I liked the first one but this one was too Star Warzy. Just not my cup of tea.
The imagination and visuals are great in this movie. I really like the look of Guillermo Del Toro's films. "Pan's Labyrinth" the original "Hellboy" "The Devil's Backbone"; they are all thrilling to look at but "Hellboy II" is the biggest visual treat of them all. It is eye candy from start to finish.
The opening scene of the movie tells the story of the Golden Army a fable visualized by Del Toro by using wooden dolls. Its really stunning and reminded me a little bit of Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas".
The creatures in "Hellboy II" are amazing creations and the Troll Market is a wonderful place of weirdness. Most impressive visually though is the Golden Army itself. The soldiers are a collection of brilliant yellow-gold mechanized machines that once destroyed reassemble themselves.
There are plenty of laughs and Ron Perlman as Hellboy is as hilarious as ever. The movie is really light on plot and the evil Prince Nuada character is just another sword-fighting, martial-arts type who does a lot of flipping and jumping around. Abe Sapien, Liz and the newest member of the team, Johann Krauss, are all likable and interesting supporting characters.
Cool CGIs, interesting character designs, bewitching fantasy atmosphere. Yet the plot feels too clustered and makes no sense, e.g. both Abe and Hellboy risking the entire world to doom just because of their own love story, the random appearances of certain characters just for the sake of plot progression (goblin, angel of death). The action iself isn't too intense too watch, except maybe the final battle with Nuada. Compared to first Hellboy, sure this one is a disappointment.
The second Hellboy film, the sequel and the final work of Guillermo del Toro and Hellboy together on the big screen. It's a fun and quick ride. Everything present in the first movie is back here in this one. The charm of all the actors playing their characters, Mike Mignola's style and the small details to the mythical world of what makes Hellboy so unique.
The sequel Hellboy II The Golden Army picks up everything that made the first movie so special and doubles down on it. All of the set design, which is very fun detailed, tell a story. Each demon is built like a real existing being. Not much will be explained, which is a positive thing with these movies, but rather it's for the audience to picture the lore in their own imagination. You can also find more of Guillermo's ideas in Behind The Scene footage, where he brings up small details he put in the movie. It's very interesting.
Next to all that, Hellboy II also fixes a ton of problems the first one had. Like the lack of personality from the human characters and Hellboy not getting all the room to develop further outside of having to follow orders of the organization, his father or his girlfriend Liz. Here, he finally get's to do whatever he wants to do. With blowback or not. Also, replacing "John" with "Johan" (voiced by Seth McFarlane from Family Guy) was a good idea, laughable, but good.
p.s, what a "villain"..., if you can call him that.
It is not as good as the first one, as is usually the case, but the characters are fun, the story is good, and Del Toro's style is always a win in my book. The only downfall is in the slow pacing.
6/10 - for Nuala
We had to wait for 4 years for the follow up to one of the better comic book adaptations of all time, and del Toro did not disappoint. Even better looking than the first one, and with action that is also bigger and bolder, The Golden Army makes for quite the good time. The thing that makes this one a tiny bit "less" than it's predecessor, is the fact that the story is... not as engaging. This is, of course, a minor annoyance, as this is f-ing Hellboy.
Rated a Connor 10, normal 8
Aight, this film is so much better than the first film and honestly, it is one of my favourite comic book films for many different reasons but the main being that it is so unique in the way that it is shot but also the way that the story is being told. As usual, Ron Perlman (Hellboy) is perfect as this character and I really hope we get to see him again one day as this character, but also Selma Blair (Liz Sherman) and Doug Jones (Abe Sapien) were really great in this film and the characters are developed really well.
But this film for me is made with the great addition of Luke Goss (Prince Nuada), he is amazing in this film and I really wish I saw him in more big-budget films because he is so awesome in this film and every scene with him is so masterful and also emotional.
The action was great as usual but with Guillermo del Toro directing I would not expect anything less, I loved the romance in this film as well because it all felt natural and not forced in any way. If you loved the first Hellboy then I think you will love this one as well, some of the CGI is a bit dated but it still looks amazing as well.
Rewatching this again as part of the lockdown movie marathon. just finished the first one.. and after 20 mins I feel the need to Air a few things that not sitting right.. compared to the first it seems they have tried to turn it in to a Men in Black Clone.. where main base seems to now be a "Hub" for supernatural creatures to be processed ect .. just to me doesnt seem to fit with the first movie .. and what happend to manning for suddenly he has become a jibbering idiot.. without explaination .. this is by no means a detraction to what is a good movie but when you watch them back to back you notice things more.. like why did the need to CGI Proffessor Brooms photo into the army group shot in the begining? on the whole the CGI is good and isnt dating to bad in 2020. Luke Gross gives an Awesome Performance
but still this a good movie and worth watching ..
A bold action film, Hellboy II: The Golden Army is full of fantasy and wonder. In this new adventure Hellboy must stop the Elf Prince Nuada from raising the fabled Golden Army, built centuries ago to destroy humanity. Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, and Jeffrey Tambor return, and are joined by Seth MacFarlane and Luke Goss. And director Guillermo del Toro also returns, crafting elaborate set designs and costumes that are mysterious and captivating. At times the aesthetics become a little too stylized and distract from the story, but overall they create a wondrous fantasy world. Additionally, Danny Elfman provides a powerful and moving score that perfectly complements the style of the film. Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a fun and action packed film that also explores some interesting themes.
I liked the first one a little bit more than this one. It has a little too much romance and I didn't really care for the villains at all. Ron Perlman is still the perfect Hellboy and Krauss is a fun addition.
What was your favorite aspect of Hellboy #1?
1. The action
2. The special effects
3. The romance
If you chose number 1 or 2, Hellboy II is not for you. But if you chose number 3--lucky you! You're in for a treat because that's all there is in The Golden Army.
Not as good as the first Hellboy flick, but still very entertaining. I can't put my finger on the reason I didn't like this movie as much as the first part...
A bird ahhh its evil
Shout by Jim222001VIP 6BlockedParent2021-03-17T20:16:03Z
I wish Guillermo del Toro got make a 3rd film. This is much better than the reboot. I haven’t watched it since 2008 for some reason. The movie is visually stunning, quite funny, has cool creatures and entertaining.