Hellboy II

Josh_Singh

Just saw it. Good times. I highly recomend it.
Carlos Huante FTW. It was a feast for the eyes.
Really fun story too.
One of my favorite movies of the Summer.

adam

Awesome! I'm going tomorrow with a few peeps from work..

Neo_God

Super fun movie, and the artwork and direction of parts are to say the least, fantastic. The Troll market is filled with coolness. del Toro's commitment to the art direction of his films makes him one of my favorite directors.

bounchfx

Oh man this is today! Must go see asap!

BoBo_the_seal

ARRGGGHHHH!!!! I want to like it! ... I really really do! .... but I didn't. They went too campy with this one. With Hellboy, I want a dark and serious story with Hellboy being comic relief (which I think they did well in the first film). I just felt like they made everyone in the film comical and almost silly at time. Still a beautiful film and the winged character kicked ass.

- BoBo

Richard Kain

I'm planning on seeing it, despite misgivings after the first film. I don't know. I love Del-Toro's artistic style. His approach to the visual aspects of cinema is excellent. I just don't think he's right for Hellboy. The comics have such a minimalist design to them. Mike Mignola's art style is so full of contrast and implication. Del Toro just seems too ornate to express that style.

I have no doubt that the film will be entertaining. But as with the first one, I will probably be lamenting the lost opportunities throughout.

SubPablo

oof. hellboy got raped. at least the raping was Mignola approved though. I can't say I'm happy with many of the weird differences between the comic characters/relationships and the onscreen versions, but at least it wasn't against the creator's will (apparently). It was worth seeing for the creature and effects work, but the little asshole HB purist in me cringed the whole time.

stimpack

right there with ya bobo. Just got back from watching this....god i really wanted to come out saying "that was amazing!" but alas...i can only say it was "alright" I wouldnt spend money to see it again. On the other hand, id give all my money to get some wip posts of those creatures!!! oh my, they were beautiful!

pliang

...Still gonna watch it anyways.

Asherr

was great. only iffy part for me was the young Hellboy makeup at the beginning.

Thegodzero

I loved it! I agree that it could have been darker but i was ok with it the way it was. I don't know i think he needed this to be lighter after pan. I can't wait for his Hobbit.

Luxury

Just got back from this. Replace Hellboy with Will Smith and you have Men in Black III.

Still liked it but not nearly as much as the first one. Story was just way too far out there. WAY to far.

Loved the bad guy more than anybody else in the film. That dude was seriously badass.

alexk

I liked it, was enjoyable but could have been darker. Loved the monster stuff. LOL at Seth Mcfarlane's (Family Guy) voice work, his character at times would sound a little like Stewy. I hope less sugary for the next sequal and more Selma Blair. Batman next week!

MoP

Not out in the UK until the end of August

Neo_God

alexk wrote: »

I liked it, was enjoyable but could have been darker. Loved the monster stuff. LOL at Seth Mcfarlane's (Family Guy) voice work, his character at times would sound a little like Stewy. I hope less sugary for the next sequal and more Selma Blair. Batman next week!

It's weird, because I remember seeing that the German actor Thomas Kretschmann was orginally playing Krauss' voice, but then all of the sudden it was Macfarlane, and what's weirder is that Krauss sounded a lot more like the German Fish from Macfarlane's other show American Dad, although Macfarlane doesn't voice him.

Luxury

Forgot to mention - the opening prologue? Fucking awesome!!

Ajax

Right on, I'll probably check this out soon. That and Wall-E still.

Richard Kain

Went and saw it. I agree on the opening prologue. Very stylistic, in the best way possible. Really made it feel like the beginning to a fairy tale. As far as the monsters and effects went, this movie was much more satisfying than the first one. The first movie had the same bloody monster repeated many times over, and then a big tentacle thing at the end. Repetitive and disappointing.

Hellboy II, on the other hand, is wall-to-wall with all manner of creatures. They pack the movie with monstrous variety.

As for the criticisms, the plot is very simplistic, and extremely easy to predict. The performances are actually pretty good, but the script is weak. Don't go into it expecting a stirring or thematically solid experience. Go into it for the visuals. They are good enough to warrant the price of admission.

gauss

i'm with subpaolo. i wanted to like del toro's take on hellboy but can't. the whole thing comes off like very enthusiastic but misguided fanfiction writ large. i think mignola is very shrewd; all adaptations he's allowed have, i think, been intentionally different from the comics. nothing will overtake or overshadow his work because the comics remain the most unusual blend of ingredients, tone, and style.

del toro's personal best is still pan's labyrinth, though he's going to have to really stretch to grow, especially as a storyteller. maybe working/collaborating with a strong screenwriter could get him there, as that's his biggest weakness.
great to see him expand on his now apparently signature misplaced eyeball designs

the death angel set piece was so completely wayne barlowe, easily my favorite of the film.

also has anyone else noticed that everything in the film roared, and that there's some sort of unwritten rule now about beasties and CG characters roaring? it was all over the hulk (expected), but just about everything hellboy came across roared, including the uh... golden army? whut?

hobodactyl

I actually laughed out loud at one of the "love" scenes; I think it was supposed to be serious, though? I came out just feeling like they tried to cram every theme they could into the movie and not getting anything right really. There's love and comedy and violence and character development!!! RIGHT?!? I guess go see it for the visuals, but I'd probably rather just watch the Fifth Element again, or anything else :P (By the way, I usually really like Del Toro's movies, but this was just silly)

Wells

was goofy as hell, but I really enjoyed it.

the ending was awesome. and i mean the last few seconds.

adam

Really FUN movie - which is fantastic for comic book adaptations, IMO.

Did you guys notice the "choo-choo train" noises when the Golden Army guys would rebuild themselves? haha wtf...

Which character did McFarlene voice? The ectoplasm guy?
*EDIT* Yup, Kraus.

ebagg

I liked it, I haven't read too much Hellboy comics so I probably enjoyed it more than a purist. Was kind of annoyed by how much they are setting it up for a third movie though.

Richard Kain

ebagg wrote: »

Was kind of annoyed by how much they are setting it up for a third movie though.

Oh heavens! I hope not! Little demon spawn toddling around diapers. It would be an absolute nightmare. The plot of these movies has moved into some truly disturbing areas. I don't think I could stomach another sequel.

Lord McMutton

[ame="http://youtube.com/watch?v=-Q_hSNf-Kq4"]http://youtube.com/watch?v=-Q_hSNf-Kq4[/ame]

Tumerboy

HA HA HA! Those are great! I love the Ghost Hunters one!

I just saw it last night, and it lived up to what I hoped. It was cheesy at times, but still very enjoyable. The character designs were fantastic, as with any Del Toro movie.

pliang

Gonna grab the tickets for today's showing and try bringing a few friends over...