Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

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Posted by Mike Schindler (Member # 1309) on 07-11-2008, 01:29 PM:

This movie's pretty good. I've always thought that Guillermo del Toro's strength was his ability to combine action and comedy, and HELLBOY II takes this further than he ever has before. Not his best movie, but definitely up there.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 07-12-2008, 04:33 PM:

CINEMA: 13th Avenue Warren, Wichita, KS
AUDITORIUM: 2
PRESENTATION: 35mm/Dolby Digital/THX
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: Previews started out of frame, fixed within minutes (not seconds, mind you...it was almost enough time to get the patrons to consider complaining)
RATING: Three and one half stars (out of four)

WARNING: "This is the voice of the theatre. This review may contain contents of a Spoiler nature. Please proceed cautiously. And on a more personal note, I'm not wearing any pants."

This popcorn was so good, I was actually sorry I didn't order a large. It was "lick the butter off your fingers" good. (Yes, they use real butter).

THE PLOT: They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. Wackiness ensues.

I liked the first movie quite a bit, which I originally saw at a drive-in and more recently on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray disc, by the way, looks phenomenal.

The second one absolutely raises the bar. It's fun to watch, beautiful to look at, has all sorts of unique and unusual characters, is funny, has great action sequences, a nearly spot-on ending just when you think the whole thing is going south, and somehow even finds room for a Barry Manilow song. Twice.

It's a great summer popcorn flick, yet has layers that make it worth exploring over and over again.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 07-13-2008, 03:03 PM:

What I saw did not work for me at all. I don't know what I was expecting, but it ain't this. Full disclosure: I left after about 3 reels, had other things to do.

Zero stars.

Posted by Mike Schindler (Member # 1309) on 07-13-2008, 03:07 PM:

Did you see the first one?

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 07-13-2008, 04:07 PM:

I did not see the first Hellboy film in a theatre but rented the DVD as soon as it was released and watched only the first ten minutes and found I was not enjoying it as expected. After I saw trailers for the 2nd Hellboy film and it looked very promising, I felt I should give the first film another chance and decided to rent it from Blockbuster. After I had ordered it, I came across the special three disc collectors edition at Walmart on sale for $9.95 and decided to buy it. I watched the extended director's cut from the DVD set the other night and I throughly enjoyed it this time. I am now ready for part two and I hope it is just as good or even better than the first film.

-Claude

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 07-13-2008, 05:53 PM:

quote: Mike Schindler
Did you see the first one?

Yes. Went back and checked my review for it and I kind of liked it.

I guess I didn't expect "fairies and trolls" and a blatant ripoff of scenes from Star Wars. Is this an original story written for the movie, or an adaptation of existing material?

Posted by Mike Schindler (Member # 1309) on 07-13-2008, 07:50 PM:

From what I've been told, it was an original story, but it was co-plotted by Mike Mignola, who created the comic.

Also, re: fairies and trolls, the thing about Hellboy is that anything paranormal is fair game. For example, del Toro has talked about how he wants to make a movie where Hellboy takes on the Universal monsters.

Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 07-13-2008, 08:50 PM:

quote: Mike Schindler
For example, del Toro has talked about how he wants to make a movie where Hellboy takes on the Universal monsters.

Seems likely since Hellboy was watching Frankenstein.

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 07-14-2008, 12:16 PM:

AMC Mazza Gallerie, Auditorium 1 (THX Dolby Digital) July 11:

I really much more enjoyed this than the first film, the action scenes were plentiful and highly energetic. The story seemed a bit on auto drive and the villian didn't seem all that 'evil' but nonetheless it was a great way to spend an afternoon. Technically, the 5.1 audio mix was highly inventive and featured directional dialogue - something very infrequent when it comes to newer films.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 07-21-2008, 08:42 AM:

I liked the movie. It sucks for them that they released it just a week before TDK.

It took a while to get used to change in voice from the Niles guy(Frasier) in the first movie to the voice of the actual actor playing Abe.

My favorite scene (MINI SPOILER): Hellboy falling out the window in slo mo with a blissful expression on his face.
(MINI SPOILER ENDS)

I liked the way Del Toro uses the troll market compared to Lucas use of aliens in his movies.

Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 08-30-2008, 06:48 AM:

The problem with the first Hellboy film was that, other than a superlative performance by Ron Perlman in the title role, it just didn't give us what we wanted. And what we wanted was more action, more romance, more comedy, more drama, less dodgy special effects, a deeper storyline, more of Guillermo Del Toro's trademark production design and 300% more Liz Sherman. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army soundly delivers on all these items.

Is it possible that the term "visual feast" was prospectively coined specifically for Guillermo Del Toro's films? OK, probably not, but it certainly describes Del Toro's visual style to a tee. The lighting, the set design, the creature design - it's all gorgeous - and monopolising on the style and success of Pan's Labyrinth earns this film worthwhile viewing credibility for its visuals alone. The storys prelude, beautifully portrayed as an intricately designed marionette pantomime taking place within the fertile young mind of an 11 year Hellboy, is a nice touch; as is the awesome fight choreography and perfectly timed slapstick comedy which melds seamlessly into Del Toro's overall scheme.

While well-worn time-honoured themes and narrative constructs are the order of the day here, these are given a fresh lick of red paint in the context of the Hellboy-verse. The dysfunctional Mars/Venus-style relationship between Hellboy and Liz may be clichéd but in this context Liz gives new meaning to the term "going off". Such familiar melodramatic devices are also necessary to humanise Hellboy, impressing upon us that beneath those polled horns and the devilish goatee is an ordinary bloke who likes the simple things in life: unfettered adoration, celebrity, a good woman and a plenteous stockpile of ale, all punctuated with a little cathartic argy bargy. Similarly the film admittedly follows that standard, tired action formula which demands that our hero first suffer a humiliating defeat prior to finding some inexplicable inner strength which allows him to ultimately beat the villain to a pulp in the final confrontation. But Del Toro's unique twist on this formula (that Hellboy only loses his preliminary bout because of his inebriated state!) is funny and satisfying whilst still nodding faithfully to the genre stereotype. Of course, when our hero sobers up........well, let's just say that a wimpy 80's pretty-boy pop idol is no match for the contemporary hard rocker from hell whose devil horns are the real deal.

Ron Perlman is excellent, nailing the Hellboy character yet again. His vocal delivery of one-liners is spot on and it's a testament to his makeup artist that he can act so effectively through all that rubber. Luke Goss is good as the emotionally complex Elven villain, Prince Nuada. Perhaps this will be the performance to make him famous; maybe even get his picture in the paper. (I hear Yazz is angling for the villain role in the follow up.) Selma Blair is effective in the small but crucial role of fiery Liz Sherman, providing the much needed emotional foundation for Hellboy. And, of course, mime maestro Doug Jones excels yet again at acting through several lumps of prosthesis including the affectionate Abe Sapian and the beautifully sinister Angel of Death.

Stylistically closer to Pan's Labyrinth and better than it's predecessor in every way, The Golden Army represents another artistic triumph for Guillermo Del Toro and is a logical and confident stepping stone towards the forthcoming Tolkien gig.

8.5 out of 10.