Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #753 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-12-08
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 115 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The feverish Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is a very busy sequel that might have looked unhinged in the hands of a less visionary director than Guillermo del Toro. Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy, aka "Red," the Dark Horse Comics demon-hero with roots in the mythical world but personal ties in the human realm. Still working, as he was in Hellboy, for a secret department of the federal government that deals (as in "Men In Black") with forces of the fantastic, Red and his colleagues take on a royal elf (Luke Goss) determined to smash a longtime truce between mankind and the forces of magic. Meanwhile, Red's relationship with girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair), who can burst into flames at will, is going through a rocky stage observed by Red's fishy friend Abe (Doug Jones), himself struck by love in this film. Del Toro brilliantly integrates the ordinary and extraordinary, diving into an extended scene set in a troll market barely hidden behind the façade of typical city streets. He also unleashes a forest monster that devastates an urban neighborhood, but then--interestingly--brings a luminous beauty to the same area as the creature (an "elemental") succumbs to a terrible death. Del Toro's art direction proves masterful, too, in a climactic battle set in a clockworks-like stronghold tucked away in rugged Irish landscape. But it's really the juxtaposition of visual marvels with not-so-unusual relationship issues that gives Hellboy 2 a certain jaunty appeal hard to find in other superhero movies. --Tom Keogh

Synopsis
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army begs any number of referential mash-ups to be used as description of its outlandish tonal and stylistic qualities. It's a little like a romantic and sophisticated live-action Ninja Turtles movie imbued with a cracked version of H.P. Lovecraft's monster storytelling. It's a feature-length version of STAR WARS's Mos Eisley Cantina mixed with a scrappy, proficient passion for creature design reminiscent of Ray Harryhausen. It's also kind of director/co-writer Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy (2004) wrapped in a blanket of his Pan's Labyrinth. This sequel is all these things, but none of them can accurately capture the singularity of a movie which, in some ways, stands alone in its ability to capture the crass and literary luridness of reading a comic book. It's filled with gross creatures bursting with humanity, dark poetry, and slapstick comedy; in one scene, an argument between Hellboy and Johann Krauss, a formless gas contained in a mobilized suit, escalates to the point of Tom-and-Jerry-like violence.

As Hellboy himself, a heartfelt anti-hero who regularly eliminates supernatural threat as an agent for the U.S. Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense alongside girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair) and comrade Abe Sapien, Ron Perlman again embodies the role with the kind of pathos and humour that one can only expect from a horned, red-skinned Hell-spawn who loves kittens and acts like a hardboiled detective who happens to watch TV and drink a lot of canned beer. Hellboy 2's rather interesting antagonist, Prince Nuada, isn't just an evil dude. In the mold of the complex villains typically found in Hayao Miyazaki's animated fairy tales, his intentions of restoring control over Earth to an Elvish race by regaining the key to unlock the indestructible Golden Army are at least based on a legitimately noble sentiment before megalomania kicks in.

Customer Reviews

A great follow up to the first movie
This is a great follow up to the original movie, my favourite this year, all the elements which made the original are here too, action, weird fable creatures, the mythology of an infant devil destined to destroy humanity becoming its greatest defender when he's fostered by a human father.

Additionally there's some very thought provoking characterisation, there's no simple good/evil, black and white dimension to the forces in the film, each have their strengths and weaknesses and it appears more like its the extremes to which they are willing to go to realise their visions which set them apart as particularly wicked or not.

There's the on going love story between Hellboy and his muse, interesting a muse for Hellboy's Atlantian buddy is introduced too with tragic consequences for all involved. The encounter with Hellboy's "Death", an angel of Death, is brilliant, probably the best of the weird and wonderful creatures featured throughout, it made my skin crawl.

I highly recommend this to fans of Hellboy or Pans Labyrinth.

Del Toro,s astonishing imagination illuminates standard fantasy fare.
Having loved the original Hellboy [2004] I was fervently looking forward to this sequel and while Hellboy II The Golden Army isn't a disappointment neither is it up to the standard of the first film. Having said that anything that lets director Guillermo Del Toro propagate his extraordinary imagination is well worth seeing for that reason alone and this film displays that to superlatively sumptuous effect.
Ron Perlman reprises the role of the wisecracking Hellboy who we see as a boy in the opening sequence being told the story of the golden Army by his human father ( John Hurt) who once fought against human kind( the golden army that is , not his father ) but have been mothballed by dividing the crown that controls them into three separate pieces kept in secret locations. Elf prince Nuada ( Luke Goss) may look a little on the pasty side but he is a great warrior and is determined to awaken the golden army so he can wage war on human kind. His twin sister Nuala (Ann Walton) is rather more moderate realising the chaos this would unleash .She also holds one of those missing pieces.
This is pretty standard fantasy fare and there is an argument that Del Toro and Hellboy creator Mike Mingola , the writers should have come up with something stronger in terms of the story , though the script does have a certain sardonic frisson and there is some tremendous character interplay.
Hellboy is still working for the secretive Bureau For Paranormal Research And Defence and still annoying his overbearing boss Manning (Jeffrey Tambor ) who laments his lack of discipline and the fact he keeps getting photographed and put on "You Tube" ."I hate You Tube" he tells Abe Sapian ( Doug Jones) the polite blue skinned amphibian . Hellboy,s partner the fiery (literally ) Liz (Selma Blair) is finding "Reds" lack of domesticity a problem and there is another potential dilemma lurking . Agent John Myers from the first film has been dispatched to Antarctica we are told ( this is because Rupert Evans who played him in Hellboy was unavoidable due to stage commitments)"He likes the cold" Hellboy sneers, and is replaced by ectoplasmic agent Johann Krauss ( voiced byFamily Guy - Series 1 To 5 - Complete " Seth McFarlane with an amusing mangled German accent which he based on Jeremy Irons character in Die Hard 3) whose officiousness rubs up Hellboy the wrong way.
The film makes points about selfless sacrifice , the power of love, the magnetic need for normality (Which it shares with Batman ) and hints broadly at a potential conflict of interest for Hellboy to resolve if there is another Hellboy film . The performances are great again and it,s nice that Liz is given a more developed role other than looking mopey. Really though it's the visuals and set pieces that astound with this film .Del Toro has an incredible eye and will make a scene fantastical even when something ordinary would do. The "Troll Market" scene is astonishing and the high-speed acrobatic denouement between Hellboy and Nuada in a cavernous city surrounded by enormous golden mechanical beings and massive rotating cogs is just breathtaking . There is no cheap CGI for Del Toro , everything looks authentic and he even invokes the demise of a giant "elemental" creature with a sense of magic and loss.
Del Toro clearly feels close to the Hellboy character .He turned down the chance to direct "Halo " , Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince" and "I Am Legend [2007]" to bring this sequel to the screen . It wouldn't be the same without his marvellous vision yet if there is to be another Hellboy ( I very much hope there is) film he needs to work more on the story . Can you imagine a Hellboy film with the same allegorical and dramatic punch as his masterpiece Pan's Labyrinth [2006] ? Till then this will do nicely though.

Better than the first....
I really enjoyed this film today, more than the first to be honest. It takes a different direction, more into Tolkien territory which made sense when I learnt the director Guillermo Del Toro was responsible for Pan's Labyrinth and will direct the Hobbit.

The Golden Army of the title was literally forged by the goblins many years ago in the Goblin vs Human wars. Unstoppable, they sealed a truce between the warring factions that lasted many centuries. The Golden Army was sealed away and the crown which controlled them was split into three parts, one held by the humans, as a sign of trust.

Fast forward to New York 2008 and goblin Prince, Nuada, wants to bring the army back to life as he does not trust the greedy and loose living human race. With the help of his ogre and vicious tooth fairies (they have the teeth!) he raids a NY auction room to claim the human's piece of the crown and begin his quest against humanity. Only the Red Guy, his firey and fishy friends (Liz and Abe) and his new boss, the gaseous Johann, can stop him and the army he has to control for his own destiny.

This movie has it all - a fabulous plot, memorable set pieces, great cast, wry humour and a tight script that keep you engrossed for the whole 2 hours (almost). Luke Goss (yes, him from Bros) was excellent as the pale and evil Prince. Perlman again delivered in spades, the big guy with the big heart and fist to match. Supporting cast were excellent, Selma Blair as stunning as ever and Doug Jones as fishy and clever as before, though falling in love was his downfall. The Lord of the Rings type settings contrasted nicely with the above ground NY sequences and the balance between "here and now" and the fantasy underworld worked well and gave it a unique feel.

Throughout, the visuals were stunning though the 12A rating is warranted as it is a violent film. Characterisation is not lost in the CGI in this movie which fully deserves its plaudits because of it.

Go and see Big Ron - you'll love it !