Radkiel Hellboy 2 : The Golden Army is a movie by Guillermo Del Toro. It's a sequel of the first « Hellboy ». Even if it is a comic book adaptation (Hellboy is a character created by Mike Mignola ) the movie follow its own path . I was searching for a creative movie that takes the super-hero concept and treats it with another point of view . And with Hellboy I wasn't disappointed at all. The movie takes its time to create a universe where everything seems consistent .All characters have some developement and their relations are natural. The casts performance is pretty good and serves the plot. Ron Perlman made everything to make hellboy alive in our eyes. Selma Blair lends her features to Liz Sherman, and gives to « Hellboy » a realistic love story with ups and downs. Lost, searching for help and trying her best to find a place, The evolution of the character can be seen in the performance of Mrs Blair. Luke Goss and Anna Walton Made a surprisingly good duo and the opposition between the two characters works well. But the most impressive performance comes from Doug Jones, playing not one but three characters : Abe Sapien the only real friend and side-kick of Hellboy, The chamberlain and the Angel of death. Doug Jones is really good in making us feel emotions with his movements more than his face, and that's why he is perfect to play thoses characters born from Del Toro's mind. An important thing about this movie production is that Del Toro actually doesn't want to use CGI to create most of the creatures that came out of is head. So a lot of the monsters and other things that can be seen in the movie are real. They are suits and models. The work on the creation of these characters gives the movie a particular feeling, just like the original comic books did. Guillermo Del Toro's creatures are unique and really give an amazing look to the universe he creates. But one problem that came from this decision is that a lot of the visual effect seems outdated. But it really is worth-it to pass over this.The story is great as well. It's not a simple war between good and evil as in most super-hero movies. Both sides are wrong, it's two points of view confronting, and Hellboy is at the border of both but can't turn the scales. The story talks about a prince, who knows that his world, the world of the creatures, is going to die because of humans. He want to take control of the most powerful army ever to conquer the human world, and save his kingdom. The B.P.R.D won't let this happen but its best agent, Hellboy, is more part of the other world. So which side will be given the right to live ? And who should decide that ?I simply loved this movie because of its universe and the lot of conflictual points of view that are part of it. So I recommend this film to every fan of comic books that are disppointed by the way the actual super-hero movies go. And for everyone who wants a movie where everything is not black and white, but grey.

Pillory Although the first film was great, Hellboy II: The Golden Army blows it out of the water. Visually, the movie is spectacular; Guillermo really captures breathtaking fantasy (reminiscent of Pan's Labyrinth) but makes it more gritty as to suit the Hellboy universe. The movie used a lot of constructed props and puppetry, as opposed to pure CGI, and it worked wonderfully. The film had so many settings that were amazing to watch and had so much intrigue to them.The story, although arguably not the strongest part of any superhero movie, held my attention and made sense. Although the film's plot and even its antagonist were never mentioned in any of the comics, that didn't stop the story from being interesting. The film also transitioned very nicely from the first one and I'd recommend watching that one before you watch this one. The action scenes were another strong part of this film. Although Hellboy himself may not have the coolest powers or fighting abilities, watching him fight against Luke Goss's character was a real treat. They really stepped up these action sequences from the first movie!Ron Perlman's portrayal of Hellboy is perfect; there was really no one else who would've suited the role better. Doug Jones also brought a lightness to Abe Sapien's character that wasn't really shown in the comics but was greatly appreciated. I loved the chemistry between Hellboy, Liz, and Abe in the film. The rest of the main cast also were good in their parts--they were very well cast.Over all, I'd definitely recommend this film to any superhero fans and especially fans of the Hellboy/BPRD comics. Although the story and the characters may not be completely true to the comics, I didn't mind the changes at all. The movie took me on an emotional train ride: there are parts where I laughed out loud and parts that were definitely touching. Although I'm biased, being a huge fan of the comic books growing up, these two movie installments of Hellboy will always be my favourite superhero movies and I hope you enjoy the movies as much as I did.

Eric Stevenson I am not a fan of Hellboy nor have I even seen the original movie. Don't be fooled by his name as he is in fact the hero. With everything being based on Marvel or DC nowadays (okay, mostly Marvel) it's great to look at a superhero made by another company, Dark Horse. At first, I thought he was made by Image comics. I guess I have trouble telling those two apart. I admit that some of this film is hokey, but it's beautiful to look at, it doesn't really matter. It can be hard getting into a brand new franchise. The best part of this movie is how absolutely gorgeous it looks.The visuals and special effects are incredible. There are always new and abstract characters being introduced with all these unique designs. The fight scenes are all epic and wonderfully creative. There's just always some new wonderfully designed creature just appearing right around the corner in this movie. It of course helps that the main character is very enjoyable. I actually do get the relationships these characters have, even if there's not that much screen time devoted to it. It was made by the director of "Pan's Labyrinth" and it's really easy to tell with the design. This film lacks that movie's emotion, but is still a lot of fun. ***1/2

Python Hyena Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008): Dir: Guillermo del Toro / Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Seth MacFarlane, Luke Goss: A much heavily marketed film than the original although it does present a much better detailing into the lives of the characters. Its impressive creature effects continue to overwhelm us with a plot regarding a golden army that was created to wage war on mankind but a truce was found. Directed by Guillermo del Toro who made the first Hellboy as well as Pans Labyrinth. The special effects are the norm here but fortunately characters seem broader. Ron Perlman plays the sly and never fearful Hellboy whose relationship with Liz Sherman, played by Selma Blair is shaky. He toys with media attention but soon realizes that responsibility will be needed for a very different future. Liz makes discoveries and will eventually bargain for Hellboy's life. Doug Jones returns as the fish-like Abe Sapien who will discover love and the ability to shed tears. Seth MacFarlane plays Johann Krauss who is brought in to help keep Hellboy from encouraging publicity. The role is effective but somewhat standard. Luke Goss plays the villain Prince Nuada who is skilled at martial arts and being a total sh*t disturber. While visually well made it is still a pointless exercise with an army of screenwriters that were far from golden. Thank goodness for creature personalities. Score: 4 / 10