Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writers (WGA):

Guillermo del Toro (screenplay)
Guillermo del Toro (story) ...

Release Date:

11 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

Saving the world is a hell of a job

Plot:

The mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth, so Hellboy and his team must save the world from the rebellious creatures.

Plot Keywords:

Creature | Hell | Prince | Elf | Demon

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 12 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 11	4:30 PM	MAX
Thur. Nov. 12	12:05 AM	MAX

Cast

Ron Perlman	...	Hellboy
Selma Blair	...	Liz
Doug Jones	...	Abe Sapien / Chamberlain / Angel of Death
John Alexander	...	Johann Krauss / Bethmoora Goblin
James Dodd	...	Johann Krauss
Seth MacFarlane	...	Johann Krauss (voice)
Luke Goss	...	Prince Nuada
Anna Walton	...	Princess Nuala
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Tom Manning
John Hurt	...	Professor Broom
Brian Steele	...	Wink / Cronie / Spice Shop Troll / Cathedral Head / Fragglewump
Andrew Hefler	...	Agent Flint
Iván Kamarás	...	Agent Steel
Mike Kelly	...	Agent Marble
Jeremy Zimmerman	...	Auctioneer

Also Known As:

Hellboy 2 (USA) (working title)
Hellboy 2 - Die goldene Armee (Germany)
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some language.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44505) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Ireland:12A | Malaysia:U | UK:12A | Finland:K-11 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | Norway:11 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIA | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | South Africa:10V | New Zealand:M | Brazil:14 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Denmark:11 | France:U | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Dark Horse Entertainment

Trivia:

The role of Manning was originally intended for Larry Miller when Jeffrey Tambor was unavailable.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The power outage in the auction scene reveals multiple mistakes simultaneously: not only should the large newsfeed monitors go dark instead of displaying static (since static would be a failure at the broadcast end, not the receiver), but also the laptops should continue uninterrupted, since (1) they were running their own spreadsheet software, not a broadcast reception, and (2) their AC power is for backup only. Laptops run on their own batteries and use AC power only for recharging.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm: My son, would you turn off that wretched puppet, and brush your teeth?
Young Hellboy: Don't call him a puppet!
Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm: I beg your pardon?
Young Hellboy: He's not a puppet! Howdy Doody's real!
Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm: Well, Mr. Dee-dee Doo-doo will have to say good night.

Movie Connections:

Features "Channel 4 News" (1982/I)

Soundtrack:

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town

As Good as the First Hellboy!

I took this in at the L.A. Film Festival closing night gala and really had a great time. I'm a HUGE fan of the comics and thought that the first movie was done just right.

I think Hellboy II: the Golden Army is as good as the first movie. It takes awhile to get used to Doug Jones' voice as Abe, but once you do, you see why it's better to have the guy in the suit doing his own dialog. And Seth McFarlane does a fine job voicing Johann (although not as I had imagined him).

The design work is superior to the first movie and the humor is ratcheted up a notch. The fights are better and more thrilling and the monsters are way cool. Great use of costumes and CGI working together (something Lucas should have done more of in the Star Wars prequels) to make everything feel REAL.

I expect many won't like it as much as the first movie because the newness will be lost. This was in fact my immediate reaction as well; but after a few days I realized I was just as excited to see it again as I was the first one.

The story isn't as grandiose as the first Hellboy, and the overall pace and build have a few problems.

*POSSIBLE SPOILER* There is also a tad too much time spent with the many love stories (one of which works better than the others - Liz and Hellboy), but they all play out well. And an AWESOME flashback that had me grinning from ear to ear.

PLEEEEEASE let there be at least one more Hellboy movie!!!