Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - Now Official website

[Prof.Witchheimer]

Originally Posted by LatinoReview.com

It’s taken a couple of years, but Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mike Mignola’s comic book Hellboy is finally getting a sequel, and this time the movie really ups the ante. The opening pages of the script feature more action than most movies this year – and that’s before the credits roll!

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army picks up after the events of the first film – Hellboy and his fiery girlfriend Liz are trying to make a go of living together, but there’s a lot of tension. Aquatic Abe Sapien still lives in a water tank, but he has a new and updated breathing gear for when he’s walking around. And Agent Tom Manning, the liason for Hellboy and the team at the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Development is still trying to deal with Hellboy’s antics, where he is more and more being noticed and photographed.

He shouldn’t bother, though. When a Manhattan auction house is attacked by a sword-wielding elf and a troll, the event serves as Hellboy’s coming out party. While battling a flesh eating mass of tooth fairies – they’re creepier than they sound! – Hellboy manages to take the fight to a crowd of reporters, where he and the BPRD are completely outed. Cue the opening credits!

Being public brings new problems to the team as they deal with autograph hounds, hate mail and an appearance on Jay Leno. Meanwhile, the elf from the auction house turns out to be the prince of all elves, and son of the leader of the fairy realm. They’ve lived in peace with humanity for millennia, but the prince has a different idea – he wants to reclaim the Earth. To do that he needs to get his hands on the Golden Army, ten thousand goblin-built robots hidden somewhere. To control them he needs three parts of a crown, but his twin sister, who is against his plan, has run off with one part. And Hellboy has a problem closer to home – his antics have made the government give BPRD a new leader in the form of Johann, a German made of ectoplasm who may or may not be putting the moves on Liz.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is a huge movie. It’s much bigger than the first, including flashbacks to the Golden Army tearing through a human army, a troll market filled with dozens of strange monsters, a five story tall tree elemental battling Hellboy on the Brooklyn Bridge, Yokai spirits rampaging in Tokyo and a dragon attacking Moscow. And that’s just for starters!

It’s also action packed. The script barely lets up from battle to battle, each getting bigger with bigger stakes. But the script, by Guillermo del Toro, doesn’t sacrifice these vivid and fun characters for the sake of action. Abe gets more screentime this go round, and he has a very touching emotional story, and even Mysterio-looking Johann has an emotional journey. Of course at the center is Hellboy and Liz trying to hold their unlikely love together.

In a lot of ways Hellboy 2: The Golden Army reminds me of Ghostbusters 2 if that movie was done well. It’s a bigger, more ambitious story with characters who are already established. Hellboy 2 doesn’t spend a lot of time catching up with the characters. When Johann is introduced and Hellboy says he doesn’t like Germans, you have to know the first movie to know why. But it’s never a major point, and the stuff that needs to be explained is, so even new people can come to this movie.

When people first heard that Hellboy would be fighting fairies and elves and mythical creatures, some thought it sounded silly, but del Toro really goes back to the early versions of these fables and myths to create some tough and nasty beasties for Hellboy to punch. And he punches a lot of them. Fans will be happy to know that even when the BPRD gets product placement Hummers, Hellboy still prefers to solve his problems with his big rock fist.

The first Hellboy was a modest hit that found a bigger audience on TV and DVD, but Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is bigger in every way. And it doesn’t look like the end of the story, either. By the end of Hellboy 2 there are big changes in Hellboy’s life that will make for a really interesting Hellboy 3. And when you finally do get to see the movie in 2008, stick around past the end credits. Del Toro drops in a little hint as to what we might see Hellboy taking on in Hellboy 3, and fans of the first film will be really excited!

flesh eating tooth fairies?!?...that will be funny.

[Operator5]

I can see why people would think it was hokay, but the premise sounds promising.

I can't wait to start seeing the first production photos!

[Graven Steve]

I'm a huge Hellboy fan - loved the first film, and can't wait for the sequel - but I heard that the original studio - Columbia -had dropped the property, and Giullermo was searching for a new candidate - hence the delay

A second film has the potential to be much more succesful. The first didn't do well at the box office (In the US in many areas it was turned down because of its title, and in Europe, the release was delayed by over a year, so fans just bought the DVD from the US before it's cinema premiere) but went on to more than redeem itself in DVD sales.

[Prof.Witchheimer]

the new hellboy movie site with some very nice artworks, Abe Sapien video etc.

http://www.hellboymovie.com/

[xeoran]

I gotta say I never liked the first Hellboy movie that much. It never felt like, well, Hellboy. I'd rather we just got a copy of Seed of Destruction. Never liked Selma Blair as Liz (not insecure enough and not tough enough) or Abe Sapien (just never really pictured Abe talking like a man with his cojones in a vice...). Didn't like the Rasputin-Isla love thing (or indeed Isla who reminded me more of a middle aged cleaning lady rather than a loony Nazi). Didn't like the ludicrous beginning (a firefight? Like Hell! Stick to the mysticism and occult.) Particuarly loathed the introduction of that FBI fella (oooh, love triangle. I don't want love triangles. I want frog-men and demons from other worlds.) Gah. Just geneally didn't like it, particuarly when there was so much good writing and sorce material to work on. Comparing it to the superb Pans Labyrinth I feel particuarly cheated. That said seeing as this is after Pans Labyrinth maybe...

And I'm worried because this is set in Ireland. I know Del Toro is Mexican but...well, Hollywood and Ireland have never gone together very well. But hey, if the Prince and his mates are as cool as in the Hellboy comics who knows...[/i]

[Chairface]

Hey, its going to take a lot for them to screw it up too badly. I' going to be optomistic. Bring on the Hellboy!

[Agis]

the new hellboy movie site with some very nice artworks, Abe Sapien video etc.

http://www.hellboymovie.com/

Whoahh, just the concept art alone s worth a look! :love: