Hellboy 2: The Golden Army | 
 enlarge | Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Actors: Roy Dotrice, Doug Jones, Thomas Kretschmann, Ron Perlman, Jeffrey Tambor
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 22.99
Buy New: CDN$ 14.75
You Save: CDN$ 8.24 (36%)
New (13) Used (9) from CDN$ 9.88
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 239
Format: Ac-3, Dolby, Dubbed, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: MCAD61100257D
UPC: 025195001861
EAN: 0025195001861
ASIN: B001F7MSFM
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: January 27, 2009 (In 19 Days)
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 What the Hell-boy?!?! November 25, 2008
D. Chandon (Toronto, Ontario Canada)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Hellboy II the golden shower, sorry the golden army is out, and who cares? Yes the quippy demon is back with a horrible script in tow. I realize this film tries very hard to make something out of nothing but a bunch of uninteresting characters with mediocre lives that belong to a secret agency. And I thought that if you belong to any secret organization or agency it means you're not boring, and yet these people or what ever they are aren't interesting at all.
And what went wrong with this film, the first one was so good, and even the animated version are better. Perhaps it was the severing of mythological background that has been part of the series for years, I guess the weird creatures weren't weird enough when compared to a creature with a chair growing out of its back, or a talking tumor, or a race of pale albinos bend on world domination and human annihilation. Regardless this movie is a boring mess of weird creatures and a boring premise mixed in with a horrible script. One can only hope that there isn't another sequel or at least re-connect to the original series and make a true sequel that connects to the events of the first movie, and definately get a new director.
 Terrible! November 17, 2008
Paul Simms
I never saw the first Hellboy and certainly won't now. I watched this with a friend who loved the first one and she was just as dissapointed as me. Yes, the effects were great but they don't make up for the terrible acting and boring scenes. How could any one say this was a good movie? A child might be entertained because they wouldn't see through the lousy script and actors. This goes in the list of movies I wouldn't even watch for free.
 Del Toro's imagination runs wild November 16, 2008
Matthew King
This sequel to the popular "Hellboy" amps up the body count, the action, the wild visuals, all-in-all it's your typical sequel that takes things over the top. Albeit, it's also your typical sequel that is not quite up to par with the original.
But I digress...Del Toro has such a flair for the visual that you can't help but be sucked into his mystical worlds. Ron Pearlman once again delivers a fine performance as the red beast. 2nd sequel please!
 Let me remind you why you once feared the dark October 10, 2008
E. A Solinas (MD USA)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
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.
"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.
[3.5]--Hellboy II was good but for some reason I perfer the first one October 8, 2008
Jenny J.J.I. (That Lives in Northern Nevada)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Going into a Guillermo del Toro movie, you should know that the visuals are going to be the highlight of the film. The first Hellboy film had great visuals, though not quite as great as this. But with that said, the first Hellboy achieved so much more than this did. It was funnier, less corny and clichéd, and the villains were much more menacing than the villain here, who's no more than a guy with a spear, and an army of unnecessary robots. The first was pretty good in every way, this one had the eye candy, but offered very little else.
The first negative for me was the villain here. It's just an elf, who has the same build as a human, and could die just as easily. He was no threat ever. Even when he had his Golden Army, it never was a threat. The Golden Army was just a bunch of brain-dead robots who liked to smash the ground. There was never a moment where I thought someone could be in harms way. The characters have been dumbed down a level and turned into comedians. Abe has been made more human and was even dumbed down, one of the dumbest scenes being where Hellboy and Abe sing Barry Mannilow together. It wasn't cute, it wasn't funny, it was just really stupid.
The story wasn't all too great. Mr. Del Toro went for an all out visual feast and because of this he compromised the story. Elements didn't make sense, and parts of the movie that felt like they should have some impact didn't. They were all there for the audience to say, "Wow! Look at that!", but I found myself saying "Huh?" more than anything else. Hellboy fights these imaginative creatures. Instead of making a movie on this, maybe Guillermo should have written a book with all these fantastical creatures he thinks up. At least it would have made more sense.
Aside form that this was a lovely looking film. The direction was stellar, the action scenes were well choreographed, the creatures, though pointless to the story, were very cool to look at. The CGI wasn't amazing, but luckily most of the creatures are puppets, costumed characters, and lots of make up. The musical score was also really beautiful. I had just re-watched the first Hellboy prior to watching this, and the first film's music was not that great, where this one had some fantastic music, that should've been saved for a better flick. I wasn't surprised to see Danny Elfman's name in the end credits, and the music did add to the movie, and made it a small step better than it would have been.
Anyone who says this is director Guillermo del Toro's greatest accomplishment in film making, probably hasn't seen Pan's Labyrinth. Where del Toro failed here in the writing department he succeeded in the direction, and he can write good screenplays. Too bad his sole purpose in writing this was to go wild with the visuals.
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