the first one like me, i thouht it was a kickass movie but it had kind of a cheesy story behind but all in all a kickass movie

[n_cruz69]

Ok guys, this is my first review for a movie...ever!

I just saw this movie Thursday night, since one of the few weird advantages in Puerto Rico is that we get movie premiers on Thursdays instead of Fridays (weird, I know, but Ill get to see the Dark Knight on the 17th!). Let me start off by saying that while I enjoyed the first Hellboy film, I didn't love it and thought it was kind of forgettable (hated the bad guy). It got a 6/10 from thanks mostly to Ron Pearlman and Del Toro's directing.

But this sequel is just fantastic! It surpassed the first one in everything, acting, effects, action, scale, score; everything you can think of. Ron Pearlman is terrific once again and Selma Blair is just better all around than she was on the first film. But the true star of the movie is Del Toro and his magical imagination taking yet another step up the ladder. You can tell that they basically let Guillermo get away with anything he wanted to do on this one. The film is everything that you expect from a fun summer movie and a lot more. The action was terrific, the choreography of the fights was pretty amazing, the monster scenes were just incredible. But I think what really sets this movie apart from all other comic movie adaptations is the comedy in it. Pearlman is just terrific in adding a sarcastic element to his character that works in every scene. There is a specific musical scene in the movie that puts everything musical that the Spider-Man sequels tried to implement to shame.

Del Toro does a great job humanizing Hellboy and his partners and that I think is the main reason why the movie works. You care about these freaks, mainly because Del Toro makes you believe they have very human feelings like love, anger, disappointment and feeling lost and under appreciated.

If anyone is thinking about skipping this movie because they didn't love the first one, don't do it. Its a very different with a much larger scale and is plainly way more entertaining.

9/10

PS. Five words that make this movie memorable: "I can't smile without you"...you'll get it :D

[Kings-Rook1]

Ok guys, this is my first review for a movie...ever!


Nice review and I'm intrigued by hearing there is a musical number in it. T-minus 13:29:36 till I get I get it.

[sarah1980]

i'm going to see this after i get off work at 12pm :D:D

[APzombie]

The first film since Indy 4 this summer where i couldn't wait to see it again! Went to the midnight screening, got up for work this morning at 6 a.m. and felt like a kid again. Thats the kind of emotions i had. To be honest aside from TDK and Indy 4 i havent really been geeking out about any comic book movie coming out this summer, even with Iron Man and Hulk, but this is just amazing. Wildly imaginative and has more of a heart than most films of its kind. Del Toro knocked it out of the park.

[spacemonkey]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Hellboy_2_poster.jpg

Title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, Luke Goss

Review:

I just got back from seeing Hellboy II. I was more then a little curious about how this one would turn out because I personally thought that the first one had lots of little flaws, so I naturally wondered, will the sequel come with those flaws as well? Dont get me wrong, I thought that the first Hellboy flick kicked ass in many ways, but it had all those little flaws that were difficult to avoid. So I was kind of like half and half with the first one. But I still enjoyed it heavily. It was very faithful (from a visual standpoint) to the comics, Hellboy was Hellboy played to a T by the great Ron Perlman. And he does it again on this one, even funnier, even more spot on. Now for this sequel, the cast is back except for Rupert Evans character John Meyers, who was written out for this sequel. So the core cast of superheroes is back with one or two new characters on board, but the question remains, did this sequel come with flaws too? Or was it a flawless comic book film?

http://media.movieweb.com/img/T/I/G/PHEl7NEHQbbTIG_m.jpg

Well, gotta get to the point, this movie rocked. All the failures that were present in the first film are gone! It has a new main flaw, but Ill get to that one later. My main gripe with the first one was that it had the most robotic, cheesy, unnatural dialog ever. I just couldnt take it, every time someone opened their yap, it would sound scripted or unnatural. Not this time around. This time around, the dialog just flows. Happy to say that the comedic quotent this time around is much more effective, by that, I mean it was very funny. Hellboy, Liz, Abe and the new addition to the BPRD, Dr. Johan Krauss, whos some kind of ghost trapped inside of a divers suit, all have some of the sharpest funniest dialog on any comic book movie, its never boring or predictable, it just surprises you with these sharp comedic zings. Loved that about the movie, it just kept things interesting and lighthearted.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/6/c/c/PH9VrbagkuO6cc_m.jpg

From a visual standpoint the film is amazing. And of course this is something weve come to expect from such a visual director. Guillermo del Toro is a fantasist. A dark fantasist, and it reflects on all of his films. The creatures in this particular film are very unique. You know how sometimes, youll look at a fantasy film and the creatures will look like something youve seen a thousand times before on some other fantasy movie? Not so with Hellboy II or any Guillermo del Toro film involving monsters. This creatures are so out of this world, you could have never thought them up in your wildest dreams. I wont spoil anything but theres this one sequence in Hellboy II, in which the characters visit a place called "The Troll Market" which was an onslaught of some of the strangest creatures I have ever seen on any movie. Period. I mean some really wild shit. Disturbing, creepy, slimy, but awesome to look at! Also, the sets in this film were all majestic looking. I gotta give kudos to the art department, everything looked so much more spectacular then anything we saw on the first Hellboy. This movie is defenetly a one up on the first one visually speaking.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/G/e/h/PHbaEdcijFYGeh_m.jpg

On to some negative points, which arent many. First off, the only thing that really ticked me off about Hellboy II was the fact that even though I was having a blast with it, even though I loved the dialog, the characters, the art direction, the creatures...everything was top notch, I noticed that the story was threading on familiar territory. Yup, gotta say it, but this movies only weakness was that its story and plot were already done practically word for word on Blade II. You could practically take every single character in Blade II, and find its equivalent in Hellboy II. The story is the same. A rebellious son of a king goes against his father to try and change the old way of things. Bring in the new age. Dont trust the humans! Create a new way in which to destroy them. In Blade II it was the reapers, on Hellboy II its the titular Golden Army. I mean, the dynamics were the same, the character types were the same. Fuck, even the ending was THE SAME. And Luke Goss, the actor who plays Prince Nuada? Well, his the same actor who plays Nomak in Blade II! That was a huge let down for me, not that I didnt like his performance (or anybodies for that matter) but he is playing the exact same angry son of a king. I just couldnt ignore it, its just so damn obvious.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/c/h/k/PHeXXnehq8Hchk_m.jpg

Ok, It is sprinkled with new moments here and there. Like that giant tree creature that attacks them at some point, or the Troll Market scenes or having Abe discovering love and all that. The eco-friendly message, which seems to be ever present in so many movies these days. And many other wild surprises that I wont spoil. But at heart, at its core, its the same damn story. And that my friends, was a huge let down for me. Huge. But I let it go, why? Cause I was having lots of fun with this movie. I was devouring the eye candy in the form of all these creatures and strange landscapes that Guillermo del Toro cooked up for us this time around. But Im pretty sure some folks out there, well at least those whove seen Blade II , will notice those hard to miss similarities.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/e/l/i/PHi7Uril4wfeli_m.jpg

But anyhows, putting that aside, this movie was Hella fun. Its bigger in scale then anything Guillermo has ever done. Its more visually complex. Im sure many people will feel the urge to see this movie more then once, simply to take in everything that shows up on screen, specially with that Troll Market Place sequence, theres so many creatures there to see. So much delightful strangeness. It kind of reminded me of the bar sequence in Star Wars: A New Hope.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/B/G/H/PHCSfLCFxaQBGH_m.jpg

So all in all, this movie is way better then the first Hellboy. Its funnier, its dialog flows smoothly and doesnt feel robotic and the creatures and world that Guillermo del Toro has created were fantastic. I just wish the story had not been something we'd already seen del Toro deal with before. Still, a kick ass time and a worthy sequel. Theres some obvious nudges towards a third Hellboy adventure, so Im defenetly looking forward to that one.

Rating: 4 out of 5

[APzombie]

Just out of curiosity, did anyone else think that the actor who played The Prince looked and sounded nearly identicle to Tom Cruise as Lestat?

Anyway, reading an interview with Del Torro concerning the franchise as a whole, he mentioned something that made me giddy...

the B-Movie feel stages

Hellboy: Nazis, Machines and Mad Scientist
The Golden Army: Mythology, Folklore and Fairy Tales
Hellboy III: Universal Monsters

now that he is at Universal, he wants Frankenstien, The Wolf Man, Creature From the Black Lagoon, ect. to "come back" for a Hellboy III, something him and Mike Mignola flirted with for II before they decided to go a different route with The Golden Army. No Doubt Doug Jones will helm at least The Creature From the Black Lagoon.

[Cop No. 633]

Great review Spacemonkey. I shall be seeing this later tonight with some friends.

[spacemonkey]

now that he is at Universal, he wants Frankenstien, The Wolf Man, Creature From the Black Lagoon, ect. to "come back" for a Hellboy III, something him and Mike Mignola flirted with for II before they decided to go a different route with The Golden Army. No Doubt Doug Jones will helm at least The Creature From the Black Lagoon.

Did you notice how they made a few nods to universal monsters in the movie? I seem to remember catching a glimpse of a couple of them on Hellboys multiple tv sets in his room, I remember seeing scenes from Bride of Frankenstein and scenes from The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

I hope this idea materializes somehow. It would be cool to see a Monster Squad type of movie again, and with Del Toro at the reigns, holy shit it could be awesome. It will bury the memory everyone has of Stephen Summers Van Helsing, which I know not many people liked. I had some fun with it, but I know the grand majority hated it.

[spacemonkey]

Great review Spacemonkey. I shall be seeing this later tonight with some friends.

Thanks cosmic puppet, too bad it got buried in the last page. Maybe I should copy paste it on to this one?

[APzombie]

Did you notice how they made a few nods to universal monsters in the movie? I seem to remember catching a glimpse of a couple of them on Hellboys multiple tv sets in his room, I remember seeing scenes from Bride of Frankenstein and scenes from The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

I hope this idea materializes somehow. It would be cool to see a Monster Squad type of movie again, and with Del Toro at the reigns, holy shit it could be awesome. It will bury the memory everyone has of Stephen Summers Van Helsing, which I know not many people liked. I had some fun with it, but I know the grand majority hated it.

That was really cool to see, it gets me wishing that they replaced him for Wolfman instead of Joe Johnston (i'm sure the movie will turn out fine, just maybe not classic).

Thanks cosmic puppet, too bad it got buried in the last page. Maybe I should copy paste it on to this one?

i think you should, it is a great read!

[spacemonkey]

Done.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Hellboy_2_poster.jpg

Title: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, Luke Goss

Review:

I just got back from seeing Hellboy II. I was more then a little curious about how this one would turn out because I personally thought that the first one had lots of little flaws, so I naturally wondered, will the sequel come with those flaws as well? Dont get me wrong, I thought that the first Hellboy flick kicked ass in many ways, but it had all those little flaws that were difficult to avoid. So I was kind of like half and half with the first one. But I still enjoyed it heavily. It was very faithful (from a visual standpoint) to the comics, Hellboy was Hellboy played to a T by the great Ron Perlman. And he does it again on this one, even funnier, even more spot on. Now for this sequel, the cast is back except for Rupert Evans character John Meyers, who was written out for this sequel. So the core cast of superheroes is back with one or two new characters on board, but the question remains, did this sequel come with flaws too? Or was it a flawless comic book film?

http://media.movieweb.com/img/T/I/G/PHEl7NEHQbbTIG_m.jpg

Well, gotta get to the point, this movie rocked. All the failures that were present in the first film are gone! It has a new main flaw, but Ill get to that one later. My main gripe with the first one was that it had the most robotic, cheesy, unnatural dialog ever. I just couldnt take it, every time someone opened their yap, it would sound scripted or unnatural. Not this time around. This time around, the dialog just flows. Happy to say that the comedic quotent this time around is much more effective, by that, I mean it was very funny. Hellboy, Liz, Abe and the new addition to the BPRD, Dr. Johan Krauss, whos some kind of ghost trapped inside of a divers suit, all have some of the sharpest funniest dialog on any comic book movie, its never boring or predictable, it just surprises you with these sharp comedic zings. Loved that about the movie, it just kept things interesting and lighthearted.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/6/c/c/PH9VrbagkuO6cc_m.jpg

From a visual standpoint the film is amazing. And of course this is something weve come to expect from such a visual director. Guillermo del Toro is a fantasist. A dark fantasist, and it reflects on all of his films. The creatures in this particular film are very unique. You know how sometimes, youll look at a fantasy film and the creatures will look like something youve seen a thousand times before on some other fantasy movie? Not so with Hellboy II or any Guillermo del Toro film involving monsters. This creatures are so out of this world, you could have never thought them up in your wildest dreams. I wont spoil anything but theres this one sequence in Hellboy II, in which the characters visit a place called "The Troll Market" which was an onslaught of some of the strangest creatures I have ever seen on any movie. Period. I mean some really wild shit. Disturbing, creepy, slimy, but awesome to look at! Also, the sets in this film were all majestic looking. I gotta give kudos to the art department, everything looked so much more spectacular then anything we saw on the first Hellboy. This movie is defenetly a one up on the first one visually speaking.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/G/e/h/PHbaEdcijFYGeh_m.jpg

On to some negative points, which arent many. First off, the only thing that really ticked me off about Hellboy II was the fact that even though I was having a blast with it, even though I loved the dialog, the characters, the art direction, the creatures...everything was top notch, I noticed that the story was threading on familiar territory. Yup, gotta say it, but this movies only weakness was that its story and plot were already done practically word for word on Blade II. You could practically take every single character in Blade II, and find its equivalent in Hellboy II. The story is the same. A rebellious son of a king goes against his father to try and change the old way of things. Bring in the new age. Dont trust the humans! Create a new way in which to destroy them. In Blade II it was the reapers, on Hellboy II its the titular Golden Army. I mean, the dynamics were the same, the character types were the same. Fuck, even the ending was THE SAME. And Luke Goss, the actor who plays Prince Nuada? Well, his the same actor who plays Nomak in Blade II! That was a huge let down for me, not that I didnt like his performance (or anybodies for that matter) but he is playing the exact same angry son of a king. I just couldnt ignore it, its just so damn obvious.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/c/h/k/PHeXXnehq8Hchk_m.jpg

Ok, It is sprinkled with new moments here and there. Like that giant tree creature that attacks them at some point, or the Troll Market scenes or having Abe discovering love and all that. The eco-friendly message, which seems to be ever present in so many movies these days. And many other wild surprises that I wont spoil. But at heart, at its core, its the same damn story. And that my friends, was a huge let down for me. Huge. But I let it go, why? Cause I was having lots of fun with this movie. I was devouring the eye candy in the form of all these creatures and strange landscapes that Guillermo del Toro cooked up for us this time around. But Im pretty sure some folks out there, well at least those whove seen Blade II , will notice those hard to miss similarities.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/e/l/i/PHi7Uril4wfeli_m.jpg

But anyhows, putting that aside, this movie was Hella fun. Its bigger in scale then anything Guillermo has ever done. Its more visually complex. Im sure many people will feel the urge to see this movie more then once, simply to take in everything that shows up on screen, specially with that Troll Market Place sequence, theres so many creatures there to see. So much delightful strangeness. It kind of reminded me of the bar sequence in Star Wars: A New Hope, because its this smorgasbord of creatures!

http://media.movieweb.com/img/B/G/H/PHCSfLCFxaQBGH_m.jpg

So all in all, this movie is way better then the first Hellboy. Its funnier, its dialog flows smoothly and doesnt feel robotic and the creatures and world that Guillermo del Toro has created were fantastic. I just wish the story had not been something we'd already seen del Toro deal with before. Still, a kick ass time and a worthy sequel. Theres some obvious nudges towards a third Hellboy adventure, so Im defenetly looking forward to that one.

Rating: 4 out of 5

[Shockwave]

Great review Spacemonkey, as always.



8/10 for me. It was like Hellboy got thrown into the other world in Pans Labyrinth.

This summer is fucking rocking. Hellboy 2, Wanted, Iron Man, The Hulk, Kung-fu Panda, Wall-E, and with The Dark Knight still to come.

I cant remember a summer ive enjoyed more. With the parade of SHIT that was Shrek 3, Spider-man 3, and Pirates 3, it certainly blows away last years dismal offerings.

[spacemonkey]

Great review Spacemonkey, as always.



8/10 for me. It was like Hellboy got thrown into the other world in Pans Labyrinth.

This summer is fucking rocking. Hellboy 2, Wanted, Iron Man, The Hulk, Kung-fu Panda, Wall-E, and with The Dark Knight still to come.

I cant remember a summer ive enjoyed more. With the parade of SHIT that was Shrek 3, Spider-man 3, and Pirates 3, it certainly blows away last years dismal offerings.

Lets just hope that this excellent summer is not followed up by a summer 2009 filled with shitty sequels to these great movies!

Favorite quote in the whole movie:

"Im not a baby, Im a tumor!" That had me cracking up!

Also: I loved Abe and Red drunk. That stuff was priceless.

[Shockwave]

Also: I loved Abe and Red drunk. That stuff was priceless.

Honestly, that was one of my favorite scenes in a movie all year. Probably because of how normal it was with these very freakish characters.

Kind of like how my favorite scene in the first HELLBOY was between Hellboy and the little kid on the roof, while he was spying on Liz and Myers.:D "Nice shot!"

[CyclicNightmare]

http://joblo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122437

[LordSimen]

Man, hope things go as planned so I can see this tonight. So excited.

[MidnightAngel]

Lets just hope that this excellent summer is not followed up by a summer 2009 filled with shitty sequels to these great movies!



Unfortunately there will be milkshake oops i mean shitty sequels like Final Destination 4 and Fast and Furious. Thank goodness for Watchmen and the Wolverine movie. OK back to the topic; at least your review on Hellboy 2 was positive and for me Guillermo del Toro is a moviemaker who always amazes moviegoers. The visual efects and makeup are what makes this film a treat to watch and go see it. I wish Guillermo del Toro directs another fantasy horror movie set in fascist era Spain like Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's backbone so he can finish his trilogy. And speaking of trilogy it would be great that another Hellboy movie gets greenlight and end it there.

[Shockwave]

I wanna see Abe Sapian vrs The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Hellboy vrs Frankenstien and The Wolfman.

Bring that shit on.:cool:

[KillaMyers]

I'm not good at writing long,detailed reviews so I'll just give some thoughts.

Visually this is just fucking stunning, it's one of the most imaginative movies I've ever seen,no question. Guillermo del Toro is a damn genius! The Troll Market sequence alone is worth the price of admission, containing without a doubt the most amazing, unique and bizarre looking characters ever put to film.

The action scenes were very well done, especially the final battle with the Golden Army. Although I was slightly letdown by the Elemental sequence, as beautiful as it was, I would've liked it to last a little longer.

The performances were great all around, but Macfarlane and Pearlman own ever scene. And I loved the film's sense of humor. Hellboy's fight with Johann, and the "I can't smile without you" scene are fucking priceless.

There are some things I didn't like. The pacing felt a bit off at times. I didn't really dig the opening puppet sequence or young Hellboy. And while it's absolutely brilliant from a visual stanpoint. Storytelling wise it's competent but pretty routine.

Overall, I give it a solid - 8/10

[spacemonkey]

I wish Guillermo del Toro directs another fantasy horror movie set in fascist era Spain like Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's backbone so he can finish his trilogy.

As I watched that angel of death talking in Hellboy II, (and even as I was watching that creature with the eyes in his hands in Pans Labyrinth) I thought to myself, "man, Guillermo del Toro really needs to direct a freaking horror movie"

I really think he would make a dark fantasy horror film, and he would really fucking scare the shit out of us if he ever did. I hope that after The Hobbit films, he gets to working on that At the Mountains of Madness movie his been jonesin about for so long. I think it would scare the shit out of everyone!

Like bringing back those good old school style horror films from the 70s. You know the kind that aimed to really fuck you up, not just show you blood and guts. Sigh..one can dream.

[LordSimen]

As I watched that angel of death talking in Hellboy II, (and even as I was watching that creature with the eyes in his hands in Pans Labyrinth) I thought to myself, "man, Guillermo del Toro really needs to direct a freaking horror movie"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3c/Cronos.jpg/200px-Cronos.jpg

http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Mimic-Poster-C10124600.jpeg

That's the genre where Del Toro got his start, Spacemonkey. ;)

[JoeChar4321]

I guess I'm in the minority but I found this thing to be terrible.

It’s a visually bizarre movie that suffers from being in constant “cartoon mode” with absolutely no depth to either the story or the characters. Nothing on screen carried any weight and the crazed visuals just seem to run together. Everything from the first frame forward screamed “bad live action cartoon” and it was reinforced throughout the running time at every turn. It seems to me like director Guillermo Del Toro has fallen in love with his bizarre CGI creature creations and has decided to forget EVERYTHING else. This film felt like a mash of Pan’s Labyrinth and Blade 2’s extra footage with all the heart and story cut out. Unfortunately, I found myself glancing at the exit sign at my theatre more then once but I’m glad I resisted the urge to bolt. I did enjoy the final confrontation quite a bit. (Not nearly enough to recommend, however.)

4/10 and a disappointment

[spacemonkey]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3c/Cronos.jpg/200px-Cronos.jpg

http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Mimic-Poster-C10124600.jpeg

That's the genre where Del Toro got his start, Spacemonkey. ;)

Yeah, I know thats where he started, but those arent really horror films. Cronos is more of a dark fantasy, then a straight forward horror film, so is The Devils Backbone. Mimic is a monster movie, but not really horror either.

Im talking horror horror, not superhero horror either like Blade II. And those films and fine in their own right, Im not bashing them. In fact I own them cause I love them so much.

Its just that I see stuff like that Angel of Death in Hellboy II and it makes me think damn, if he only put that much effort in a straightforward horror movie...jeez, we could really have something!

[ilovemovies]

Personally I liked the first half more than the second half. Not that I didn't like the whole climax but to me that was the weakest part of the movie. But a very enjoyable movie nonetheless.

I hope Hellboy III is about a certain prophecy that Selma Blair's character is told concerning Hellboy. I'm VERY much looking forward to seeing how that plays out.

I also hope Jeffrey Tambor gets a lot more screen time in the next one. He's awesome and but also very underused.


7/10

[CreeperBEATNGU]

I don't know how someone can not see depth to this story. There's a great parrallel to the otherworldy creatures and native americans having their land stolen from them by the greed of mankind, Prince Nuada's scenes with his father and sister are as heartfelt as anything for any of the comic book villains as ever been, I can't think of a single romantic relationship in any superhero movie that's as involving as HB and Liz, the sympathetic misunderstood monster theme to Hellboy is very well handled and relateable to anyone that's ever felt out of place, I can't wait to see how HB's destiny that was prophesized in both films turns out, which adds even more depth to the films because it puts a strong emphasis on the choices that we make in life determing who we are...

of course the movie has a "cartoonish" feel to it, it's meant to be over the top and outlandish, but still grounded in reality, as it is with the family drama between the royal family and the relationships between HB and Liz and Abe and the Princess...

if this movie doesn't have depth, NO comic book movie has depth.

[DodgersFan11]

So far this is the best movie of '08 I think, but that will probably only last a week until The Dark Knight is released. My tickets for that are burning a hole in my pocket.

The drunk scene with Red and Abe was an instant classic. I laughed my ass off.

[Shale]

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Review by Shale
July 11, 2008

OK, this film already has a following of those of us who saw the first one in 2004 and will see this one despite what any critic might say. But, almost 9 out of 10 critics think this is a good flick. Gotta agree with that.

Those of us who saw the first movie know the origins of Hellboy, when the Nazi's were trying to conjure a portal to hell to win the war and our little demon came thru. This movie briefly runs down that story and gives us a glimpse of the preteen demon being raised as any kid in the '50s by his adoptive father (John Hurt in a cameo). Hellboy is stalling going to bed and his father reads him a story about a mythical time when humans shared the world with elves and other creatures (from a book that looked like it was handed down from that time).

There was a war and many non-humans were killed. Then a gnome in a pact with the king of the elves made the Golden Army of 70 times 70 indestructible mechanical soldiers who were ruled by the wearer of a special crown. After most of the humans were killed, the king felt bad and made a truce. To prevent the carnage happening again, he broke the crown into three parts, two for the elves and one for the humans. So the legend went.

We next see the elf Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) arrive with some large troll in an auction of artifacts so that he can reclaim the humans' part of the crown. He kills everyone and the bodies are missing so our heroes from the very secretive Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense go to investigate. In this movie, in the midst of trying to keep a lid on Hellboy's existence, he makes a full appearance in front of a crowd while battling the nasty little bone eating creatures at the auction house. So now our team of superheroes is known.

BPRD Team: Doug Jones, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor
http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/gallery/1174281/photo_14_hires.jpg

There is more going on here than in the first flick, lots more Guillermo del Toro type fantasy creatures inhabit this realm (some reminding us of Pan's Labyrinth). In fact there are whole communities of bizarre trolls living somewhere under the Brooklyn Bridge and our heroes have to go there looking for Prince Nuada. They find each other and pretty much trash that place, but that's why you go to this movie isn't it?

Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his hot girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair) are sharing a room now (with Hellboy's cats) and they have some domestic fights that make you glad they're not your neighbors from hell. Red, as his friends call him, is strictly blue-collar and there is a scene where he and aquatic buddy, Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) get wasted on beer and talk about their probs with women.

Cute Couple, Liz and Red
http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/gallery/1174281/photo_08_hires.jpg

But of course that drunken soul-bearing gets interrupted by Prince Nuada who is looking for his twin sister Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), who has the third piece of the crown and who has been rescued by our team of unsung heroes (after a battle with a huge plant thing in the city). This intrusion gives us more fight scenes that lead to more quests and more fight scenes until a final battle involves the Golden Army.

I liked the movie, as I do most comic books on screen. Movies translate so well from the pages of a comic book and this one is good summer fare as you go along for the ride without having to expend too much energy figuring things out. Just tag along on the coattails of Hellboy. This gets a 2 or 3 DVD, as I plan to see it again soon.

Shale's movie rating scale:
0 DVD No I would not waste my money or time seeing this movie again.
1 DVD I would get this DVD for $5 or $7
2 DVD I would get this DVD for $10
3 DVD I would get this DVD for $15
4 DVD I would get this DVD for $25 as soon as it was released.

[JoeChar4321]

of course the movie has a "cartoonish" feel to it, it's meant to be over the top and outlandish, but still grounded in reality, as it is with the family drama between the royal family and the relationships between HB and Liz and Abe and the Princess...

if this movie doesn't have depth, NO comic book movie has depth.

No offense but you could have just stayed home because the movie playing in your head is much better then the one they're showing on screen. If you think anything about this movie is grounded in any sort of reality or that any character has more depth then a mud puddle then you must also think that Speed Racer was a documentary.

[athf1980]

4.5/5

A quite the imaginative superhero movie. Ron again owns as Hellboy. I hope this does not get the overshadowed. Good score but it's missing the awsome Hellboy theme from the first movie.

[CreeperBEATNGU]

No offense but you could have just stayed home because the movie playing in your head is much better then the one they're showing on screen. If you think anything about this movie is grounded in any sort of reality or that any character has more depth then a mud puddle then you must also think that Speed Racer was a documentary.

It doesn't offend me when other people miss the point, if anything, I just feel bad for them.

Everything that was in that was post was pretty clearly on-screen, I'm sorry that you couldn't see it (and I didn't care for Speed Racer btw).

If you honestly felt this movie had "no meaning to anything happening onscreen" and found absolutely nothing about it even remotely relateable to the real world, than you don't know how to view movies on anything other than a very straightforward, surface level, and you're going to miss out on what alot of films have to offer (I also noticed that when you quoted me, you conveniently left out the specific examples that I gave explaining the depth to the story and characters...nice;)).

[Bourne101]

http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/flickr/19/23/002380191923.jpg?x=660&y=660&sig=nEr.a.xpgXkeIL5v_MFszg--

Hellboy II: The Golden Army - 7/10

Much better than I was expecting. The visuals are absolutely spectacular, the action great, and the performances excellent and fun. Beats the first Hellboy by leaps and bounds. It's entertaining from start to finish. The story isn't anything to write home about and has been done before, but for this kind of film it works well and Del Toro definitely knew what to do with it. Pearlman is a blast and all of the characters are all very unique and interesting. The film does lose a bit of steam in places though. There were moments where my face was glued to the screen, and then there were other times where I was entertained, but some of the stuff felt a bit pointless. I think it ran about 15 minutes too long, but I don't doubt that a die hard Hellboy fan would and should tell me different. The direction is flawless with a little mix of Blade II and Pan's Labyrinth going on which is a knockout combo! The comedic moments were often good. A few of them fell flat, but the audience always seemed to enjoy them. Overall, Hellboy II: The Golden Army is an extremely well made, fun, entertaining, and interesting film that has minor flaws but nothing major. If you need something to hold you off until you know what hits theatres next Friday, I highly recommend you give Hellboy II a viewing.

[AspectRatio1986]

Caught this today at 12:55, I enjoyed Prince Nuada as the villain. I'd probably give it a 7-8/10, I can't decide.

[MisterTwister]

I'm going to keep it simple, Freaking loved it.

Awesome visuals, excellent action, great directing and performances. An excellent, visual treat for the eyes.

This summer is awesome.

9/10

[outsyder]

8/10.


Great characters, great visuals, and leaves you wanting to know more, as there is clearly more to tell.

[ElderPredator]

An absolutely brilliant sequel and a perfect example of Del Toro's amazing imagination.

9/10

P.S. I just have to mention how amazing Seth MacFarlane was as the voice of Krauss. Unbelievable!

[LordSimen]

A great sequel and one of the best comic book movies ever made. Everything about it was just... Great!

10/10

P.S. I really fucking wish people would stop using the term "cartoon" as if it's somehow an insult to a movie. There's nothing wrong with cartoons.

[jbar1026]

7.5/10

i was a bit dissapointed. imo it felt choppy like there were chunks edited out. maybe i just built it up to much. i did like the movie and plan to buy it when released. i hope it gets a 3 disc like the first one

[xseanymacx]

7/10.

This movie felt overly goofy at times but when they went the serious route, they hit it hard. And it worked very well. I didn't laugh at probably half the jokes but most of the comedy did work well. I just wish there was a darker feel to it. I wanted them to touch more on the internal struggle of Hellboy of why he is doing what he is doing. The Pan's type creatures were good but overdone, IMO. The destiny/death angel thing was sweet as Hell. Everything else, ehhh, it was all right. The main villain was badass, the action was badass, and the visuals were badass, but I did expect more.

[Shockwave]

An absolutely brilliant sequel and a perfect example of Del Toro's amazing imagination.

9/10

P.S. I just have to mention how amazing Seth MacFarlane was as the voice of Krauss. Unbelievable!


Krauss was probably my favorite character in the movie. Seth did an amazing job as his voice.

[Cop No. 633]

P.S. I really fucking wish people would stop using the term "cartoon" as if it's somehow an insult to a movie. There's nothing wrong with cartoons.

Good point there Simen. I have to say, my favorite thing about Guillermo Del Toro's directing more than anything is that he creates worlds. He reminds me a lot of Terry Gilliam, one of my favorite directors of all time. They both have this child inside them that truly shines in their fantasy films. It's like letting a little kid go loose with their imagination and Del Toro has captured that best.

The creatures alone are a sight to behold. This film is a visual feast. Del Toro puts subtext in his films, even if it's easy to spot, but it still sets it apart from the all the cookie cutter garbage you see nowadays. You can tell he cares a lot about his world. He's sentimental like Gilliam. He wears his heart on his sleeve and it's hard to get into if you're cynical. I'm a big cynic, but because I grew up on films like Time Bandits, the Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Big Trouble in Little China and Buckaroo Bonzai... I can always enjoy those kind of movies. Hellboy 2 is in that tradition and I had a blast.

It was a real spectacle with a great mix of practical and visual effects creating one entertaining fantasy film. I was bored to tears with Pirates of the Carribean and the Matrix took itself too seriously and got progressively worse, so I'm happy to enjoy a flight of the fancy and not have to think about the flaws constantly.

It's a fun time. This is probably one of the better summers we've had for blockbusters. They've got some talented people behind the camera for once. I hope Michael Bay sits out next summer and opts to do a Spring musical.


Oh and a big shout out to Seth MacFarlane! It was like listening to Adult Stewie after a while. It's like his character slowly got to that level. It was really funny.

[Shale]

...The eco-friendly message, which seems to be ever present in so many movies these days.

Thanx for the great review Spacemonkey. You seem to have much background in movies. I too was wondering if others were seeing the eco messages in current sci-fi flicks. Giving humans their due in trashing the planet, to the point that the elementals rebel against us.

...But Im pretty sure some folks out there, well at least those whove seen Blade II , will notice those hard to miss similarities.
I didn't register all that Blade similarity, but it did strike me that Prince Nuada looked like a vampire.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/c/h/k/PHeXXnehq8Hchk_m.jpg

[Homyrrh]

Anyone think of better fight choreographing than with Nuada?

Whoever was stunting for him was doing a hell of a job; the scene where he...

SPOILERS

...murders his father is captivating at the least.

[CyclicNightmare]

I'm pretty sure that's in the trailer.

[corran horn]

http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/R/k/Q/hellboy2pic5.jpg

I had missed the first Hellboy when it was in theaters, but I've since had the chance to enjoy it many times on TV and DVD. While an excellent beginning, it did have a few flaws: 1) Agent Myers, or as AICN's Moriarty called him, the "walking studio note" and 2) unimpressive villains (Rasputin, not Kroenen--he was cool).

Thankfully, those flaws have been fully rectified without adding any new ones. I loved the increased use of fantasy elements, and I liked the idea of the exiled fantasy creatures starting a war against the humans. While I myself am obviously human, I may indeed take a different side in that fight. Aside from slaying his father, Prince Nuada is actually quite a sympathetic villain (if you could consider him a villain). He (quite rightly) feels that the humans have destroyed their world with their greed and emptiness and wants to fight back.

Hellboy II would not be Hellboy without our 3 leading freaks. Ron Perleman, at a spritely 58, delves even deeper into his soon-to-be trademark role and shows Big Red to be more than just a big-fisted demon. Doug Jones shines as Abe Sapien, and its great to hear him use his own voice. Selma Blair holds her own by matching Perleman's wit and also convincingly portraying someone caught between two worlds: human and fantasy. Johann Krauss makes for an excellent addition, and his "fight" with Hellboy in the locker room had everyone in my theater laughing hysterically.

This brings me to my final point. Much the same as Iron Man, Hellboy II makes great use of comedy without falling into FF/B&R territory. Surprisingly for someone behind some really dark films, Guillermo Del Toro understands comic timing and knows when to let his actors cut loose. The locker room scene is a perfect example. The best example of all, however, is Red and Abe's drunken duet. I normally despise Barry Manilow, but even I couldn't resist singing along. That, along with the Wall-E/Eve space dance, ranks as one of my favorite scenes for the year.

Upon seeing this piece of moving art, I firmly concluded that this is the best summer movie season of the decade. In previous summers, it was a struggle to find two excellent summer films. This year has already seen 3 (Iron Man, Wall-E, and Hellboy II) with a 4th waiting in the...er...wings (TDK). Not to mention some enjoyable fillers between them (Indy 4, Incredible Hulk). Looking ahead to next year, however, I am reminded of the impact of the writers' strike: to ensure some semblance of profit, studios have greenlit what could be the worst slate of summer movies this decade has seen. Only two stand out as potential gems (Wolverine and Up). However, with the bounty this year has brought us, I'm sure I won't lack for something to enjoy on DVD.

8.5/10

[FireCaptain4]

You "hit the nail on the head" spacemonkey.

I'd give Hellboy II: The Golden Army a 7.5/10. But then again, I am a whore for Guillermo del Torro.

[Scarfather]

It wasn't very good at all. It just wasn't well-written.

It had that sense of "Just because." that is extremely hard to pull off. Why did this happen? Just because. Who's that, why is he here? Just because. But! Just because.

And Del Toro just didn't make it work. It's got some wicked production design. But nothing else going for it.

[Lazy Boy]

7/10

Don't let my grade fool you, I actually think this is far better than the original, which I thought was a decent intro to a character I knew nothing about, but felt was severely hampered by a lack of something...imaginative. Once more into the brink, Guillermo del Toro makes up for it with a bigger budget (though small by comparison to most of these grossly ginormous bloated costly summer films) and a more fantastic imagination. The guy should've been a first choice to direct some of the early Harry Potter films -- Hellboy's foray into the Troll Market has echoes of Christina Rossetti and Hogwarts all rolled into one.

The scene with the elemental ends in such a beautiful way that you can't just call this a "popcorn, comic book" film, even though it fits into both categories -- a flawed villain gives us his take on what's wrong with humanity, how all creatures such as this will be forgotten in time...and, you know, he's right. The fact that GDT makes this scene less about some impressive special effect is thrilling enough. Don't get me wrong, though; the creatures are impressive, especially the gruesome little "tooth fairies," whose image reflect distant cousins to the creepy Isz from The Maxx series.

I had some problems -- Selma Blair is reduced to standing in front of a broad "United" billboard, letting that do the confliction within her character, 'cause she ain't giving a good performance this time around (I liked her more in the first film), and some of Hellboy's puns are still forced and witless. I thought the "lil' Hellboy" opening was awkward, it had something to do with the bad dubbing of the young actor's vocal performance. While Marvel already has two out of the gate this summer, I actually much, much prefer this film, the "Dark Horse" of the lot.

[Lucky Denver]

8/10

Quick review. I enjoyed it, even more than the first, which I liked a lot. Everything seemed bigger and more thought out. The humor was spot on and the movie had a lot of little touches that made it special. I enjoyed the villain much more this time around and his reason actually seemed quite understandable. The rest of the cast was stellar, although I assumed Manning would have a bigger role. My biggest complaints were the opening sequence, which just didn't do it for me and the end fight, while entertaining, seemed kind of short. Overall though, it improves on the first and I would love a third Hellboy movie. Del Toro seems to truly love this project and it would be a shame if he couldn't finish what he started.

[tubbsred]

Yup, gotta say it, but this movies only weakness was that its story and plot were already done practically word for word on Blade II.

Even though yes you could say that the plots were basically the same. I think that it was pulled off better in here then in Blade II.

[xseanymacx]

The scene with the elemental ends in such a beautiful way that you can't just call this a "popcorn, comic book" film, even though it fits into both categories -- a flawed villain gives us his take on what's wrong with humanity, how all creatures such as this will be forgotten in time...and, you know, he's right.

I wanted much more of this. The only question of Hellboy's actions and consequences was that one scene.

[CreeperBEATNGU]

and what Nuada says to him at the end, which could effect the choices he makes later in his life regarding the prophecy; the only thing I find simialar about this story and Blade 2 is the relationship between the villain and his father, and that's not really the same anyway since it was about vengeance in Blade 2 which was hardly why Nuada did what he did...and I can't believe I actually just read someone say that this movie lacks imagination, wow...just wow.

[PreySlayDisplay]

Mild Spoilers

Just got back and I have to say I was a little disappointed. I thought it was going to be better than the first, but I ended up liking it about the same, and that's to say they both haven't really done much for me. Visually the film was stunning, but that was about it for me. I've never really thought the Hellboy character was all that cool of a character and this one didn't convince me otherwise. His one liners killed me, as did most of the attempts at humor, apart from the "Can't Smile Without You" scene which proved to be pretty funny. Another scene that killed it for me was the opening sequence with the young Hellboy. There was just something terribly awkward happening there when he was speaking. There's still some good things to say about Hellboy II, like Prince Nuada being a really cool villain, and of course the amazing and imaginative special effects.

6/10

[KcMsterpce]

My reviews of both Hellboy movies. In a nutshell:

Hellboy - "meh."
5/10

Hellboy II - "Blech!"
3/10

I saw it with three other people. We ALL hated it. The saddest part is, one of my friends WORSHIPS HB, loved the first movie and knows everything about the comic. He hated this movie. That's freaky. I like HB and thought the first was just completely average, and figured the sequel would have potential to be better.

No. NO no no.

[jolanar]

I should have liked this movie. The first was solid, if not great, and the trailers were great. But for some reason I just couldn't get into it. I would have been even more bored if not for the occasional neat visuals and action scene. But the plot just felt so absolutely contrived to me.

Hellboy 2 - 4/10

[corran horn]

Caught this today at 12:55, I enjoyed Prince Nuada as the villain. I'd probably give it a 7-8/10, I can't decide.

Do what I do: split the difference with a 7.5

A great sequel and one of the best comic book movies ever made. Everything about it was just... Great!

10/10

P.S. I really fucking wish people would stop using the term "cartoon" as if it's somehow an insult to a movie. There's nothing wrong with cartoons.

You're right, there nothing wrong with cartoons in and of themselves. What about Pixar and old-fashioned Disney. Those were "cartoons", and yet they are also some of the best shows/movies/animated shorts I've ever seen.

[RustyRazor]

....oh, I'm gonna hear it.



4/10


I LIKED the first Hellboy, I really did.
Enough to get jazzed for this one...and wow, this one failed for me.
It felt like "Hellboy Goes To Pan's Labrynth" and I liked "Pan's" too, I just didn't want to see both movies merged.
I was just expecting something else, just my personal opinion, and they failed to deliver.
Rewatchable, certainly, but not a decent sequel by any means.

[Mr.HyDe807]

....oh, I'm gonna hear it.



4/10


I LIKED the first Hellboy, I really did.
Enough to get jazzed for this one...and wow, this one failed for me.
It felt like "Hellboy Goes To Pan's Labrynth" and I liked "Pan's" too, I just didn't want to see both movies merged.
I was just expecting something else, just my personal opinion, and they failed to deliver.
Rewatchable, certainly, but not a decent sequel by any means.

Thats weird Rusty, i thought the first one was just "good but not great", but i love the hell out of this one.

It's all good.:D

[Shockwave]

....oh, I'm gonna hear it.



.


No, no, its okay.

Your allowed to dislike a movie here, this isnt the DARK KNIGHT review thread.

.......


Oh yes, i went there.:D


I do agree that it felt like he still had an itch from doing PANs that he just had to scratch.

I only have one beef with the movie, and i guess it was just because they all figured they might need to use it again but..

*******************SPOILERS!********************** *******************'

















...If the crown could be destroyed so easily, and they didnt ever want to use the Golden Army again, why didnt the king just burn his destroy his piece along time ago?

Problem solved!

I was laughing at that. Silly little elves.

[xseanymacx]

SPOILERS



























No, no, its okay.

Your allowed to dislike a movie here, this isnt the DARK KNIGHT review thread.

.......


Oh yes, i went there.:D


I do agree that it felt like he still had an itch from doing PANs that he just had to scratch.

I only have one beef with the movie, and i guess it was just because they all figured they might need to use it again but..

*******************SPOILERS!********************** *******************'

















...If the crown could be destroyed so easily, and they didnt ever want to use the Golden Army again, why didnt the king just burn his destroy his piece along time ago?

Problem solved!

I was laughing at that. Silly little elves.



He couldn't burn it...he was a puppet. Puppets burn easy;)

I'm obviously referring to the opening. What the hell was up with the puppets?

[Shockwave]

I thought that was a pretty cool way to tell a childs tale, and leave out all the gore and such.

...and it probably saved alot of budget money.


It wouldve been bad-ass to see a LOTR style opening with humans getting stomped by The Golden Army.:cool:

Theres just so much to love about this movie.

From The Troll Market, The Angel of Death, The Elven World, The Forrest God, The Golden Army, ect, ect, this was just a rush of fresh air and reminded me of such beloved movies as LABRYNTH and THE DARK CRYSTAL, except with a smart-ass demon who lets his fists do the talking in the lead role.

[detective mills]

7.5/10

This sequel improved on everything that was wrong with the first film. The action scenes were much more exciting and varied. There was a formiddable and entertaining villain. The creatures and cgi were much more impressive. The humor worked a lot better than it did in the original. And the plot was just a lot more engaging. The direction is great as can be expected from GDT and the acting is good as well. All that said, this movie still pales in comparison to the great superhero movies we've seen come out over the past decade, including the first two X-Men and Spiderman movies, Batman, and Iron Man.
It is far superior to the original which I would give a 5/10. I welcome a third installment, and hope that the series continues to improve exponentially with each one.

[Ender]

A side rant: What the FUCK is Roger Ebert on these days? Does this man have a brain tumor we don't know about? From his "review" of HELLBOY II:

"And once again a strong performance by Ron Perlman as Hellboy. Yes, he's CGI for the most part, but his face and voice and movements inhabit the screen figure."

Okay, although it's great to see such a prominent critic praising Ron Perlman, is Ebert fucking stoned? Anyone with two eyes can tell that there's nothing CGI about Hellboy, that the man is under seven hours worth of makeup and prosthetics, and that his "face and voice and movements" do indeed "inhabit" the movie cuz, ya know, we're fucking watching them. Jesus.

As for the movie itself? Mixed bag here, falls in the realm of "Good but not great", in all I'd call it inferior to the first film but still worth seeing.

Del Torro is basically an all-powerful 8 year old in the world's largest sandbox with this movie. With license to do seemingly whatever he wants, he appears to have dumped everything and anything he ever thought would be cool in a movie ever into this flick, and the results are pretty damn cool most of the time. The Troll Market could be a movie in itself (in fact, it maybe should have been). Whereas the first HELLBOY focused on the pulp and Lovecraftian elements of the comics, HELLBOY II delves into the folklore elements of the series, which are generally the better "Hellboy" stories.

Unfortunately, the plot of HELLBOY II is largely mush. Not much direction or momentum, generally just your standard Macguffin chase and the obvious confrontation at the end. The movie is less a continuing story as it is a string of loosely related vignettes, and as such it's jarring and a bit hard to follow.

On the other hand, those vignettes are quite good. The aforementioned Troll Market is two tons of awesomeness in a one pound sack, and the confrontation with the Angel of Death provides not only another amazing creature design and another awesome performance by Doug Jones but also some tantalizing hints at what may be in store for HELLBOY III. Strangest of all, the movie's most succesful moment comes in a string of comedic sketches at the end of the second act, culminating in some very surreal male bonding between Hellboy and Abe that has really got to be seen to be believed.

Have I mentioned that I love Doug Jones? He's far and away the most talented physical actor living today. I could watch this guy eat sushi or walk his dog and be enraptured for days. Unfortunately, his talents as a voice actor are less pronounced. Don't get me wrong, he's fine, but I missed David Hyde Pierce's distinct dulcet tones from the first movie. Abe's love story works best when it's just him on screen, awkward and gawky and hopeless. He has little if any chemistry with Anna Walton, but that's probably because that girl could walk into an empty room and still not be the most charismatic person there.

The emotional heart of the first HELLBOY movie is missing this time around. Whereas the character's alienation and isolation was embodied before by his unrequited love for Liz, here we instead see him trying to relate to humanity at large, and from a writing perspective it just doesn't work as well. Red doesn't seem to have changed much after the events of the last flick, which seems a little strange. Of course, Perlman is still brilliant, and when the script does give him something to work with, he rocks it. Actually, he rocks it always. He's just that kinda guy.

I really hope that the rumored "Universal Monsters" movie does NOT come to pass. This flick clearly lays out what the next and final "Hellboy" movie should be, and there's no way that Dracula and the Frankenstein monster are going to fit into that flick.

[chinton]

Theres one thing I thought this made the movie far better than the first one. I've already mentioned that they decision to leaver out the boring Myers automatically makes this better than the first but to me there is a bigger reason nobodys really mentioned.

The villian and his pland are actually coherent. The last 15 minutes of Hellboy really doen't make any sense with the tentacles in the sky and the tentacles coming out of Rasputin. Maybe if you have a degree in Lovecraft mythology you would get it but I certianly didn't.

Here the ending actually makes sense, the villian's plan is coherent, and more improtantly he's not just a bad guy. Nuada is actually multi dimensional and you can kind of sympathize with him as he lays waste to various people. This is the best thing about the film. The touch of having the Princess and him being twins who will die if there the other one dies was a nice touch and added some necessary urgency to the Princess/Abe storyline. In fact this movie has so much heart. I actually cared about the characters this time around. I'm surprised at how much this film is being knocked here for lack of heart. The first film was formal and distant. Here the love stories worked for me and even though Selma Blair was terrible once again I actually liked the character this time. The German addition was a particuraly nice touch. Well handled with a fantastic voice by Seth McFarlane.


Unlike several comic book films this summer including the ridiculously overpraised Wanted Hellboy 2 has heart, an engaging storyline with substance, and a real epic feel to it. I particuraly loved the moment where the Angel of Death warns that it can save Hellboy but that means it could bring about the worlds destruction in the future.

Oh and the costume designs were simply amazing. GDT is a Master at this. The Angel of Death costume particuraly blew me away. In fact just watch the Troll Market scene again. A simply stunning scene. Although there was more of this underworld flair and it wasnt just confined to one scene.

I hope more people like it. As I said before the movie I think is a clear step forward from the first film and also the first of GDTs American films that compliment sincere storytelling with his fantastic visuals.

9/10

[shoe1985]

I saw this and Wanted last night, I made the mistake of seeing Wanted first, that movie was incredible. As for why I made my mistake, keep reading below.

Hellboy 2 started off strong, but I was thinking, "This seems like the same scene as in the first one, only this time he has more help." I won't go into great detail and keep this short. The movie was great to look at, no doubt. But there lies the problem, it seemed more about the visuals than the story. The actions scenes were good, but I wanted better. The actors did a great job. I enjoyed the villian a lot. Like I said, I saw the amazing Wanted before this one, and that was action packed with a great story, while Hellboy should of been the first one to watch.

I will give Hellboy 2 a 7/10. I do like the setup for the possible sequel though.

[Lost in Space]

Hellboy II is weird, because it is not, in any way, original. It virtually copies word for word Blade II. however the creatures Del Toro creates and the diaologue manage to keep the movie going, and entertaining. Del Toro creates the billionth ground smashing, rock-em-sock-em movie of the summer, yet does it with style.

6/10

[chinton]

Wow I really seem to be in the minority about this film actually having substance. I loved the origin of the villian, the backstory and the great underworld that this film built around him.

I realize I'm in the minority but it just blows me away that a film like Wanted which has a lot of great action to disguise its ineptitude in storytelling could be praised over a film like Hellboy 2 which has a genuine storyline filled with actual characters. Unlike Wanted this film actually tackled the morals concerning the main villian rather than the glib and superficial way Wanted does. I'm just really surprised.

[shoe1985]

Wow I really seem to be in the minority about this film actually having substance. I loved the origin of the villian, the backstory and the great underworld that this film built around him.

I realize I'm in the minority but it just blows me away that a film like Wanted which has a lot of great action to disguise its ineptitude in storytelling could be praised over a film like Hellboy 2 which has a genuine storyline filled with actual characters. Unlike Wanted this film actually tackled the morals concerning the main villian rather than the glib and superficial way Wanted does. I'm just really surprised.

I felt while watching HB2 that Del Torro was concentrating too much on visuals rather than stories. Wanted was an action story from the beginning to the end. It didn't try to say it was something other than that. I thought the story was pretty good too. You knew just enough to get through the movie. HB2 was far from a bad movie, but it wasn't that great either.

[spacemonkey]

Thanx for the great review Spacemonkey. You seem to have much background in movies. I too was wondering if others were seeing the eco messages in current sci-fi flicks. Giving humans their due in trashing the planet, to the point that the elementals rebel against us.

Its true films like Children of Men and The Happening are a good examples of this. Movies keep reminding us that if we dont do something about it, nature is going to rebel against us because we are constantly raping it. Its the message in Hellboy II as well, the nature friendly Bathmoorians vs. evil humanity who keeps destorying and blowing up everything. It was most evident in that scene where Hellboy battles the giant tree thing.


I didn't register all that Blade similarity, but it did strike me that Prince Nuada looked like a vampire.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/c/h/k/PHeXXnehq8Hchk_m.jpg

Well, if you check the plots for both movies are extremely similar, hell even the actor who plays rebellious Prince Nuada is the same actor who plays Nomak, the rebellious reeper in Blade II. Both characters have a sister who is a princess, and on both movies, the sister does not agree with the path the brother is taking so she seeks for outside assitance to stop him. In Blade II, they searched for Blade in Hellboy II she searches for Hellboy and the BPRD.

They both deal with royalty. Royal families in which the son rebels against the father to try and usher in a "new era". In Blade II Nomak wanted to make the reapers the ruling vampire class, in Hellboy II, Prince Nuada wants to eliminate humanity and let the Bathmoorians rule.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b300/spacemonkey_fg/nomak.jpg

[Lost in Space]

You all have a shitty ass taste in movies. I am a far superior judge of film quality. You suck, I rock

Fixt

Just kidding, but seriously. Who was praising Wanted, that is now throwing down hate on Hellboy II. I don't think many people liked Wanted. Although there are some similiarities in wanted and HB2. Such as how wanted was a facsimile of Fight Club, and HB2 was a distorted photocopy of Blade 2.

[LordSimen]

Wow I really seem to be in the minority about this film actually having substance. I loved the origin of the villian, the backstory and the great underworld that this film built around him.

I realize I'm in the minority but it just blows me away that a film like Wanted which has a lot of great action to disguise its ineptitude in storytelling could be praised over a film like Hellboy 2 which has a genuine storyline filled with actual characters. Unlike Wanted this film actually tackled the morals concerning the main villian rather than the glib and superficial way Wanted does. I'm just really surprised.

I agree with you 100%.

[shoe1985]

Fixt

Just kidding, but seriously. Who was praising Wanted, that is now throwing down hate on Hellboy II. I don't think many people liked Wanted. Although there are some similiarities in wanted and HB2. Such as how wanted was a facsimile of Fight Club, and HB2 was a distorted photocopy of Blade 2.

I mentioned that I saw Wanted then went right after and saw HB2, mainly because I had a free pass because of a problem with the theater beforehand.

I did mention that I thought Wanted was better. I wasn't putting HB2 down or anything, it was a good movie.

[spacemonkey]

Hellboy II made me want to go see it again immediately after it was over! Im probably gonna check it out again sometime this week.

[Shockwave]

Hellboy II made me want to go see it again immediately after it was over! Im probably gonna check it out again sometime this week.

I was about to post the same thing.

[outsyder]

Am I the only one who liked Myers from the first Hellboy? I thought he was a good element not only in introducing the audience to the world of Hellboy, but as the binary opposite of Hellboy with Liz caught in the middle between them.

[chinton]

Fixt

Just kidding, but seriously. Who was praising Wanted, that is now throwing down hate on Hellboy II. I don't think many people liked Wanted. Although there are some similiarities in wanted and HB2. Such as how wanted was a facsimile of Fight Club, and HB2 was a distorted photocopy of Blade 2.


I wasn't actually directing it at anyone. It just seemed to me at least that Wanted is getting a far higher average grade or rating compared to HB2 on this board.

[Shockwave]

Am I the only one who liked Myers from the first Hellboy? I thought he was a good element not only in introducing the audience to the world of Hellboy, but as the binary opposite of Hellboy with Liz caught in the middle between them.

I actualy hope Myers comes back if they do a third movie. They could do alot with the character.

------SPOILERS!---------------------------------------------








Kinda like the "contact" they still have in the government since they all left at the end of part 2.

[Bourne101]

I don't think many people liked Wanted.

Where are you getting that idea? Most of the Schmoes on the board loved it, and critics definitely loved it.

72% on RT, 80% RT community.

[Bourne101]

I wasn't actually directing it at anyone. It just seemed to me at least that Wanted is getting a far higher average grade or rating compared to HB2 on this board.

I enjoyed Wanted much more than Hellboy II. Wanted doesn't have a particularly new or different story, but then again, neither does Hellboy II. I felt that Wanted was more fun and entertaining, and the screenplay was very sharp with some very good dialogue. Hellboy II had a good script too, but there wasn't any dialogue that grabbed my interest like in Wanted. The comedic moments in Wanted worked much better and had me laughing probably 80-90% of the time, opposed to Hellboy which had me maybe laughing 20% of the time.

Hey, different strokes for different folks. I just thought Wanted was much more entertaining and had a better screenplay than Hellboy.

[Shockwave]

Where are you getting that idea? Most of the Schmoes on the board loved it, and critics definitely loved it.

72% on RT, 80% RT community.

I think my only gripe with the movie is how much they changed it from the comic.

I was always a big fan of "if your going to adapt something then adapt IT."

Still rocked, but Hellboy just had such imagination and craft put into it, i cant help but admire the movie more.

He so needs to do a DR STRANGE movie.

[Bourne101]

I think my only gripe with the movie is how much they changed it from the comic.

I was always a big fan of "if your going to adapt something then adapt IT."

Still rocked, but Hellboy just had such imagination and craft put into it, i cant help but admire the movie more.

I didn't read the comic, so I can't really judge the movie on that.

By imagination and craft I assume you mean visual effects, because Hellboy's story is no more imaginative or original than Wanted's. Wanted wasn't exactly a movie where I wanted a characters eyes to be in their hands or wings, lol.

[spacemonkey]

Why are we talking about Wanted on Hellboys II thread again?

[Bourne101]

Why are we talking about Wanted on Hellboys II thread again?

Chinton compared it, and I laid out an opposing argument. That's all.

[Shockwave]

I didn't read the comic, so I can't really judge the movie on that.

By imagination and craft I assume you mean visual effects, because Hellboy's story is no more imaginative or original than Wanted's. Wanted wasn't exactly a movie where I wanted a characters eyes to be in their hands or wings, lol.


The story itself is not, i agree, but rather just the monster designs and such.

Its really COMPLETELY unfair to compare the two in that regard, given that Wanted isnt even going for that AT ALL, but i will anyway!

I just dug Hellboy 2 more because of my own personal love for cool creature/monster designs and imaginative monsters. Maybe because i kept thinking of stuff like LABRYNTH and THE DARK CRYSTAL while watching the movie. It just seemd like it was made with alot of love torwards things we dont get to see alot of nowadays.

WANTED was a really great action movie, but it really didnt do anything different. I guess thats what it comes down to, not that Hellboy was really better then Wanted to me, but that Hellboy 2 was so much more different then even most comic book movies.

I was glued to the screen wondering WTF i was going to see next.

[Bourne101]

Coolio. I enjoyed Hellboy II very much as well. I just enjoyed Wanted more. ;)

[spacemonkey]

I think my only gripe with the movie is how much they changed it from the comic.

I was always a big fan of "if your going to adapt something then adapt IT."

Still rocked, but Hellboy just had such imagination and craft put into it, i cant help but admire the movie more.

He so needs to do a DR STRANGE movie.

Now theres an idea! DelToro directing a Dr. Strange movie, it would suit him perfectly thats for sure.

Anyhows, about Hellboy not being faithful to the comics. I dont agree so much with this comment so much Shockwave. The reason is because Mignolas early comics didnt really have a continuity to them. For the most part the Hellboy comics where always a bunch of short stories that always revolved around the supernatural.

The Hellboy comics and graphic novels were never as sequential as say a Spider Man comic book. Hellboy and the BPRD were always there, but the real stars of the comics were the different supernatural myths that Mignola always brought to life in them. Werewolves, vampires, the baba yaga, elves, witches...whatever supernatural tale he chose to exploit in that story.

There were a few core stories that dealt with Hellboys origins like for example "Seed of Destructionl" or "The Chained Coffin" but most of the time they were a bunch of short stories that appeard in Dark Horse Presents, sporadically. At least it was this way in the beginning, when Mignola was doing them. They might be more serialized now because of the popularity of the movie, but at the very beginning when Mignola was personally drawing and writing the tales, they were more like short stories that always revolved around some supernatural element, with Hellboy in them.

The movie captured the look and feel of Hellboy to a T. For the most part, Guillermos movies feel like a tale Mignola might have cooked up in his comics. In fact, the first movie has many different moments stolen directly from Mignolas different stories. LIke that scene in which Hellboy wakes up a dead guy and carries him around so the dead guy will tell him which way he has to go. Or the very early scenes in which Hellboy gets sucked out through the portal and the military personell takes a picture with him.

I say for the most part Guillermo captured the very essense of the comic book, the feel of the characters and the essence of their personalities. Origin wise he pretty much stuck to the comics as well, he didnt change much about the origin of Hellboy, though I must say, there is still a lot to be said about his origins.

For those of you wanting to go deeper into Hellboys origins, check out The Chained Coffin and other stories.

[Shockwave]

Coolio. I enjoyed Hellboy II very much as well. I just enjoyed Wanted more. ;)

Its a very good movie. Gave me exactly what i wanted going into it.


Back on the subject on Hellboy 2, did anyone else catch what the Angel of Death said to Liz? That he appears each time?

Does he mean each time Hellboy comes close to death/dies? Is he pretty much there simply to keep Hellboy from dying before he kills humanity?

If so, i wonder if we wont see him again in the next movie.

[spacemonkey]

Its a very good movie. Gave me exactly what i wanted going into it.


Back on the subject on Hellboy 2, did anyone else catch what the Angel of Death said to Liz? That he appears each time?

Does he mean each time Hellboy comes close to death/dies? Is he pretty much there simply to keep Hellboy from dying before he kills humanity?

If so, i wonder if we wont see him again in the next movie.

I dont recall him saying to Liz that he appears everytime or anything, but Ive only seen the movie once so, I might be wrong there. But Death basically told Liz, "if I keep him alive, his going to bring the destruction of the world? Do you understand that?" And she said "sure, Ill deal with that later".

SAme thing Abe did, he gave Prince Nuada the piece of the crown just so he could save the Princess.

I wonder, why did these characters act in such selfish ways on this movie? Whats Guillermo trying to say with this? Love is first then ANYTHING?

[spacemonkey]

It just seemed to me at least that Wanted is getting a far higher average grade or rating compared to HB2 on this board.

Dont know what board youve been visiting, but for the most part, the grand majority of the posters on this thread have said this movie rocks, and that it is far superior to the original.

I have to say I agree!

[Shockwave]

I dont recall him saying to Liz that he appears everytime or anything, but Ive only seen the movie once so, I might be wrong there. But Death basically told Liz, "if I keep him alive, his going to bring the destruction of the world? Do you understand that?" And she said "sure, Ill deal with that later".

SAme thing Abe did, he gave Prince Nuada the piece of the crown just so he could save the Princess.

I wonder, why did these characters act in such selfish ways on this movie? Whats Guillermo trying to say with this? Love is first then ANYTHING?


I kinda liked that.

I wouldnt say there were selfish because they werent really doing it for themselves, but for a loved one. It made them seem much more real for it.

The Angel also said Liz would, by far, suffer far worse then anyone. She didnt care.

Humanity really hasnt done these people many favors other then keeping them hidden, and calling them freaks and throwing things at them whenever they show up in public. Hellboys father seemed to be the only one who really cared about these people.

Even Hellboy said he could turn his back on the world, but not on Liz.

Its kinda like Abe said in the first movie "All us freaks have is each other"

I have a feeling the love them is going to come rolling back in the next movie when Johann Kraus tells the story of how he got turned into a ghost and what it has to do with his dead wife, as was hinted at in this one.

[LordSimen]

I wonder, why did these characters act in such selfish ways on this movie? Whats Guillermo trying to say with this? Love is first then ANYTHING?

Selfish? The world turned their back on them after they saved their lives. They risk their neck everyday and the only respect they get from the general public is shit getting pelted at them on the streets and shouts proclaiming "FREAKS!"

Really, all those characters have in this world is themselves. The government uses them to their own means, to kill their own kind in order to save an ungrateful world. The people think they're freaks of nature that should be destroyed. The only ones who really love them, and treat them with respect, are the ones right next to them.

And so when the time comes that one of their own, one of their loved ones, are put in a position of danger, they choose them over the rest of the world. They're not being selfish, their thoughts are with the ones they love and not themselves. The ones being selfish is the world who turned their backs on them, not the other way around. I'd say their choices were the exact opposite of selfish.

[Shockwave]

It must also be pointed out that they were STILL willing to go on and fight to stop The Golden Army from killing humanity.

[chinton]

Selfish? The world turned their back on them after they saved their lives. They risk their neck everyday and the only respect they get from the general public is shit getting pelted at them on the streets and shouts proclaiming "FREAKS!"

Really, all those characters have in this world is themselves. The government uses them to their own means, to kill their own kind in order to save an ungrateful world. The people think they're freaks of nature that should be destroyed. The only ones who really love them, and treat them with respect, are the ones right next to them.

And so when the time comes that one of their own, one of their loved ones, are put in a position of danger, they choose them over the rest of the world. They're not being selfish, their thoughts are with the ones they love and not themselves. The ones being selfish is the world who turned their backs on them, not the other way around. I'd say their choices were the exact opposite of selfish.



Exactly. This was such a fascianting moment in the film. Liz was essentially saying that if she had to choose between humanity and her own "family" she would pick Red and friends and say screw humanity. Yet we understand her choice. Only one of the many moral complications in this film. Its easily one of the darkest and fascinating moments of any of the summer films.

[Cato]

:D Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

I think the second is better, but it still leave space for the third one to improve. The most touching part is when Abe and Red do a drunken duet to Barry Manilow's sappy "Can't Smile Without You". The Prince Nuada is coolest character in the whole sign. I wish the Hellboy trilogy can turn out to be comparative works to the Lord of the Rings. trailer (http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/18263923/review/21772402/hellboy_ii_the_golden_army)

[Ender]

***SPOILERS!!!***



I don't think that del Torro is telling us that the character's actions at the end of the movie are wise, intelligent, or in any way "correct". They're simply the choices that people make, good or bad.

Further, I think the "Screw humanity" sentiment is not really present. Liz very likely does not believe that Hellboy will destroy the world, just as Professor Broom didn't, and just as Abe (naively) believed that Prince Nuada would let them go once he had what he wanted.

The similarities to BLADE II seem pretty thin. Sure, they're there, but they're such broad strokes that you can draw comparison to a lot of stories. In fact, I likened the movie most to, of all things, FATAL FURY: THE MOTION PICTURE, which also featured a crazed brother who needed a magic crown in order to rule the world, and a rebellious sister who tried to hide it from him, and in the end the heroine of that movie also commits suicide in order to kill her brother and save her boyfriend. What do these similarities mean? Probably nothing. But even if they were intentional, it doesn't really matter. William Shakespeare blatantly stole the plot and story of almost every play he ever wrote, but he's still considered a great writer because his renditions of those stories were superior to the originals.

I wish that more attention had been given to the Prince in this flick. Although I agree that we're already not seeing enough of HB himself in this movie, the hints of nuance in the villain are intriguing, but not fully developed enough.

[spacemonkey]

***SPOILERS!!!***
The similarities to BLADE II seem pretty thin. Sure, they're there, but they're such broad strokes that you can draw comparison to a lot of stories. In fact,

************SPOILER*****************************

I dont think the similarities are all that thin! Aside from the Royal Feud issues that I mentioned on a past post, theres other similarities. For example: remember how Blade II ended with the vampiress Nyssa fading away, as her body was being burned by the sun, until finally it desintegrates into ashes? Now, how did Princess and Prince Nuada die on this movie? They turn to stone and desintegrate into smithereens, very similar to the deaths of Nomak and Nyssa in Blade II.

[spacemonkey]

Selfish? The world turned their back on them after they saved their lives. They risk their neck everyday and the only respect they get from the general public is shit getting pelted at them on the streets and shouts proclaiming "FREAKS!"

Really, all those characters have in this world is themselves. The government uses them to their own means, to kill their own kind in order to save an ungrateful world. The people think they're freaks of nature that should be destroyed. The only ones who really love them, and treat them with respect, are the ones right next to them.

And so when the time comes that one of their own, one of their loved ones, are put in a position of danger, they choose them over the rest of the world. They're not being selfish, their thoughts are with the ones they love and not themselves. The ones being selfish is the world who turned their backs on them, not the other way around. I'd say their choices were the exact opposite of selfish.

*************SPOILERS***************************** ******

Yes, I understand that. I know that the message this movie has is "all we freaks have is each other". And I know that the world rejects them, but a true hero sees past that and sees humanities ignorance, and wants to help them anyways. Much like the X-Men who have a great deal of rescentment towards humanity for rejecting them, but still, they save them in all three of their movies. Both the characters from X-Men and the BPRD are rejects, people find them different and repulsive and want nothing to do with them. They save humanity and all humanity can say back is "You Freaks!"

But still, that doesnt change the fact that Liz said yes to Hellboy being the destroyer of the world, or that Abe said "sure, turn that Golden Army on, I just want that Princess for ME!" At a glance these choices seem selfish, but ultimately they are not because they take care of the Golden Army anyways, and as for Hellboy being the destroyer of the world...well weve yet to see if that will happen. I wonder if when the moment comes Hellboy will have any choice in the matter? Or will he be blinded by his dark nature? That shall be interesting to see in a future Hellboy movie.

It seems to me this movie wasnt concerned about these characters being classical heroes who always make the right choices. They make they choice they gotta make then they deal with it. I liked that message.

I just asked this question to see what you guys would say, not cause Im bashing the movie. I liked that these guys dont always do what you would expect them to do, they make sometimes selfish decisions, sometimes not the best ones, but they deal with them. Much like we do in real life with our own decisions.

Even Spider Man was faced with the same dilemma in the first Spidey movie, when the Green Goblin makes Spiderman choose between Mary Jane, or the bus fool of kids. What did Spidey do? He saves both of them! Same as Liz, Abe and Hellboy end up doing. So their family and friends comes first in their lives, but they dont forget about the rest of the world either. So their really not that selfish, cause they take care of both things, even though at first glance it appears as though they are making a selfish choice.

http://media.movieweb.com/img/T/I/G/PHEl7NEHQbbTIG_m.jpg

[spacemonkey]

Whoa! Anybody notice the similarities here?

Kira The Gelflin from The Dark Crystal
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b300/spacemonkey_fg/dark.jpg

Princes Nuala from Hellboy II: The Golden Army
http://media.movieweb.com/img/y/O/M/PHKhoLKS9toyOM_m.jpg

[chinton]

***SPOILERS!!!***



I don't think that del Torro is telling us that the character's actions at the end of the movie are wise, intelligent, or in any way "correct". They're simply the choices that people make, good or bad.

Further, I think the "Screw humanity" sentiment is not really present. Liz very likely does not believe that Hellboy will destroy the world, just as Professor Broom didn't, and just as Abe (naively) believed that Prince Nuada would let them go once he had what he wanted.

The similarities to BLADE II seem pretty thin. Sure, they're there, but they're such broad strokes that you can draw comparison to a lot of stories. In fact, I likened the movie most to, of all things, FATAL FURY: THE MOTION PICTURE, which also featured a crazed brother who needed a magic crown in order to rule the world, and a rebellious sister who tried to hide it from him, and in the end the heroine of that movie also commits suicide in order to kill her brother and save her boyfriend. What do these similarities mean? Probably nothing. But even if they were intentional, it doesn't really matter. William Shakespeare blatantly stole the plot and story of almost every play he ever wrote, but he's still considered a great writer because his renditions of those stories were superior to the originals.

I wish that more attention had been given to the Prince in this flick. Although I agree that we're already not seeing enough of HB himself in this movie, the hints of nuance in the villain are intriguing, but not fully developed enough.


Ok maybe screw humainty is harsh but when Liz says yes to the Angel of Death I think its very clear whose side shes taking. In the end it just comes down to an interpretation of a line.

By the way I freakin love the Angel of Death scene.

[Shockwave]

Im wondering if we wont get a longer directors cut like we did of the first Hellboy on dvd.

[spacemonkey]

Im wondering if we wont get a longer directors cut like we did of the first Hellboy on dvd.

Im pretty sure we will Guillermo del Toro loves to pack his DVDs with lots of extras and extended scenes.

[Shockwave]

Im pretty sure we will Guillermo del Toro loves to pack his DVDs with lots of extras and extended scenes.

Im drooling already at the prospects of getting as packed a dvd like we got out of the first Hellboy.

[corran horn]

Wow I really seem to be in the minority about this film actually having substance. I loved the origin of the villian, the backstory and the great underworld that this film built around him.

I realize I'm in the minority but it just blows me away that a film like Wanted which has a lot of great action to disguise its ineptitude in storytelling could be praised over a film like Hellboy 2 which has a genuine storyline filled with actual characters. Unlike Wanted this film actually tackled the morals concerning the main villian rather than the glib and superficial way Wanted does. I'm just really surprised.

I fully agree. One thing GDT can never be accused of is for making films lacking a heart. His, despite their grisly nature, have that in spades. It may just be that Hellboy is a different kind of superhero than people are used to. As someone who has often felt out of place (except with my closest friends) and occasionally been called a "freak", I can understand where Big Red's coming from.

As for HB being "destroyer of the world", I'm not entirely sure that prophecy is being interpreted correctly. It could mean that he wipes out all life on Earth, or quite possibly, he brings about an enormous transition in which the old world ends and a new one begins. I feel that is more likely. This is not to say that the transition will be easy (they never are) or that there won't be pain and suffering, but it may be what life on Earth needs. It may indeed involve wiping out human life and having the freaks take charge, but to be honest, I don't think that would be much of a loss.

[xseanymacx]

SPOILER


































************SPOILER*****************************

I dont think the similarities are all that thin! Aside from the Royal Feud issues that I mentioned on a past post, theres other similarities. For example: remember how Blade II ended with the vampiress Nyssa fading away, as her body was being burned by the sun, until finally it desintegrates into ashes? Now, how did Princess and Prince Nuada die on this movie? They turn to stone and desintegrate into smithereens, very similar to the deaths of Nomak and Nyssa in Blade II.

30 Days of Night ended with Hartnett's vampire character turning to dust and blowing away...

[CyclicNightmare]

Spoiler alert. Thanks, sean.

[spacemonkey]

I fully agree. One thing GDT can never be accused of is for making films lacking a heart. His, despite their grisly nature, have that in spades. It may just be that Hellboy is a different kind of superhero than people are used to.

I agree, people are not used to having a superhero be a demon from hell, have horns and a pointy tail. They dont know it yet (cause it hasnt been shown in the films) but his mother is a witch who sold her soul to a demon, who in turn had sex and impregnated her...with the half demon, half human superhero weve come to know as hellboy.


As for HB being "destroyer of the world", I'm not entirely sure that prophecy is being interpreted correctly. It could mean that he wipes out all life on Earth, or quite possibly, he brings about an enormous transition in which the old world ends and a new one begins. I feel that is more likely. This is not to say that the transition will be easy (they never are) or that there won't be pain and suffering, but it may be what life on Earth needs. It may indeed involve wiping out human life and having the freaks take charge, but to be honest, I don't think that would be much of a loss.

Well, if you take in to consideration the biblical ramifications of Hellboys story (he is a demon from hell you know) you have to then think that when they say that Hellboy is destined to bring on the apocalypse, also commonly known as Armageddon, they are referring to the end of the world. So yeah, Hellboy is destined to do this.

The answer lies in his right hand, aka The Right Hand of Doom. It was hinted at in the first Hellboy movie, when his hand is was used to open the gates to another dimension and bring through the Ogdru Jahad, those giant tentacled creatures floating around in another dimension. Only hellboy can do this, since his stone hand was used by some god to trap these creatures...it is only with this stone hand that they can be released. Though it came close to happening in the first movie...it never did. So maybe we have yet to see more tentacled creatures in Hellboys future films. One can only hope!

[joeyatog]

Wanted was just OK. it didn't really have anything to do with the comic book it is based on. it has some slick action but overall it wasn't too exciting.

Hellboy 2 was fantastic though! it was hilarious, beautiful makeup and creature fx, and it had some heart! i really enjoyed it!

[Kings-Rook1]

One can only hope!


Agreed 1000%. Finally caught it last night and was definitely entertained. Few issues story wise (most have already been mentioned in detail) and some of the dialog and acting left something to be desired but the action and comedic lightheartedness was fun. Loved the eye candy but at times I was thinking what the fuck was that instead of wow that cool. You got to love flawed characters and Prince Nuada needed to be “fleshed” out more and some more screen time loppin’ heads wouldn’t have hurt.

Dug his blades and the fight choreography was a pleasure to watch.
http://www.alteregocomics.com/store/files/images/small/t_5157.gif (http://www.alteregocomics.com/store/catalog/Hellboy_II_Sword-p-5157.html)
http://www.alteregocomics.com/store/files/images/small/t_5156.gif (http://www.alteregocomics.com/store/catalog/Hellboy_II_Prince_Nuada_Spear-p-5156.html)

[spacemonkey]

Dug his blades and the fight choreography was a pleasure to watch.
http://www.alteregocomics.com/store/files/images/small/t_5157.gif (http://www.alteregocomics.com/store/catalog/Hellboy_II_Sword-p-5157.html)
http://www.alteregocomics.com/store/files/images/small/t_5156.gif (http://www.alteregocomics.com/store/catalog/Hellboy_II_Prince_Nuada_Spear-p-5156.html)

Yeah, I loved those extending swords, they kicked ass. The fights at the end reminded me a bit of Nomaks and Blades confrontation in Blade II. Though in Blade II the moves were more influenced by wrestling moves then on Hellboy II.

[KCJ506]

Enjoyed this better than the first one. I'm glad this time Abe had more screentime.

The best parts were

1. The locker room scene with Hellboy and Krauss

2. When Hellboy and Abe get drunk and sing along to the Can't Smile Without You song, and when Abe almost tells Hellboy about Liz being preggers. Doug was great at playing a drunk Abe.

3. The credits, just cuz it reminded me of how funny the drunk scene was.

Hope they make a third. I'd love to see what happens to the characters. I know that the director has other movies he has to make, but I hope he makes those soon, cuz I wanna see Hellboy 3. They left the end of this movie open to a third and if they don't make one I'm going to a little pissed. Cuz I kinda really want to know whats going to happen to Liz and how she will suffer the most.

10/10.

[Kings-Rook1]

Yeah, I loved those extending swords, they kicked ass. The fights at the end reminded me a bit of Nomaks and Blades confrontation in Blade II. Though in Blade II the moves were more influenced by wrestling moves then on Hellboy II.

After reading your comments about Blade II I made sure to avoid it before going to see HB; I'll have to give it a view now to refresh my memory.

Bradley James Allen handled the stunt coordination (had to look it up) and has some nice work to his credit (90% of which has been on Jackie Chan flicks). The wire work was minimal and well done when used (not abused). For Blade II I’m sure Wesley and his double, Clay Fontenot, choreographed most of it. Again I got to give it another view.

[Ender]

************SPOILER*****************************

I dont think the similarities are all that thin! Aside from the Royal Feud issues that I mentioned on a past post, theres other similarities. For example: remember how Blade II ended with the vampiress Nyssa fading away, as her body was being burned by the sun, until finally it desintegrates into ashes? Now, how did Princess and Prince Nuada die on this movie? They turn to stone and desintegrate into smithereens, very similar to the deaths of Nomak and Nyssa in Blade II.


I dunno, I'm not convinced. The brother and sister in this flick have a very close (even incestuous) relationship and being at odds with one another creates internal conflict for them, whereas the characters in BLADE II didn't even know they were related and they hated each other (ditto for the father son relationship, which is pretty nonexistant in BLADE II whereas in THE GOLDEN ARMY the bad guy seems genuinely pained at killing his father).

The alliance of the hero and the family in BLADE II was one of convenience and inevitable treachery, whereas Hellboy and the Princess (and the King, not that he was around long enough for it to make a difference) are legitimiately on the same side. The Reapers in BLADE II didn't really have a largescale goal comparable to Prince Nuada's quest for the Golden Army, and there was no real MacGuffin for Goss' character in the previous flick.

The death scenes dont' seem terribly similar to me either, and I'm reminded of a film critic who once pointed out that the death scene of the ape in KING KONG and Leslie Banks in THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME were very similar in appearance, but after he realized he was overanalyzing he simply admitted "Then again, how many different ways are there to fall off a ledge?"

[spacemonkey]

Im not saying its an exact replica, Im just saying, they are very similar at their cores. Of course they are also very different. The difference between them being the different mythologies involved. Blades mythology and Hellboys mythology.

Still, Hellboy II had enough new elements, cool characters and creatures in it to keep it from being a complete carbon copy.

[LordSimen]

.

The similarities to BLADE II seem pretty thin. Sure, they're there, but they're such broad strokes that you can draw comparison to a lot of stories. In fact, I likened the movie most to, of all things, FATAL FURY: THE MOTION PICTURE, which also featured a crazed brother who needed a magic crown in order to rule the world, and a rebellious sister who tried to hide it from him, and in the end the heroine of that movie also commits suicide in order to kill her brother and save her boyfriend. What do these similarities mean? Probably nothing. But even if they were intentional, it doesn't really matter. William Shakespeare blatantly stole the plot and story of almost every play he ever wrote, but he's still considered a great writer because his renditions of those stories were superior to the originals.

I agree. I never once thought of Blade II whilst watching Hellboy 2. They have some similar aspects, but they're very vague similarities that fall apart when you start getting into the details. Really, they're similar but still entirely different movies.

It seems to me this movie wasnt concerned about these characters being classical heroes who always make the right choices. They make they choice they gotta make then they deal with it. I liked that message.

Exactly the point of the movie. Remember the tag line? "Believe it or not, he's the good guy." That right there sums up everything you need to know about what the characters are about.

[spacemonkey]

I agree. I never once thought of Blade II whilst watching Hellboy 2. They have some similar aspects, but they're very vague similarities that fall apart when you start getting into the details. Really, they're similar but still entirely different movies.

Thats what Ive been saying, similar in certain areas (the whole royal family feud thing) but still different enough to separate one from another.

[Cunning Visions]

Am I the only one who felt the final few scenes felt rushed and the film ended rather abruptly?

[Lazy Boy]

The scenes with the Golden Army felt sort of anticlimactic, but everything was made up by that final freeze shot -- great use of such a terrible, terrible, terrible song. Reminded me of Peter Parker's cheesy grin to the conclusion of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" in Spidey 2.

[xseanymacx]

Am I the only one who felt the final few scenes felt rushed and the film ended rather abruptly?

Not the only one.

[bigred760]

************SPOILER*****************************

I dont think the similarities are all that thin! Aside from the Royal Feud issues that I mentioned on a past post, theres other similarities. For example: remember how Blade II ended with the vampiress Nyssa fading away, as her body was being burned by the sun, until finally it desintegrates into ashes? Now, how did Princess and Prince Nuada die on this movie? They turn to stone and desintegrate into smithereens, very similar to the deaths of Nomak and Nyssa in Blade II.

**SPOILERS**

She didn't fade away like Nyssa in Blade II . . . the Princess just turned to whatever the hell she turned into. The Prince crumbled, but not the Princess.

[anakinsrise]

It was fun to once again enter Hellboy's world and Guillermo del Toro's
wildly creative mind.There is so much to take in in one scene alone.
I was so happy Abe and Liz were given more to do this time around.
Funny and action packed with romance
Scale of 1-10 an 8

[fabxxx]

Am I the only one not digging Liz' flames this time around?

I thought the blue flames were much more interesting than the normal yellow/red from this sequel. It just made her look like The Torch from FF... The blue flames from the first HB moved more fluidly (is that a word?) than this time around... Just a small grip :)

Great movie!
8/10

[JCPhoenix]

SPOILERS

Decent but not as good as I expected based on the reviews.

What's good about the film? The visuals. All the crazy creatures in the film were just incredible, interesting designs. There are so many subtleties in the way they move and react to what's going on that they really feel like they live in the world. They were the major reason I enjoyed the film.

The action sequences are pretty good. I really dug Ron Perlman overall in the film and things felt more unique and alive than the last film for sure.

BUT...there's a ton of bad that I feel was overlooked because people just dug the visuals. And most of the bad is all in the script.

I felt Pan's Labyrinth was a little symptomatic of this approach where it felt like things were made up as they went along (in Pan's Labyrinth, which I did enjoy quite a bit, each task felt just not too integrated into the film. By that I mean, the task could have been fetch a piece of crap from the toilet and things would have still turned out he same). In this film, while I dug the idea of this living breathing world around them that is not entirely explained, I didn't like how convenient things felt. They get to the Golden Army area and there's just conveniently some creature there who can bring them to the Angel of Death to heal Hellboy. Just like of all the places, of course the Princess just conveniently happens to be at the Troll Market.

Those were just minor problems for me though. My main issues were some plotholes I feel haven't been addressed.

The biggest and most obvious one to me is...why didn't they burn the golden army crown before? The princess had part of it at the headquarters and then they just argue a bit over who should be keeping hold of the artifact. If Selma Blair's character can burn it later on, she should have just been able to burn up part of it there and then and there wouldn't be a problem.

Secondly...I don't buy Abe's actions for a second. He meets this princess like a day before and suddenly he's in love with her. Okay fine, I can deal with that. What I can't buy is that he would give up this piece of the crown to the prince, knowing it would probably doom the world and the prince would probably kill them anyway. Okay, you might say, he's in love with the princess. I get that he MIGHT do it if he was saving the princess. But he absolutely isn't. The princess is linked to the prince, therefore, the prince will never hurt her. Therefore, he basically fucked over humanity just for a possible remote chance of seeing the princess again. Not even saving her. That is just 100% unbelievable to me.

And let's not mention all the times when the characters just STAND AROUND as evil things are happening in front of them (the prince puts on the crown slowly, no one goes forth to try and stop him first? the prince takes out that glowing egg thing very very slowly, reaches up so everyone can see it, then throws it and everyone just STANDS THERE...on top of that, as the creature grows, Hellboy and them just stand there with their backs to the prince the entire time...). And of course there's the time when the princess tells Abe that she and her twin brother are linked and that he knows their location...you'd think they would do a little more on the security end if they find that out but what do they do...oh yeah, go get fucking hammered. That makes a lot of sense.

Or the fact that most of the script is essentially just an excuse to keep bringing out new weird creatures that don't affect the actual storyline much at all. Most of the creatures are cool but not integrated in the least in the storyline. Just like I felt in Pan's Labyrinth. The forest god, for that matter, was completely, utterly anticlimactic. Here you have this big, massive creature that the prince unleashed for I-have-no-idea-what-reason and then...all it takes are a few big bullets to kill it. Okay then. Why did the prince unleash this in the first place?

Yeah the prince happens upon Hellboy in the middle and yabbers on a bit about having a choice but quite honestly...throwing some egg, hoping it will conveniently fall into a sewer where there's water, just to grow some big monstrosity that can be killed by a few gunshots seems like a really roundabout and, um, complicated way to prove those points to Hellboy.

And the people turning on Hellboy there? I didn't buy it in the vein of the scene when it's fairly clear there was a massive monstrosity wandering around crushing things and Hellboy just very clearly saved their ass and gives the kid back perfectly. Yeah there was a bit of hostility before to Hellboy here and there but there was also some semi-goodwill when he first revealed himself fully to the people.

And finally, Selma Blair...I liked half of the lines she delivered in the film and the other half I thought she was uneven. Her entire performance as a whole though, I felt like she was doped up on Valium or something. I don't know if it was the actual script or her performance, but something struck somewhat off (even her flames, like said above, looked inferior to me to the blue flames from the last film). The relationships just felt barely convincing to me and sometimes there was too much over-the-top stuff, and not enough actual meat to make us care about the relationship between her and Hellboy. The comedy was half and half (some of it worked really well - most of the Johan Krauss stuff was funny - while the lines that fell through just felt...really really lame). I thought the music by itself sounded decent but in the context of the film it was so over-the-top epic and sad and just a tad inappropriate at times that it made the movie feel cheesier.

But even with all those criticisms, I still enjoyed the film to an extent. That enjoyment was 90% based on the stunning visuals and the fact that the movie still moved at a relatively good pace with all its flaws. I'd give the movie near perfect marks on visuals. On a story/dialogue level, this would warrant about a 3 or 4.

6/10...maybe, MAYBE a low 7/10 but I gotta think on it

[gyro_44]

Just saw this. Pretty awesome.

There's so much imaginative stuff in this movie (realized using an amazing mix of CGI and makeup/prosthetics) that I picture George Lucas crying in a corner somewhere. Plus a great sense of humor, characters with personality and good action scenes.

Del Toro rules. I prefered this over the original.

8/10, at least.

[a7xfan]

yeah i just saw this too, fucking awesome, the first was great, this surpassed it by far.
visuals were awesome, the characters were great. (i was 'awww-ing' at abe when hellboy walked in on him listening to the cd)

hilarious also, i was LOLing at alot of things during it. awesome film 9/10

i prefered this over tdk.

[redfiretruck]

Saw this with a friend who dragged me (I haven't seen the first one) and it was... okay. Those tooth fairies though- omg, scary! I was like covering my eyes! But anyway it really didn't thrill me, best thing about it was Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions & The Sweetest Thing are love!). I'd say 5/10

[ozinoz]

It only opened here in the land of Oz last Thursday but I managed to catch it last night. My personal view is that I was disappointed. To me it felt like a cross between Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. It just didnt have any of the feel of the first one. While it certainly didnt suck a fat one, it was on its knees puckering up. :o

Definitely no more than 5.5/10 from me (for what ever that is worth)

Cheers