A blu ray film review of Hellboy II – The Golden Army.
Hellboy started life as a comic book character in Dark Horse comics before becoming a film in 2004.
Guillermo Del Toro brought his unique vision to the project and wrote the screenplay as well as directed. The film was planned as a trilogy with the second film released in 2006.
The first Hellboy film was not considered a huge hit at cinema's and by 2006 Revolution Studio's who were financed by Sony and had produced the first film had gone out of business.
Sony put the rights to Hellboy up for sale.
Hellboy did big business on DVD and Universal bought the rights to the franchise and fast tracked a sequel. Partly inspired by Irish mythology and some of the movie is set in Ireland.
The film opened during the summer season of 2008 and once again the box office performance was not enough to consider this a huge hit but once DVD and rental sales are taken into consideration then the movie will have made money for Universal.
Due to other commitments it's likely to be 2013 before we see the final Hellboy movie. ( If it gets made )
Film Plot
The legend of the Golden Army was lost in the ashes of time but now from the darkness Prince Nuada has returned to seek the pieces of a magical crown which will give the wearer the power to activate and control the Golden Army. Nuada will use the Golden Army to wipe out human life so his people may rule the Earth.
The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense get involved after a visit to the troll market finds Princess Nuala ( sister of Prince Nauda ) and in her possession is a map which will lead to the Golden Army. Hellboy and his comrades must reach the Golden Army before Prince Nauda.
Positives
Guillermo Del Toro has brought to life a comic book fantasy world in all it's splendid colors.
I found it a pleasant change that the bad guy actually has a history and is not just a two dimensional cardboard cut out. It could even be argued the bad guy isn't bad and is just trying to stop his species from becoming extinct.
There is a green theme in the film and it's lightly touched upon as we watch Hellboy kill the last of a kind plant species that is threatening the city. Del Toro never forces the message about destroying nature but instead lets you as the viewer enjoy the breathtaking visuals and you have the choice to just enjoy the action or think about what you just saw take place. Only the very best writers and directors can bring to life such scenes as most make the mistake of talking down to the viewer or ramming their view point down your throat.
Prince Nuada is never fully fleshed out in the film but we see clearly that he believes in his actions and is willing to sacrifice all around him to achieve his aims. I think Luke Goss does a very good job with the character and although some have criticised him i think he is perfectly cast.
The acrobatic skills that Nuada displays are great to watch and make him a formidable foe. He has speed, agility and ruthlessness and the scene where he confronts his father is wonderfully choreographed as are his fight scenes with Hellboy.
I found the scene with the old lady troll who has a Scottish accent funny and they built a great set for the troll marketplace. Johann Krauss was a nice addition to the team and provided some good humor. The ending felt very appropriate and the way it was filmed and edited along with a great music score really helped give the movie a truly epic quality that few movies ever achieve.
Picture quality was film like and impressed me a lot. Black level was very good and colors really came alive and there was a lot of good detail on display. I had no complaints about the image quality and wish that more releases were as good as this one.
Sound quality was simply reference all the way. The front soundstage was dynamic and open with speech through the center channel always being clear and well defined. The surround speakers often kicked in and i could hear some wonderful split surround effects which brought the onscreen action to life. The bass content was low and deep and filled the room with low frequency energy. I could feel the bass all around me and it hit hard and i simply loved the quality of the bass in this movie.
Negatives
I would have liked a little bit more of the backstory as i found it interesting.
I would like the extra content to be made available in high definition rather than the standard definition MPEG2 encoded DVD that the extra's for this film came on. If they cannot provide the extra's in high definition then at least encode them using AVC or VC-1 and stop sharpening the extra content features as that edge enhancement is ugly as hell to look at on any reasonable sized screen.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed this film a lot, it's fun and intelligent and i thought it improved on the original in many ways.
The pacing felt right and the film never gets too dark or brooding.
I have no problem with dark and brooding films but i think this film worked better by not going too dark.
There is a lot of fun within the film and the images are very beautiful to watch and i think this is mainly due to Del Toro's vivid imagination. Guillermo Del Toro has already said that he intends Hellboy to be a trilogy and this film is the second part of that trilogy. This is a beautifully filmed movie.
I really enjoyed this sequel more than i thought i would and it has one of the best sound mixes i have heard in a long time. Image quality on this disc is also impressive.
I recommend giving this film a viewing as this is fantastic entertainment. I also look forward to the third movie in the franchise and hope Del Toro finds time to commit to it in his busy schedule, don't forget Ron Perlman is getting older too so they need to find a slot to film this and get it made before the cast get too old.
Technical Disc Specifications
Releasing Studio – Universal
Film Running Time – 120 minutes ( approx )
Disc Format – BD-50
Encoding – AVC ( MPEG 4 )
Film Aspect Ratio – 1.78:1
Blu Ray Resolution – 1080p/24
Audio Format – DTS Master Audio 7.1
Starring Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Selma Blair, Luke Goss, John Hurt
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
This is a region free release
Film Entertainment Rating – 4.5/5
Transfer Quality – 4.5/5
Sound Mix – 4.5/5