Hellboy II : The Golden Army - Thoughts

I got around to watching Hellboy II – The Golden Army last night. Released in 2008, it was a modest wait for Hellboy fans, coming about 4 years after the original. In this installment, the prince of the elves and the underworld breaks an ancient pact between humans and creatures, and declares war. Without the support of his father the king, he is in pursuit of the golden army, an indestructible legion of giant soldiers capable of destroying mankind. It’s up to Hellboy and the Paranormal team to save humanity.


While the first movie focused on Hellboy, his background, his destiny, and his love for the fiery Liz, the sequel opens with the established sense of him being the demon hero, ever present to fight for mankind when the need may arise. While his romance with Liz is taken to the next level, critter slaughter looks to be part of the day’s schedule. The villains were bigger, the scale of the action sequences gargantuan, and the special effects galore. But that said the movie turned out to be a bit of a drag for the casual moviegoer. It failed to grip the audience and keep them waiting for the climax. Probably a good watch for a Hellboy junkie, and a moderate flick for an action / special effects connoisseur.

Nothing new from Ron Perlman this time around; his portrayal was good and everything you’ve come to expect of Hellboy. Liz Sherman’s character was a lot more fleshed out; Selma Blair did a good job of the caring, fond and supportive girlfriend. She seemed more mature, though still showing signs of internal conflict. Doug Jones as Abe Sapien had a more prominent role in this installment, being featured almost throughout the movie. Jeffrey Tambor as Tom Manning, the head of the FBI and institute for paranormal research added comic relief and was adept in his supporting role.

The DVD I sampled was a Region 1 US release DVD. Video was clear and crisp throughout; certain colors being overemphasized during post production on purpose. Most cityscape scenes had a shiny dark blue tone, and the underworld sequences had a gold haze to it. Though there were a lot of dark scenes, as most of the movie was at night, visibility remained good. Sound by means of the Dolby Digital 5.1 track was good, adding a fine sense of realism to the action sequences, and never faltering or leaving much to miss. Extra content included the usual handful of movie previews, blueray promos, deleted movie scenes, a walkthrough some of the sets with the director Guillermo del Toro, and the short yet very impressive comic strip of the epilogue to Hellboy II

My Recommendation: Dicey (Visually Wonderful, Mentally Mediocre)