Hellboy II: The Golden Army (3 Disc Special Edition) | Roy Dotrice, Doug Jones

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (3 Disc Special Edition) | Roy Dotrice, Doug Jones | Extremely Entertaining

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Hellboy II: The Go...

	Hellboy II: The Golden Army (3 Disc Special Edition) Roy Dotrice, Doug Jones Universal Studios, 2008 average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Let me remind you why you once feared the dark

Guillermo Del Toro has become the new master of dark fantasy -- first with the quirky clockpunk "Hellboy," then with the Oscar-winning "Pan's Labyrinth." Not to mention forthcoming travels to Middle-Earth.

So you know he has the skills to pit Mike Mignola's scarlet anti-hero against an army of fairies and elves, and not make it silly. Instead, it's a spectacular dark fantasy full of humor, action, quirky appeal, romance, and some truly astounding special effects. But what really shoves this movie over the top is Del Toro's brilliant direction, and the stunning performance by Ron Perlman.

Decades ago, Professor Broom (William Hurt) told a small Hellboy a yuletide bedtime story about the Elf King Balor and his unstoppable Golden Army, and how the crown that controls the Army was split into thirds and divided among fairies and humans.

Well, you can't really expect that kind of power to never be revived.

Cut to current day. Hellboy (Perlman), Liz (Selma Blair) and Abe (Doug Jones) investigate a strange supernatural attack on an auction house, where the archeological curiosity known as the Crown of Bethmoora was being sold -- only to be attacked by savage tooth fairies. Turns out the crown was stolen by Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), a resentful young elf who is determined to take the world back from humanity -- using, of course, the Golden Army.

And while Hellboy chafes against strict new commander Johann Krauss (a suit filled with ectoplasm), Abe encounters Nuada's sister, Princess Nuala -- who also happens to have the last third of the crown. But Nuada will not allow anyone to oppose him as he searches for the Golden Army's location, and Hellboy and his friends must venture into a strange, ancient kingdom to stop him from destroying all of humanity.

The worst you can say about "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" is that it sticks to the formula of the demonic outsider with a dark destiny, and his continuing romantic woes. There's some retreading as Hellboy realizes anew that he'll never fit into the world of humans, because he's big and red and has horns and a tail. Okay, we got it. Next big psychological issue!

Fortunately those flaws are relatively minor ones. Del Toro is still able to spin a dark, twisted story with some truly bizarre creatures (the utterly alien, eye-winged Angel of Death), clockpunk robots, trippy underground goblin markets and a new BPRD agent who is basically ectoplasm in a suit. And for the action scenes, Del Toro does not pull punches when it comes to the smashing action scenes -- giant thrashing vines and a one-on-one duel with Nuada are among the highlights.

With all this going on, it would be easy to neglect the characters. But Del Toro packs the script with solid snappy dialogue and some poignantly romantic moments -- including some pretty startling actions from dear ol' Abe. And he also adds little moments to this epic story that remind us that these are supposed to be people -- such as Hellboy's bickering with Krauss, or Abe and Hellboy getting drunk and having a little Manilow singalong together. It's just so cute.

But what really sets this movie apart is the "children of the Earth." No flitting Victorian sprites -- these are creatures that are weird, grotesque, dangerous and immensely powerful, from nasty little tooth fairies up to vast rock monsters and plant gods. There's an alien, bizarre aesthetic to these creatures that feels wholly real, as if Neil Gaiman casually dropped a few sketches onto the drawing board.

But as amazing as the visuals are, Del Toro never neglects the characters. Perlman is perfect for the role of "big Red" -- he's gruff, sarcastic, moody, but also endearing and self-deprecatingly likable. There are more hints of his potentially dark future, and he faces some delicately-handed temptations. But Big Red's good heart is still very much in the forefront, no matter how much human beings fear him.

Blair gives a more lively performance here as a spunkier Liz, who also has some surprising developments in store. Jones is pitch-perfect as the fish-man, who experiences the first pangs of young love for Nuala, while Goss gives a chilling, whispery performance as a rebel prince who is willing to do whatever it takes -- even kill family -- if it helps him restore the fey kingdom. Pretty good villain, since he clearly isn't trying to be bad.

There's also loads of extras in this particular edition of the movie -- feature commentary with director Guillermo Del Toro, Jeffrey Tambor, Selma Blair and Luke Goss, as well as some deleted scenes also with commentary with Del Toro, a prologue to the movie, a digital script, image gallery, a "Puppet Theatre" for the opening sequences of the film, concept art, interviews, and other such stuff. Also making-of documentaries -- seven mini-documentaries that visit the set, the "Troll Market Tour" in the movie's most memorable "faerie" setting, and the two-hour "Hellboy: In Service Of The Demon." Basically, it turns the film inside-out and lets you examine its guts.

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" is a wild, darkly ornate ride through the world of half-forgotten gods and fey. While it has a few flaws, those are far outweighed by the brilliant of Del Toro's vision.

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Extremely Entertaining

Wow! I cannot wait for this DVD. I'm not going to go into the plot details. I just want to say that this was the most entertaining movie I saw this year. Mind you, The Dark Knight was a good epic film... one of the best. Iron Man was a good super hero adventure film. Hellboy II was in a world of it's own. It had humor, adventure, sci-fi, and a dash of romance all rolled up in this one film. It had a good mix of the original Hellboy and Pans Labrynth. As a comic book fan, I enjoyed the first Hellboy... didnt love it, but enjoyed it. Hellboy II takes it too a whole new level. But hey, mabe it was so good to me becuase my expectations were low... Nah. Again, I am one of those corny extreme Batman fans so I'm looking forward to watching the Dark Knight again and just adding it to my collection, but Hellboy II is going to be one of those DVD's I'm going to want to watch again and again with friends. Del Toro always does a good job on his special features, so I'm not worried about that. You have'nt seen this yet, just buy it... dont rent it. It is worth it.

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"Yeah! Yeah, I'm Ugly!!!!!! From B+ to A+, I love this movie, better than first film"

I love this movie, it has action, plot, fairy tale fantasy genre, adventure, romance, drama, and better yet, hughe laughs aka comedy. This movie is mixed with King Arthur, Ghost Busters, Men in Black, Beauty and the Beast, and Wizard of OZ. If you're a fan of Hellboy, you'll love this movie. Ron Pearlman is a awesome actor, he is perfect to play Hellboy, one of his best character or should I say his best comic book character performance was outstanding. Including Doug Jones, who is amazing actor for any kind of creatures he plays, Abe is fun. Gurllermo Del Toro is the man, he's my idol, I love monsters, aliens, and some fairy tale characters, man, this guy has a great vision of filmmaking and storytelling. I like MIMIC, BLADE 2, HELLBOY, HELLBOY 2, and especially his Academy Award Winning Film PAN'S LABYRINTH. He's the next Steven Spielberg in my book. I can't for another one, I'm keeping a lookout there!!! Sweet Action Monster Movie!!!

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Blows away the original. Every frame packed with imagination!

Before going to see HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY, my wife and I sat down a re-watched the original HELLBOY with our 15 year old daughter, because she had not seen it. I truly enjoyed seeing the original film again after a few years, and was once again quite interested in the trials and triumphs of "Red", "Blue," "Liz" and all the others.

So the next night, we went to see HELLBOY II, and frankly, I was nearly blown away. It's a far superior movie. Everything the first film got right, this one gets right again. And what amazes me is that I'm not really a "superhero movie" fan or a "comic book" fan...yet I think these particular characters, as realized by Guillermo del Toro and his team, are marvelous meldings of "mundane" human emotions with outsized powers. Hellboy is incredibly strong, supernaturally durable and also the spawn of the devil. Yet he drinks too much, is too clingy with this girlfriend and has an all-too-human short fuse. Abe Sapien is shy and softspoken...but he also has psychic powers and can breathe underwater. Liz is an attractive but troubled young lady who can set some pretty nasty fires just by thinking about it.

You might say that X-MEN plows the same soil...yet those films, to me, are all glossy surface level efforts. Perhaps it's because there are SO MANY X-Men that few of them are more than assemblages of some character traits. In HELLBOY, we almost forget we're looking at "monsters."

That effect is aided by the fact the Del Toro has concocted some of the most monstrous looking creatures ever seen in a mainstream film. I don't even know what to call his creations...they sometimes look like something from H.P. Lovecraft, sometimes like something from the Cantina in STAR WARS and yes, sometimes like creatures from PAN'S LABRYNTH. But all his creatures are striking to look at and brilliantly executed.

HELLBOY II follows the efforts of Hellboy and his gang to restore the truce that has long existed between humans and "creatures" such as trolls, gremlins, elves and many other far less identifiable "fantastic" beings. The evil Prince Nouda is essentially breaking the truce with man, and intends on ridding the earth of them forever by bringing back to life an army of 4900 giant robots than simply cannot be destroyed and setting them to rampage through our cities.

So often, stories like this just aren't terribly interesting, but I have to say that this one kept me going throughout. Much simply had to do with the imagination with which all the beings are presented. In an early, very striking scene, the Prince confronts his elderly, elf-like father. When the old man dies...his body turns into a stone statue. I know we've seen this kind of effect before...but the feeling this transformation evokes is a lovely mixture of awe at the beauty and dread at the finality of the change.

But thankfully, the world has Hellboy to protect it. He charges into the fray, barely understanding what's going on, but hellbent to kick some butt!! His crush first, ask questions later attitude gets him into trouble, of course...but also wins the affections of the audience. He's like a little kid with some big powers. His is somewhat domesticated by his fiery girlfriend (their relationship has progressed in surprising ways over the years)...but he still can't help letting his big arm fly! The crew is joined by a new "leader" in the form of Johann Krauss, an entity made entirely of gas! Krauss animates an old-fashioned diving suit in order to give himself some shape...but his powers (and his Teutonic arrogance) give the movie a nice jolt. He's a completely new creature. Not physically strong like Hellboy or empathic like Sapien. He's smart and he knows some pretty cool ways to use his gaseous state! He and Hellboy have what amounts to a locker-room showdown that had me and the entire audience in stitches.

I see that I am just going on and on in my review. There's so much more I'd like to share...but I hope you at least get the gist that this is a highly entertaining and worthwhile film. Del Toro is a visionary director. But I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the film is truly made wonderful by the fully-realized and heartfelt performance of Ron Perlman as Hellboy. He'll never get an Oscar for a part like this (not that he should)...but he gets a Summer Movie Season of 2008 MVP award for his very charismatic turn. Selma Blair has never looked better. Doug Jones (Abe) is wonderful in his physicality and the always enjoyable John Hurt even makes an early, welcome appearance. Only Jeffrey Tambor (normally so good) comes off poorly as their befuddled boss. His part is actually written to make him too much of a buffoon, so he's actually only irritating most of the time.

In the best sense, I felt swept away by this film. I am quite eager for Part III!!

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Hellboy II - Back And Better Than Ever!

You know you're not watching a formulaic comic book film when one of the highlights is a drunken rendition of "Can't Smile Without You" by Hellboy and Abe Sapien. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" is a more confident, assured outing than the first film and while it does not draw from Mignola's comics for its plot it is perhaps better off for it, lacking the usual burden of comparison and expectations. "The Golden Army" is more fantastical than the first film and is less sci-fi oriented but this is the sort of thing Del Toro does exceptionally well as a writer. He never lets the fantasy become the focus of the film, instead concentrating on characters and delivering action scenes that can only be described as, forgive the crass immaturity, kickass.

As entertaining as many comic book-to-film adaptations are it is a rare event when one can call one of these films a true artistic achievement. I am convinced without a shadow of a doubt that Guillermo Del Toro's entire career has been leading up to this film, particularly regarding his work as screenwriter here. The comedy feels less forced and is worked incredibly well into the script here, so much so that it doesn't feel remotely unnatural when the scene of comic drunken singing leads directly without a break into one of the film's most intensely dramatic sequences. Del Toro's handling of character has never been better, not even with "The Devil's Backbone", which is still my favorite of his films, and his sheer skill and ability when it comes to telling a fairytale-esquire fantasy is astonishing, as proved in the prologue to this film. In short this is Del Toro at the top of his game and providing artistry the likes of which we rarely if ever see in summer blockbusters. It's only fair that an astonishingly brilliant comic like "Hellboy" by an astonishingly brilliant artist like Mike Mignola is adapted this well and by someone as talented at what they do as he is.

How refreshing it is, a week after the release of "Hancock", which to me epitomizes everything wrong with action film-making today, that we get "The Golden Army" which features hands down some of the finest action scenes we have ever seen in this sort of film. Just stunningly beautiful, well-shot, well-crafted, the sort of thing that leaves one wondering how much time and effort went into it and endlessly thankful that some really talented people went to the trouble of making the film.

The film is generally just superb on a technical level. Why am I even saying this? Of course it is. Danny Elfman composing, Guillermo Navarro serving as cinematographer, top-notch editors, fantastic special effects wizards. It's a world-class crew that made this film. I shouldn't be surprised at its quality but "The Golden Army" really just floored and astonished me with how good it is. The cast is also excellent, proving once again that you don't need 'big names' to carry a movie. Just about everyone here is excellent, particularly Perlman with another excellent turn as Hellboy and the underrated Selma Blair as Liz Sherman.

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" provides essentially everything a Del Toro or Mignola fan would want. I imagine it will entertain and charm many outside those circles as well with its fantastic action sequences, engaging characters, and wonderful sense of humor. I would personally go as far as calling "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" one of the top five or so comic book movies ever made.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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