Hellboy II: The Golden Army Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES
Saving the world is a hell of a job
The mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth, so as Hellboy and his team returns they must save the world from the rebellious creatures. Now, as the creatures who inhabit the spiritual realm gear-up for an all out attack on the human plane, the only one capable of saving the Earth is a tough-talking hellspawn rejected by both worlds.
| Ron Perlman | Hellboy |
| Selma Blair | Liz Sherman |
| Doug Jones | Abe Sapien/The Chamberlain/The Angel of Death |
| James Dodd | Johann Krauss |
| Jeffrey Tambor | Tom Manning |
| Luke Goss | Prince Nuada |
| Anna Walton | Princess Nuala |
| John Hurt | Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm |
| John Alexander | Johann Kraus/Goblin |
| Roy Dotrice | King Balor |
| Ferenc Elek | Angry Neighbour |
| Brian Herring | Silkard-Fish Vendor |
| Iván Kamarás | |
| Seth MacFarlane | Johann Kraus |
| Sandor Istvan Nagy | Dark Troll |
| Guillermo del Toro |
7.60 out of 10 (32481 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Wow... This was really COOL LOOKING. But it was a huge disappointment in all other aspects...
posted on 30 Aug 2009GDT's vision, execution, and production value are AMAZING. The special effects, the costumes, the larger then life Elemental Forest God... all beautiful...The movie was horrible, the plot line was campy, the blue guy pointing at the MAIN villain like a little kid "HE LIED TO US!" were all just horrible, then the drunk SINGING scene,,, and to end the movie with that same song.My GF LOVED Hellboy 1, I thought it was pretty cool and expected this one to be amazing... It was horrible...This movie was a beautiful monster, I'd watch it on mute just to see the action and beauty of the film, but the story and dialog were horrible.
Could have been the most fun movie of the year.....
posted on 28 Aug 2009Yet the script was so poorly written it was barely passable. The style and special effects was amazing, most of the acting top notch, and almost all the dialog was spot on. All actors really got into there roles with the exception of Selma Blair. She was barely a cardboard actress, I never felt ONE emotion from her, she was worse than any of the Star Wars Episodes 1-3 actors/actresses!!!!! Everything but the script and Selma was sooo good that I want to rate it a 9 but those two things were sooooooooo bad that it gets knocked down to a 7!!! The creatures del Toro creates are fantastic can not wait for the DVD so i can pause it on the scenes with MULTIPLE characters in it so I can see all the hard work and imagination he put forth. I have the exact same feelings of this one as I did the first one but I am still holding out hope that the third times a charm (and hopefully rated R)!!!!!! This is my first review ever please leave me feedback in what I should have added. Thanks for reading it!!!!
Hellboy II: The Golden Army Movie Review by The Massie Twins
posted on 28 Aug 2009Visually breathtaking, Hellboy II is essentially director Guillermo del Toro's Star Wars. Minus the space travel, Hellboy is Han Solo, full of wit and sarcasm, and longing for adventure and romance. His area of uniqueness is solely in the humor that surrounds and drives many of the story's elements; sadly Hellboy's design is perhaps the least creative aspect of the film. This second chapter adds more oddities and monstrosities than ever before and enthralls with practical creature effects where possible, and stunning computer animation everywhere in between. But the legends and myths Grand Guignol still lacks what the first film did - it is a banquet of visual delights, but when the feast is over, we're still conspicuously empty.Legend tells of an unstoppable army of golden automatons that were used in the wars between the spiritual world and humans. A truce was struck that allowed humans to frequent the cities, and the trolls, elves, fairies and other mythical creatures to inhabit the forests. The golden army was locked away, to lie dormant for all time. But a crown was forged that controlled the mechanical army, and although split into three parts to ensure its safekeeping, it has become the target for nefarious masterminds.Not content with his people hiding away from the humans, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) seeks out the fragments of the crown to regain control of the golden army. His intent is to destroy humankind so that the creatures of the occult can walk freely through the streets. But the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, led by the crimson demon abomination Hellboy (Ron Perlman), isn't about to let that happen. Joined by fellow BPRD agents, including the pyrokinetic Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), aquatic empath Abraham Sapien (Doug Jones) and protoplasmic wizard Johann Krauss (Seth McFarlane), the always cocky, wisecracking Hellboy is destined to throw a wrench into the schemes of Nuada. But will it be enough to save the very world that fears the likes of Hellboy? Our rubicund protagonist is tormented with the idea of defending a civilization that will never understand him. As with most superheroes, the antagonists are oftentimes the humans that naturally fear the abnormal (or paranormal). To combat his inner conflictions, he dwells on cynicism and contempt for his superiors, who are unable to control his flaring temper. The humor in the film is the defining point of singularity for Hellboy's blueprint; this much comedy is rarely seen in an alien-heavy superhero movie, let alone a comic book adaptation (although the BPRD is rapidly turning into the MIB). While most take great care to convey every science fiction constituent as seriously as possible, Hellboy relishes in the ability to create awkward, laugh-inducing situations.There's still too much posing for the camera from all of the main characters (villains especially), but the introduction of dozens of new fantastical deviations drowns out the typical overdose of heroic photo stances. The Troll Market is del Toro's Mos Eisley Cantina, and serves to give audiences a glimpse at the creative geniuses behind the character designs. Crafted almost entirely with practical effects, the swarm of humorously preternatural monsters could lead to infinite derivative story lines, provided Hellboy acquires the same following as Star Wars. Too bad the chief antagonist is the most boring new character in the film.The action is still great, the creativity is on hyperspeed, but the story couldn't be less generic. Centuries-old evil awakening to battle Earth is not a new idea, but visually del Toro still makes it august. Taking the easy way out on unsolvable predicaments, getting a bit thick on the romance, and always going for laughs or visuals over sensibility, Hellboy II: The Golden Army can't quite seem to heat things up.- The Massie Twins
Great Follow up
posted on 28 Aug 2009A great followup to the first Hellboy. You can see they had more money this time to better the computer graphics and costuming. Ron Perlman is terrific again as Hellboy and well supported by Selma Blair and Doug Jones. Luke Goss is great as Prince Nuada and Anna Walton is a standout as Princess Nuala. I can see big things for her ahead. The story is a lot of fun with Hellboy's deadpan humor and it's just a good film to sit down and escape with.I also enjoyed the fact that the combat scenes were well-filmed. In an age where many directors resort to rapid edits of close up shots to give the impression of a flurry of action resulting in nothing but a nonsensical mess, it was great to see filmed action that could actually be followed, that was nicely orchestrated and using a bit of wire work too. Good job I say.For me this was the most enjoyable adaptation of a comic since probably X-Men 3.
One hell of a fun movie
posted on 28 Aug 2009Putting things in proper perspective, those who have watched "Pan Labyrinth" are fully aware of the visual wonders director Guillermo del Toro is capable of creating. Even those coming to "Hellboy II" with the highest expectations, however, will not be disappointed. It's not only sheer beauty, nor is it only painstaking details, but there's also ingenious imagination on which these stunning visuals build.On plot, characters and mise-en-scene, it doesn't need a film critic to point out the resemblance to Star Wars, a resemblance that reflects more of a conscientious tribute rather than mindless copying. While they do bring to mind C-3PO and Princess Leia, Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) and Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) are characters that have their own unique existence. On the other hand, the twin brother and sister Nuada (Luke Goss), embodiment of good and evil, have a distinct flavour Shakespearean tragedy.While visuals in clearly the main purpose – there are several scenes that will keep you eyes wide open even if you have not slept for a few nights – there is also wit and humor as well as affecting moments. There is one sequence that is an absolute stroke of ingenuity. During a languid lull between explosive action scenes, our to love-sick heroes are seen (and heard), after consuming God knows how many six-packs, singing along to the background of the sappiest of the sappiest love ballad, Barry Manilow's "Can't smile without you".Ron Perlman's Hellboy is the most lovable comic book hero around today (yes, quite Robert Downey's Iron Man is immensely popular, but I won't describe him as "lovable"). Strangely, it reminds me of George Kennedy's Joe Patroni in the Airport series. Selma Blair's Liz Sherman is a perfect match, striking good balance between between shining in her own persona but not outshining the central hero.Fantasy more than Sci-fi, "Hellboy II" is one hell of an entertainment that worths re-even if watching, just for the visuals.
More depth, cooler characters, better imagination - HELLBOY 2
posted on 26 Aug 2009When I had watched the first "Hellboy" movie in 2004, I had watched it without having read the comic book series first and was curious to see how these interesting characters would come into play on film. Had I read the comics books I would have had a better understanding towards the characters and the story. Never the less, just like any other movie, it should be watched without any prejudice, distortion, or comparison to the books or any other film. The movie, unfortunately, had fallen flat and I will not even begin to explain the many disappointing factors that had made the film not enjoyable.Now again, I had given "Hellboy 2" a chance without being bias or having the need to compare it with the first one and once again without having the knowledge from the comics. Compared to the first movie, it will blow it out of the water and as a stand alone, it is a phenomenal, well crafted movie.They gave more depth to the characters by giving them personalities with needs and flaws not just by looking cool with special powers, including the main villain which is my favorite. All the new characters were well design with high production value which reminded me of the great works of the Jim Henson studio. From a conceptually point of view the character designs were well worked into the story to add more of a contrast between the human world and the world of "Hellboy".It was also pretty obvious that they took the time to explore the world of Hellboy and its characters and because of that we were given even more spectacular events, cooler gadgets, better superpower abilities and greater action scenes.At the end the movie there was still a good moral message ,even though, it was built around a character(and from my understanding) the devil child who was originally suppose to wipe the human race out of existence by bringing on the apocalypse but instead decided to buy a house (probably in the suburbs with a white picket fence as well) to raise his kids. Over all it was great and anyone who hasn't read the comic books will very much enjoy the movie.
Hellboy oh boy
posted on 26 Aug 2009A significant step up from the first; the wit, action, emotional elements, and creativity make Hellboy II superior to the mighty 'Dark Knight' (king of the 2008 summer blockbusters.) in some ways, and the film never takes itself too seriously, which means that the stupidity is acceptable. Prince Nuada wants to break an ancient truce that his race made with humanity long ago, and release an army of mechanical golden warriors that was built for his king father, but it lay dormant once the truce was made. Nuada seeks to recover the royal crown needed to command the army and destroy humanity. This is where Hellboy and his team come in. The rest of the story sort of falls into play from there.Hellboy II is a very competent superhero story, until the climactic twenty minutes come about. At this point, Hellboy and his friends have found the location of the golden army which has been awoken by Nuada and is ready to crush the world. Five minutes later, all the soldiers are asleep again because of a very silly turn of events that will leave the audience rather disappointed. The ending is a short cliffhanger, and due to the sufficient success of the movie, another sequel is likely to be made.Even if you didn't like the original 'Hellboy', you will probably enjoy this one.
Great story, intriguing characters, and excellent special effects!!
posted on 22 Aug 2009M/24/Detroit - This was a very entertaining movie. I don't remember much about the first movie so I can't make a comparison but I was thoroughly entertained. Hellboy's character is a witty bad ass which goes well with all of the action and terrific visual effects. The monster scene was my personal favorite.The story is interesting, the characters intriguing, the action is constant and again the visual effects are sense tingling. The best way for me to describe it would be Men in Black meets Cloverfield meets X-Men. It was a hard-hitting and funny feast for the eyes. I highly recommend this movie.
Vitally Visual!
posted on 20 Aug 2009Guillermo Del Toro plays the film world as a game of chess. He has his big guns, his noble pieces, he has a few pawns, but he knows what will be mainstream and what will come more from his heart.It is often said that to own two fluent languages is to be possessed of two souls.Del Toro exemplifies this. His Spanish-language work is breathtakingly stylistic, but with excellent political and world sentiment.The visuals are metaphoric as well as stylistic. His mainstream work was viscerally pulled from the world of comic-books and European gore-horror as well as evident influences of the work of Brian Froud, Jim Henson's fantasy movies and the work of Lewis Carroll's chief illustrator. Moebius,. the inspiration for many of the uniquely stylised characters in the 'Star Wars' movies, was influential also.'Hellboy 2' marries the comic book viscera, lovingly regurgitated references to creature-features such as 'Gremlins 1 & 2', Harryhausen movies, not to mention 'Labyrinth' and 'The Dark Crystal'.In the casting of former Brit pop star Matt Goss as the elven prince Nuada, for example, there are echoes of legendary British rock star David Bowie essaying the role of Jareth, the goblin king, in Hensosn's 'Labyrinth'.'Hellboy' himself is clearly a labour of love for Ron Perlman and Del Toro and is sympathetic - even in the stepping-stone plot.Plot, however, is of little note when these kinds of sumptuous visuals are on display, proving Guillermo, possibly with inspiration from Mike Mignola, has a visual style as recognisable as Tim Burton's.
Bigger And Better Than The First.
posted on 16 Aug 2009If you enjoyed Hellboy, then you'll love Hellboy II. Everything is bigger, louder, more action packed. No disrespect to the first, but this may be a rare case of a sequel surpassing the original. Much like the first Hellboy, Hellboy II had that perfect mix of action, fantasy, sci-fi, drama, horror, romance, and some great comedy. Of course Hellboy was the most enjoyable character to watch, but all the characters were really portrayed well in this movie. Abe Sapien (possibly my favorite character from the first Helboy) was great, he was very relatable in this movie, he's no longer just some Fish-Guy. Liz was also easier to relate to, she seemed happier and more willing to play an active role in things. Prince Nuada is the perfect villain. He defies his superiors, he kills whoever gets in his way, and he wants to destroy humanity; what's more evil than that? Hellboy II was more of an action-adventure and less of a horror/sci-fi movie unlike the first Hellboy. It was a massive achievement in my book and i recommend it to absolutely anyone because it really did have the ultimate blend of all the big genres. One of the years best films.
Mind-numbingly derivative and predictable
posted on 16 Aug 2009This movie is a prime example of why I don't often see movies in the theater anymore. If I were at home I could have just turned it off, but if I've spent both time and money getting to the theater, I feel compelled to at least sit thru the movie in hopes that it'll get better. This one didn't.The problem with sequels is that you've already introduced the characters in the original, so now you have to make them do something the audience cares about. Which generally means a good story. The plot here is OK, but its "Broken truce from the past/battle fought here on Earth tonight/fate of mankind" has been done ad nauseum, and better than this. Del Toro has done much better work than this, and I feel he's either out of his element in a big budget Hollywood movie, or that he has much less creative control in such situations.This movie is a mishmash of hackneyed plot (she's pregnant), inane dialog "You must stay fock-you-sed" (see how funny words can sound when Germans pronounce them?), crummy sets (the Troll Market has nothing on Diagon Alley), and Abe Sapien doing his best "C3PO in a fish suit" impression.The Forest Elemental is a particularly offensive segment. At its start, Prince Nuada opens the "Golden EggCage of Power" and pulls out the Pulsing Green Jelly Belly. Princess Nuala, who presumably knows what this thing is, does nothing to stop it, does not even yell "Get It!", she just comments that "It's heading for water" as the characters inexplicably watch it bounce along and let it roll into water after a fairly lackluster attempt (after it's too late) by Abe to stop it. Perhaps the Jelly Belly has a standing 8 second Stupefy Curse upon release...No, the real reason the characters do nothing to stop the Jelly Belly is because if they did then the movie makers wouldn't get to show us just how much money they spent on CGI. On a side note, this bothered me throughout the movie. The possessed Tooth Fairy and the "Sleeping Giant Rock ManDoor" were just "Hey Look at Me, I'm CGI!" scenes that could have been much shorter because they added nothing to the progression of the story. Do I really care about a killer Tooth Fairy in its death throes?Anyway, back to the Elemental. This is probably the biggest budget scene, but also the most emotionally muddled. After dispatching this humongous tentacled creature which predictably destroys cars, buildings, people etc.., the Prince leaves Hellboy a dilemma: can you kill the last creature of its kind? Well, since that creature tends to wantonly destroy everything, it's not too hard a dilemma. After Hellboy (too) easily kills the creature, and it starts dying, we are made to feel sorry for it. Wait up, 45 seconds ago it was killing people left and right, and now I'm supposed to feel sorry for it as it dies? I mean, it's only CGI. It bored me while it was destroying and now it's boring me while it's dying! Move on to the next scene already!The ending was almost as bad. After descending into the Lair of the Hidden Golden Army, which looked suspiciously like the derelict spacecraft in Alien, Hellboy has it out with Prince Nadua in "every 'Gladiator meets Martial Arts' fight you've ever seen" manner. It would've been better if HB had managed to dispatch the Prince in a shorter and more clever way, because then we wouldn't've had to've sit through that mind-numbing segment, but I suspect the movie makers had enough trouble stretching the plot to get the movie past an hour.At the very end, the 4 main characters inexplicably quit their jobs, and I suspect one whole scene and perhaps a subplot was cut, because this mass exodus comes out of nowhere. To further highlight their resignation, the German Krauss character says to Jeffrey Tambor after his pleas for their return, "Suck my ectoplasmic schwanzstucker", which about sums up the literacy level of the script. Over 15 need not apply!The only positive thing about this cryptic ending is that now that all the main characters have quit their jobs, there may be no Hellboy 3.
A Hell of a Disappointment
posted on 10 Aug 2009The GOOD: Prince Nuada and Princess Nuala, the character of Hellboy himself, and a couple of the one-on-one fights. The BAD: Most of the supporting characters, the creature designs, and a lot of bad creature voice dubbing - especially in the dumb "young Hellboy" prologue that served as nothing but blatant exposition.The UGLY: Selma Blair's acting, the drunk/singing scene, and the love stories (especially the LAUGHABLE Abe Sapien/Princess Nuala relationship) Overall, I just found Hellboy II to be a step down from the first, and left me disappointed.
God awful piece of commercial .... !
posted on 10 Aug 2009If you mix a little of Warcraft 3 with The Mummy 3 you get HellBoy 2. Does that make sense?An evil elf of royal blood wants to break the ancient truce that held humans and the other creatures at peace. What other creatures, you ask? Why, the forest Gods, the creatures living under bridges and suspiciously similar to Star Wars aliens, trolls, elves, tooth fairies and goblins!Now this is a true revelation for me, the perfect recipe for peace: leave everything to the enemy, while you hide in some magic sewer.The story is ridiculous, the characters completely not sympathetic and the Peter Parker anguish just doesn't sit well with a red angry demon.Bottom line: it's not even good for laughs. It's an average modern day no brain neo-fantasy film. Yuckie!
A Fine Film for Fantasy Fans
posted on 08 Aug 2009I'd like to address the opinions that many IMDb'ers seem to have. The general mindset from this site seems to be one thing: absolute opinions. Either people say they love a movie, or they hate it. They say it's great, or it is full of fail. I say Hellboy II is neither great, nor awful. Instead, I say it is an ARCHETYPAL movie. Some people give that word another meaning, "predictable". I, on the other hand, strongly disagree. While people say that a movie is bland for having unsurprising events, I say that they are sadly mistaken. After all, it is archetypes that give a movie its theme. With that being said, it is true that, in order for a movie to be outright outstanding, they truly need something special, in order to shine. Breaking away from archetypes is normally the way of doing so. As such, there must be some things that give this movie a great appeal.The plot is a rather common one, but as I have already said, this is an archetypal film in many ways. Although the general plot is what is expected, the fine details are the things that I've enjoyed through the film. I went to this film, curious to see one thing: Character design. As such, I was more than pleasantly surprised. Yes, it's true that some characters aren't as three-dimensional as one would hope, but let us face facts; it is a two-hour long film, and people are called SECONDARY characters for a reason – not a lot of detail is given about them.The physical character designs left a person completely fulfilled. Knowing the director was the same from Pan's Labyrinth, I was overly excited to see some new, neat monsters, and was happily pleased. There are plenty of small details which should make a person smile, such as Abe's breathing apparatus showing plenty of air bubbles floating up, whenever he is obviously nervous, scared, or in trouble. Even the characters' attitudes left a great deal of glee. Hellboy is one unique superhero, while Abe is no different. Furthermore, Seth MacFarlane (writer of American Dad, producer of Family Guy) made a beautifully mastered Johann Krauss, who should leave everyone in smiles.Now, I'm afraid people will ignore this review, should I write much more. As such, I'd like to bring it to a quick close. Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a fine addition to the comic book life on the big screen. While I have seen many polar opposite beliefs on the quality of the film (it sucked vs. it was the best film ever), I'd advise watching it for yourself, and making your own opinions. Should you be interested in fantasy movies, I would highly recommend Hellboy II.
A bit too edible, but a good dating movie
posted on 06 Aug 2009Dating movie? Yes, me and my fiancée ended up seeing this movie on a date night. And it actually worked as a date movie! There were several songs in it that you could hum along to, and quite a few romantic and funny moments.But when I say too edible, I mean TOO EDIBLE. I watched the first one when it came out, and then once more before we went to see the new one. I quite liked the first movie, and was really looking forward to see if they had used and expanded the potential that was put in the first movie. BUT NOOO. They had made a "let's attract as wide an audience as possible"-movie. The main characters were less interesting than in the first one, there were a lot of unnecessary pop songs in the movie (kind of like in Spider-Man), and WAY too much of Toro's monsters in there. The movie had a very interesting view on elves, though. As in, they weren't just tall humans with pointy ears like in LOTR.So, to sum it all up: if you're going with the expectation of seeing a movie with the same qualities as the first movie, only better, you'll be DISAPPOINTED. But if you're going to the movie with a date, you've picked one that both you and your girl (or vice versa) will like.
A wonderful slice of Hellboy
posted on 02 Aug 2009IF you liked the first one, this is right up your alley.I say that mainly because the darker tone, the occult nature and the unusual imagery do have a tendency to put some movie-goers off. But if you simply want to see a movie about a demon who was raised by humans to fight evil, this is a great movie for you.Guillermo del Toro's direction style is very kinetic and flowing. This helps keep the pace of the movie going, keeping it from feeling like it is dragging. The scenes flow very nicely from one to the next (which is also done very nicely with some creative wipes and overlaps).The real draw for this film, however, is Hellboy and the team that has been provided for him. Ron Perlman is the absolutely perfect Hellboy. His delivery of the lines is nothing short of perfect in creating an acerbic, yet ultimately lovable (as well as loving) character. He has a wry humor about him that makes the Hellboy character something that we can all relate to. We've all had times when we feel under appreciated. We've all felt like the unwelcome outsider. Yet despite all of the inducements that he has to give up defending these humans, he continues to do it because that is what his "father" taught him to do.Of course Abe and Liz are here as well, and Doug Jones and Selma Blair each do a wonderful job of portraying their respective characters. But this is not their movie. It is interesting, however, to see one of the story elements of the first movie get turned around to portray the other side of it in this one when the team encounters the angel of death.In short, as I said above, if you liked the first one, this is just your kind of movie. I look forward to seeing what del Toro has in mind for the third movie. (Of course, we'll have to wait for him to finish "The Hobbit" first.)
Best Fantasy Since Lord Of The Rings
posted on 02 Aug 2009Just saw a press screening and I have to say...This movie just kicks ass!!! It's been a while since I saw the first one but this one has got to be a WHOLE lot better. It's definitely more fun and wildly imaginative. The new(and the old)characters are very interesting and funny also....especially Johann Krauss, the new leader of the team, with his accent and ridiculous costume(his voice actually remined me a lot of Jeremy Irons from Die Hard With A Vengeance lol) Perleman is so perfect that I can't imagine anyone else playing this role! It's seems like he's even better and having more fun with the character than the the first time. I love the way the movie doesn't take itself too seriously but instead opens up for a lot of comedy and funny one-liners...I LOVED the beer drinking scene! The characters reminded me to some extent of Pans Labyrinth, and I suspect if you loved that one you'll like this movie too. I love these movies where the director has a very personal and spesific vision, because the universe becomes so complete in and on to itself. Like watching a Tim Burton movie. I bet Del Toro is a very fitting choice to do The Hobitt now. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing this one again any time soon. Finally a movie that has lots of kick-ass action and long hairy balls!......a complete fantasy.
Oh Crap!....
posted on 31 Jul 2009Hellboy 2 is far superior to the first one in almost every way. In the first one, I didn't like the John Myers character that much. I thought he slowed the movie down, and I'm glad he's not in the second. Of course, he wasn't the only problem with the first, but many things in the second are far better than in the second. One of my favorite things with this film is the creatures that Del Toro created for the movie. The elves, trolls, goblins, fairies and others were just so freakin' awesome. The best thing of the film though was Hellboy himself. Ron Perlman, as in the first film, plays him with perfection. There is plenty of humor in the movie which is refreshing and the action is phenomenal. The supporting characters, Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman, and the newcoming protoplasmic Johann Krauss, are excellent in there roles. Prince Nuada, played by Luke Goss, is probably one of the best characters in the movie. One problem with the movie is how it hardly develops some of the characters, such as Princess Nuala and Prince Nuada. Another is that it sort of felt rushed, even though in some points it didn't. Either way, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is an excellent action/fantasy film and one of my favorites so far this summer.
Entertaining but forgettable.
posted on 31 Jul 2009Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. ReviewHellboy 2 is a movie I'm surprised even got made. That isn't to say the first Hellboy was bad, it was just a big summer blockbuster that was watch by most people only once.Well for that reason alone I'm glad to see that it got made. I wasn't the biggest Hellboy fan, I thought the first movie was entertaining enough to watch, but I did respect it. The second is noticeably better, but I still wouldn't say I'm rushing out to buy the B.P.R.D trades. I guess the metaphor I'm looking for is, it's a like a girl (or guy) you've been dating but she (or he) just isn't your type but you have some good times. Basically Hellboy is just a friend, at least to me. The film is filled with amazing effects, and actually as soon to be film student I would watch this film again just to admire the effects. Great characters designs, sets, props, everything is top notch. Best of all CGI is not abused, yes its there obviously, but it has to be, but that is why CGI should exist. No matter what advances are made, I do not believe they will ever make a character or object with CGI look like it really exists. I should point out that in terms of execution the movie is great; the script is where my problems lie. The plot centers on a standard mcguffin, the pieces of a crown that allows the wearer to control the golden army (a unstoppable robotic army). It's the decisions made by the characters in the film regarding the crown that really bothers me. I'll have to delve into spoiler town here, so if you haven't seen the movie and intend to its probably best to skip down to where I say its safe. During the second act the last piece of the crown is in the hands of our heroes, given to them by the twin sister of villain (with whom she shares a psychic link).. She hides it in a book, but He only knows that it is a book not any book. He fights and wounds Hellboy, He tells them He will heal Hellboy in exchange for the piece and goes off. His friends decide to take him to him, however they didn't plan on taking the piece except his friend Abe does because He loves the villain's sister and the villain said he will never see her again if he doesn't get the piece. So Hellboy gets healed by the amazing angel of trilogy foreshadowing, and the go off to kill the villain, but of course Abe gives up the goods and the Golden army is unleashed. Here are my problems with this:- If the villains sister (Princess whateverhername) knew her brother could find her, why didn't she just say "here's the crown piece, hide it some place far from me" and leave them? Also she informs them of this fact when He's about two minutes away, and she says it like its nothing, like She doesn't think it could happen. - The Prince, instead of staying to slaughter everyone (and you know He could) and find the piece in one of the books (there isn't that many), He leaves it up to the heroes. Come on. He could of tossed the shelf over and the piece would of popped out of the book. - Abe gives up the piece cause He loves her, good idea except you got to see about as much as her regardless cause now you are gonna be flattened by a giant robot army. - BIG SPOILERS: Princess whatever dies if her brother dies, and the same goes for him. So it would of saved the world a lot of trouble if she does what she does before He makes the crown whole. I understand that It is a difficult decision but does she any other end to this. - MORE BIG SPOILERS: It ends with Liz (Hellboy's girl) melting the crown with Her fire powers. OK…. WHY DIDN'T YOU DO THAT WHEN YOU HAVE THE THIRD PIECE!I know the answers to this… because then there wouldn't be a third act. But come on, if you have holes in the writing fix them, don't just say 'Go with it, its not Shakespeare'. They are easy problems to fix. - Instead of having the brother know exactly where they are via thoughts. Have secretly place a tracking device on them, I mean sure its not great but its just as pulled out your ass as the telepathic tracking and the princess doesn't know about it. - Simple, have him take the piece and instead the Abe betrayal bit, it becomes a much more exciting race against time. - This one is fixed by the above sentence. - Now this one is trickier, but my suggestion would have been to not have telegraphed it by a mile away. Instead of someone saying "She'll die if He dies" they should instead set it up earlier by having Abe ask "If your brother dies do you die?" and Her asking "I dunno, I've never died before" and then that at least gives you the excuse that it hadn't come to her by that point to do that. - So easy… watch Raiders of the lost ark and tweak that ending enough so it isn't a rip off. Just say it indestructible or something and the crown pieces must be hidden. SPOILERS ENDSo instead of a 9 or 10, I give it a 7. Entertaining, and a lot of skill and hard work went into it, but not a personal favorite. rite.
Lacks the charm of the first movie.
posted on 30 Aug 2009First of all, I have to say that, If I were 10 years younger, I'd probably rate this movie 6 or 7. Mainly for the great visual effects and a quite awesome action.If 'Hellboy : The Golden Army' was a standalone movie, or if I didn't see the first one, I'd say that something lacks in this movie. Something that make this movie very childish. But after seeing the first one, I know what this movie lacks. It lacks the Hellboy character.What makes 'Hellboy' different from other super-hero movies is the character of Hellboy. Cool, quite egoistic, funny ... . His character and charm applied to the scenes he's in. However, in the second movie, it's quite the opposite. The scenes are built to fit Hellboy's character. For instance, it seems that the whole contribution of the 'Johann Krauss' character was that Hellboy could mock on his German accent.Some of the scenes were quite ridiculous: 1) When the paranormal bunch went to Prince Nuada's den they accidentally bumped into a creature that healed Hellboy, the emphasis is of course on accidental. 2) In the first scene of the 'good guys' against the 'little eating creatures', the humans FBI agents just stand still and shoot ( and await to be eaten ). They don't try to run or to avoid those creatures. Worse, is that no one of the superheroes there tries to do anything to avoid their death. 3) There supposed to be 70 golden warriors, though in the end, their number is close to 70,000.There are few more but, I'll settle with the above.I don't think that kids will notice the flaws I mentioned. So, probably they'll love it. Even more than the first one.