November 4, 2008

Once again we have the privilege of watching some of the most unique and beautiful creatures ever created. Guillermo del Toro is back for his next installment of our favorite big red guy in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. After the success of Pans Labyrinth, del Toro brings more of his unforgettable creatures to Hellboy and he unleashes a whole new world that only he can bring to life. Lose yourself once again and sit back and enjoy one of the most satisfying visual masterpieces you may ever witness.

You quickly find out that everything that you have ever heard go bump in the night is truly something, and something that you need to fear. You are shown the brief history of the human world and fairy world and how we co-exist today. The balance has been held for some many years and the King has no plans on change anytime soon. But some from the other so called lost culture wish to regain what is rightfully theirs and what the humans have destroyed. Their leader is the Kings son, Prince Nuada.

What separates Hellboy II so much from the first Hellboy is not only the amazing looking new creatures del Toro brought to life, but the deep development of each character. You will once again see Hellboy and Liz butting heads like they always do, but this time for different reasons than before. Their relationship has expanded and soon their family will too. Hellboy, while fighting to save the day as usual, finds out that he is looking for satisfaction from the wrong people. Throughout the movie you see how he becomes something more as he matures. There is another love connection in this movie that really helps show how Liz and Hellboy really need one another, but I don’t want to give too much away.

Once again you will watch good fight with good, and then good battle evil in some of the best filmed and best choreographed fight sequences to date. Enjoy both of the human and fairy worlds and then experience some of Guillermo del Toro best sets ever. See the Troll Market and a beautiful counsel chamber for the fairies and wonder if a world like that really is out there.

Filmmaking: 9
Once again you have all of your characters returning from a great cast from the original Hellboy. Ron Perlman gives you a great performance as Hellboy as he did in the original. Perlman is teamed up again with Doug Jones and Selma Blair, as Abe Sapien and Liz. Jeffery Tambor does a perfect job of picking up where he left off in butting heads with Hellboy as Tom Manning. Then you add in Luke Goss as Prince Nuada and Anna Walton as Princess Nuala, and they make you feel like there is conflict between the fairy world in keeping with the truce and fighting back. All of the cast makes you believe there is another world out there other than our own and makes you wonder what could truly be out there.

On top of the great casting done by Guillermo del Toro, you have some of the most beautiful sets and fighting scenes ever. I wasn’t a huge fan of the love story development in this film but all was forgiven after watching the fight scenes. Even though there are not a lot of fighting scenes, the quality of them makes the quantity not an issue. The final two fight scenes could be the best ever hand to hand choreographed scenes ever. I am hoping that Guillermo has time for a third movie, just to see how he can top any of the sets, characters, and combat. This movie truly has it all.

Visuals: 9
Once again, this film has the best creatures ever created and the sets might be up there too. You have some unique fairy sets that really set this movie apart from all other movies. The troll market and council chambers are beautiful and elaborate. Then mix in New York City with some creatures that can turn the world upside down, and you have one of the best visual movies ever.

There is not a lot of texture on the upconverting format but it makes the blu-ray version very promising. On top of that, the movie has a little blurring with halos around the characters. If you don’t have an HDTV this movie will look better and could be the best looking film in your collection. It is a must have if you are any kind of film nut. Every time I watch it I find something new that just makes me wonder what will del Toro do next.

Sound: 7
This is the only category that is bad in this movie. The background music as a whole is in dire need of some help. You have great tones that set the mood of the scene but there are times where you are thinking what the hell made them want to put that as the background music. Some made absolute no sense and really ruined that part of the movie. Don’t worry too much because there are not too many of these scenes. You do have some of the best creature sounds out there. All of the different voices and ticks or noises that are generated with speaking are perfect and memorable.

Value: 10
There is so much in the 3-disc Special Edition that you will be entertained for hours after the two-hour movie. You have deleted scenes, commentary, and behind the scenes in the development of the troll market. Then you get to see how they developed some of the unique creatures and how to control them. Trust me; there is so much in this movie set that I could write for who knows how long. Just take it from me, if you are any kind of Hellboy fan you have to get this version and see how everything was created and brought to life. The extra five bucks or so is well worth it.

Overall: 9.2
Man, I am glad I got to review Hellboy II: The Golden Army because the more I watch this movie (I watched it three times for the review) I like it even more than I did before. The love story bothered me but it's a must have in the advancement of the story, and I love looking into the crowds to see what other creatures I can find that I didn’t see before. You take all of that and then add some of the best fight scenes to date and you have a winning film that gives you a very enjoyable watch, even if movie critics didn’t feel this way.

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