Review
“Hellboy 2” is vastly superior to the first film.
The plot: Hellboy and the rest of the Bureau Of Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D. for short) must stop the elf Prince Nuada from awakening the murderous and unstoppable Golden Army with the intent of breaking the truce with the humans and taking over the land.
After seeing the dull, almost lifeless first film, I can’t say I was all that excited for the sequel. Luckily, writer/director Guillermo del Toro managed to surprise me by improving upon every aspect of the first. As a comic geek, “Hellboy 2” has everything you could possibly want from a comic to film adaptation. The characterization here is splendid. Guillermo wisely digs deeper into the characters and it works like a charm. For instance, I was quite partial to Abe Sapien’s romance with Princess Nuala, Prince Nuada’s connection with Princess Nuala, and Hellboy’s struggle with loneliness and his relationship with Liz. Last, but not least, we are also introduced to a fantastic new character named Johan Krauss (voiced by “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane). Johan is brought in as a leader for the B.P.R.D. and I have to admit he steals nearly every scene he is in (especially during the Golden Army battle).
Additionally, there are tons of incredible action set pieces here such as the tooth fairy attack, the Golden Army brawl, the elemental Forest God attack, the sword fights, and the visually stunning troll market sequences. What’s even more remarkable is that a good chunk of these set pieces use practical f/x and costumes instead of CGI. This is especially evident in the “Star Wars” cantina like Troll Market scene which sees hundreds of demons roaming around.
The lone weak link of "Hellboy 2" is without a doubt Selma Blair. She simply walks through her role and shows little to no emotion. I wish they would have recast her part as she barely had any chemistry with the rest of the cast.
Summary: “Hellboy 2” is a must own Blu-ray disc. Hopefully, we will one day see a third film, but who knows when that will be as Guillermo del Toro is busy working on projects like “The Hobbit.”
Picture and Sound
Blu-ray discs don’t get much better than this. The 1.85:1 1080p picture is stunning. I was especially blown away by the smoky explosions, the luscious Ireland exteriors, and the climactic showdown with golden army.
The DTS-HD 7.1 audio track is great. The action is lively, the dialogue is clear, and the music rocks the speakers.
Extras
* Digital copy.
* Scene explorer shows certain scenes without F/X, with animatics and the finished version.
* “Director’s Notebook”- Pages of notes and sketches.
* “Set Visits”- A U-Control feature showing behind-the-scenes footage of select scenes.
* Concept art gallery.
* An enthusiastic commentary by Guillermo del Toro. He gives plenty of information about scenes, the tone, the story and even points out a few fun easter eggs.
* Commentary by Selma Blair, Luke Goss and Jeffrey Tambor. A bizarre track with Tambor and Blair talking about their friendship, behind-the-scenes tidbits, etc.
* BD-Live which includes a comic book builder feature.
* 6 deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary by del Toro.
* Production workshop about the puppet flashback and a thumbnail storyboard progression with optional del Toro commentary.
* A 5 minute Zinco epilogue animated comic.
* DVD-Rom script.
* “Hellboy- In Service Of The Demon” is an exhausting 19 part making of that includes set footage, interviews, character discussions, set piece discussions, creature discussions, sets, etc.
* Print and poster galleries.
* Creature design, Mike Mignola, production design and production still art galleries.
* A 12 ½ minute Troll market tour with Guillermo del Toro.
