B for the moment. Need to watch it again. Too much to absorb

Again, or first time?

heh

thursday night screening.

I'll post here what i said on skype

i think the problem was a general unfamiliarity with the extent of the universe
the only script and dircting complaint i'd say is that the movie forces a person to accept a whole bunch of supernatural events and things in 2 hours of time and its difficult to digest it all and believe the whole thing
[more familiarity and background on all that would have solved all the issues
Arsi says: then again, thats the same issue i had with hellboy

***1/2


Same great sense of humor, but an explosion in wonderful visuals and creative creature designs.

Also better action than the first.

Agree with Squee. That's all for now.

- A-

What Squee said

A

I liked it a lot. The humor was there, the action was better, the story was more epic..everything was great.

About the same as Hellboy.

It's decent stuff, though I'm not really like crazy about it. I like Del Toro's work with Blade II and The Orphanage, but when it comes to him and stuff like Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth, I find him overrated. I don't know.

**

Liked this a little better than the first one. Creature design was great, humor was spot on (freaking loved the duet), story was a little spotty at times but coherent enough to overcome its deficiencies. Del Torro really needs to get to work on the third installment and tie the whole thing together. I'm going to have to watch it again in order to see if it holds up on repeat viewings like the original.

So for now
Grade B

If this is really better than the first... it might challenge Begins for the top spot in the comic book category

A lot about "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" is bigger than its 2004 predecessor. Under new financier Universal Studios, it has a bigger budget. There are more creatures. The ante has been upped in the action department. But despite all the additions, it's very much the same kind of motion picture that the first film was: A unique and entertaining but flawed superhero production.

Picking up right where the action left off, Hellboy, a.k.a. Red (Ron Perlman) has entered the public eye, much to the chagrin of supervisor Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor). He also isn't off to the best start with new girlfriend and co-worker Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), who has learned to control her fire-starting abilities. With the amphibious Ape Sapien (Doug Jones) and the new "ectoplasmic" spirit Johann Kraus (moved by James Dodd, voiced by Seth MacFarlane), the team of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense must take on a new mission: Stopping the evil elf Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) from finding the final piece of a crown that has the ability to summon "The Golden Army," an army of merciless mechanical soldiers with limitless power. The final piece is held by his twin sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), who is hiding with the BPRD and falling in love with Abe. However, any damage inflicted to one of the royals is inflicted to the other as well, and Red's violent antics are brought into question when the public begins to turn against him.

Many of the same things that worked in "Hellboy" work in the sequel as well. Like the did the first time around, writer-director Guillermo Del Toro (coming off "Pan's Labyrinth") avoids convention and dares to tell a superhero story far separated from the norm. Instead of an action flick with men in tights and scientifically created villains, Del Toro delivers an energetic fantasy with otherworldly creatures on both sides. The look of some of the creatures is highly similar to some that were found in "Pan's Labyrinth," though they are present in much larger numbers than in that film. But that's not to detract from the action, which moves fast and furious. Any time the characters are called into action, the sequences move with excitement not unlike that of other successful superhero films.

The actors once again have a great deal of fun in their roles. Ron Perlman is right on the money as the title character, giving us a wisecracking and strong but flawed hero to root for. There's even an argument that he takes the angle of a publicly loathed superhero to a similar height as Will Smith in "Hancock." Like the other members of the team, he's a freak, but unlike them, he's one with an appearance and demeanor to be feared on the surface. Del Toro and co-writer Mike Mignola (who created the comic book series) offer great insight to this idea and hint at even more explanation to come in future installments. The returning members are about on par with where they were the last time around, while the new additions are also solid. Perhaps the most surprising development is how affecting the love story involving Abe and Nuala turns out to be. Much of the credit can be attributed to performers Doug Jones (who gets to provide his own voice this time) and Anna Walton, who bring a kind of humanity that the audience can connect to.

Stacked against its predecessor, "Hellboy II" isn't a much different film when it comes to quality. It hits most of the same marks as that film, some more effectively than others. The action and the humor are still as much fun as they were in the previous film, while the character development continues to reveal more depth and complexity to the characters, something that has become more of a necessity in superhero films as the bar has been continually raised. But like its predecessor, it hits some missteps. Del Toro sometimes gets carried away with the creature elements of the story and none of the secondary characters are as interesting or well written as the main ones. But the ultimate flaw that stops it short of moving a notch ahead of its predecessor is the ending, in which two large plot holes are revealed. It's tough to see how these elements made it into the final cut without some consideration, yet they're placed prominently in the final act. But like the first film, the good far outweighs the bad.

With "Hellboy II," Guillermo Del Toro has succeeded in continuing what he started, and drops great hints at where the story may be headed next. This sequel not only maintains the fun and fantastical spirit of its predecessor, but adds onto it with more twists, turns, and effective character development. Despite not boasting an enormous budget and a similarly large array of CGI, it's even more a visual feast than many of its more expensive contemporaries. As a piece of flat-out entertainment, "Hellboy II" has no problem standing with the cream of the current multiplex crop. For those who enjoyed the first film (not to mention those simply looking for an entertaining way to kill time), this sequel is certainly worth checking out.

Grade: B+

Drunk Abe=awesomeness
A-
I wish the movie was more about him because I liked the segments with him
Del Toro seems to know handle death scenes more than his other fantasy counterparts

Hellboy 2

I liked Hellboy 2. I thought this was much better than the 1st Hellboy. I liked the mythology of the Golden Army and this other world existing at the same time as humans. I liked the group interaction and the relationship between Blair and hellboy. I don't know how much I liked the Kraus guy since it seems he's almost unkillable. I really enjoyed the scene where hellboy and aqua guy get drunk and listen to the love song. The crowd ate that part up. Another scene I liked was the part where Hellboy is taken to see this hades like creature who removes the fragment from his chest. I liked how that guy was telling blair's character that she'll be suffering the most when the time comes. The final action scene between the Golden Army and the Prince was very well done. I was thinking like Hellboy in that they weren't very indestructible but when they put themselves back together that was a good scene as well. Overall, I enjoyed it alot and thought Del Toro did a pretty good job of directing and making the Hellboy franchise alot more interesting.

Grade - A

A very funny treat for the eyes. Had a blast.

Krauss was an amazing, insane addition.

Way better than the original. Great action and very funny. Bring on the third

A-

Amazing visuals, but I thought the story was a bit lacking. The performances aside from Ron Perlman were generally lackluster as well. Overall, I enjoyed it more than the first film (which I found to be a bore), but it's merely 'good,' not great like the critics are saying. B/B-

Loved it.

Absolutely loved every second of it. Best comic book movie in a long time, and Dark Knight is gonna have a rough time defeating this!

A

OMG. I totally downloaded that onto my MP3 player and have played it all morning!

Now I've never seen the first because I heard it was horrid. However, the good trailers got me into seeing this. It was a nice little film. It had some great action scenes but some non-action scenes were pretty boring. Overall this is just an average comic book movie.

B+

Honestly, I liked it more than the Dark Knight. lol.

I'm still not sure what grade to give HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY. I loved it, but also have mixed feelings. The plot and villain DEFINITELY could have been greatly improved. Did anyone seriously care whether Prince Nuada gained control of the Golden Army or not? Their plot may not have been much better (out to revive and wield a vague, Lovecraftian 'Ancient Evil'), but I thought the trio of villains in the first, notably the Darth Maul-esque Kroenen, were more interesting and cool.

Still, Guillermo del Toro has an indelible and vivid imagination and it's fun to watch him having fun playing in the creative sandbox with a major studio budget. Every shot in this film is... I don't know the right word. Just imagine the Mos Eisley Cantina from STAR WARS on steroids. And Ron Perlman is brilliant as the titular character.

I s'pose I will go with an A-