Hellboy II (oh yeah, it's on)

[Crafty_Pat]

Man I loved this flick. I won't call it my favorite film of the year yet because I might still be in afterglow but it's definitely in the running for my top 5 of 2008. I expect Dark Knight and Quantum of Solace to give it a run for its money but on my scorecard it actually (narrowly) trumps Hulk and Iron Man.

The subject matter's more my speed, certainly (I love comics but I love horror more, and even more than that action-horror). I love how delightfully honest, whimsical, and unrestrained GDT's creations are (especially when he's writing in addition to seeding the story), and the character work in this one is just flat-out phenomenal. Up there with the best serials we've seen in any medium.

There's so much to love here...

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The flashback scene and young Hellboy (and even more the child-dream visuals as the tale of the Golden Army is read), Johann in execution and portrayal (thank you Seth MacFarlane), chain-fist, Liz being sexier than I thought imaginable, more than one spectacular nemesis moment ("it's the last of its kind - just like us"), the return of Hellboy's destiny, the map, the elf-prince's look when he learns Wink is dead, Abe and Hellboy spending an evening with Tecate and Manilow, elves that don't suck, villains you kinda sympathize for, the usual gamut of unmitigated visual cool you get from anything that comes out of GDT's head, compelling and engaging fight scenes (like the reason Hellboy can't just pound the elf-prince into paste), that the trailer doesn't actually ruin the good parts - it even enhances them in a couple places, the clockwork fight, the score and the soundtrack, and an ending that promises so much from a potential third film. And that's just the tip of a very big, very deep, very freaky iceberg.

Just about the only thing I thought they could have done better was bring back David Hyde-Pierce as the voice of Abe and even that's debatable. Doug Jones did a really wonderful job.

A few years ago at San Diego Comic-Con when GDT was promoting the first movie he tried to explain why he chose to adapt Hellboy to the big screen. He started with, "You ever see something you love so much you just have to stick your dick in it?" Yeah, it's a good thing there aren't any con shows in the winter 'cause I may be swelling up with HBII's beautifully warped love kids over the next few months.

Go see this movie. Go see it now. We NEED a third one.

[Wolverine]

Go see this movie. Go see it now. We NEED a third one.

I missed the third one when it was out at theatres here (partly because it was only screened for a couple of weeks), but I'll definately be seeing this one. Twice. Three times if I can manage it.

Once it comes out in late August, that is

[TheAuldGrump]

Saw it tonight. Not bad, though the pacing was a bit choppy. (I suspect that a director's cut would have about another twenty to thirty minutes. I really hope that there is a director's cut, I'd buy it. ) For some reason it reminded my players of my own fixation with the Fey.

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Del Toro has a great grasp of what the elves are all about, and his take on the invasion cycle was interesting. The original cycle was Partholan->Fomor (and plague)->Firbolg->Tuatha De Danann->Milesians.  Many of the names were familiar in the movie, though the appearances of the mythological characters was changed considerable. Balor in particular. (Balor of the one burning eye. Baal. And in a derivative fashion both Beelzebub and Balrog. The city of Baltimore is named after him. ) And the lessening or fading of the Fey.

The Auld Grump, aye and on to bed.

[Daedalus4096]

Overall, I liked the movie, with one notable exception...

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The psychic-twin-link thing?  Seriously?  It's not just a ridiculous contrivance, it wasn't even well executed.  I mean, if the princess is going to stab herself to save someone from her brother, you'd think it would be her father and not some fish-guy she'd just met.  There wasn't even a good reason for it to be there, with the *possible* exception of the Prince tracking down the BPRD facility.

[Forcegypsy]

I had more fun in the theatre in Ironman, but this movie was astonishing nonetheless. This goes in the must buy when released on disc category and I don't buy many dvd's. All the following made the experience fantastic; Liz, Hellboy, the Prince (and his beautiful personal gadget weapon...yumm!), Wink, wheeled goblin, many-eyed Demon, the forest god sequence. Del Toro did a fantastic job of giving his antagonists a remarkable pathos.

Iron Man, Hellboy, Quantuum of Solace and Dark Knight are the movies I'm going to remember from this summer. I'm taking the last two on faith, but I don't think I'm wrong.

[ThunderMonkey]

I'm going to see Hellboy on Thursday since I got a marching band competition to photograph Wednesday. (I was going to see it Saturday, but my eldest got sick from bad egg - imagine the irony).

From what I've read so far about Hellboy 2, (no spoilers though) I can't wait to see what de Toro and Peter Jackson conjure up for the Hobbit movies.

Those may just redefine fantasy genre again.