DVD vs Blu-Ray: Hellboy 2
Posted by: Ernie Estrella on November 7, 2008 at 2:35 am
We’re kicking this article off with our review of the Hellboy 2 feature itself — naturally you can jump right to our extensive analysis of the 2 DISC BLU-RAY or 3 DISC DVD if you like…
Studio: Universal Studios
Running time: 120 Minutes
Lost in the 2008 comic book movie shuffle is one of the best comic book films, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Hellboy might not be as widely known, but he is just as noticeable. Director, Guillermo del Toro once again directs the sequel to the mildly successful Hellboy with all of the principle characters back with him. The first film was about big red thinking he’s human, hating creatures and wanting to fit in with humans but in The Golden Army, he’s not accepted by the humans with open arms and becomes more comfortable being a outsider.
Our story opens up with a Young Hellboy learning the story of the Golden Army through a bedtime story told by his father, Professor Broom (John Hurt). Seen through the imagination of a young Hellboy, the tale is told through puppets of how a goblin blacksmith created an indestructible Golden Army for the Elves as a weapon against the humans. King Balor slaughtered the humans with them and called a truce, never to activate the army again. He breaks his crown that controls the army, in three pieces and separates one piece so no one can find it. He keeps one for himself and gives the other to his daughter, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton). Her twin brother Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), doesn’t trust the humans and runs away vowing to return to exact revenge in the distant future.
The bedtime story remains as such, until the lost piece is tracked down at an auction by Nuada who then wages war against the human race by unleashing a horde of ravenous Tooth Fairies, then by killing his father for the second piece of the crown. Meanwhile Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair) work out commitment problems while investigating the auction house, but Hellboy is outed to the general public and the secret BPRD, is no longer a secret. Now, with only one piece missing, Nuada hunts his sister down who is in care of the BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense) and more specifically, Abe Sapien (Doug Jones). Hellboy steps up to the task to battle a Forest Elemental, the last of its kind set free by Nuada, and in wounding it he discovers that he may have a bigger destiny than just trying to fit in with the humans who reject him. Even the BPRD has turned on him trying to reign him in under the control of Agent Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) and Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor). In an act of heroism, Hellboy saves Nuala and Abe when Prince Nuada infiltrates the BPRD Headquarters but gets mortally wounded in the process. To save Hellboy, Liz, Abe, and Johann take him to Northern Ireland, the resting place of the Golden Army with the final piece of the crown in hand setting up one helluva finale.
This is the second collaboration between Guillermo del Toro and Hellboy creator, Mike Mignola. Del Toro understands Mignola’s product and gives him the latitude to expand on it even more, going bigger, and executing better. The story is tight and the pacing is right, never repeating the conventions of the first film. The action is non-stop and feels realistic and the grand epic looms behind every dark shadow. Still, Hellboy never loses its sense of humor cracking jokes, coddling cats and getting Abe drunk, leading to the film’s funniest moment, but (unlike Spider-Man 3) staying in its context.
Luckily for Mignola, his world is also the same one del Toro loves play in. Rush out to see Pan’s Labyrinth if you haven’t already. The style and techniques born in that Oscar-winning film flourished in this sequel. What del Toro does better than anyone is show both the beauty and the horror of these worlds leaving viewers conflicted. So beautiful–and so haunting at the same time. This is why this is del Toro’s film; his mind exploded on the screen. Locations and action sequences of his wildest imagination will be forever be etched in our minds like the Tooth Fairy sequence or the Troll Market–the Cantina Bar of this generation. Go through all of the extras to see just how involved del Toro was in every single aspect but remember that without Mignola, there is no Hellboy. Celebrate this original film they’ve created together and if we’re lucky, may we continue to reap the benefits of their friendship in the near future.
A GOLDEN BUY – OVERALL SHOCK VALUE: A
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army takes you to several new worlds and lets us step into the imagination of Guillermo del Toro and Mike Mignola, whose collective effort brings us a fun and fantasy-rich film proving that sequels can be better if the right people are involved. It’s paced better, looks slicker, and is more ambitious and fun than its predecessor. Being able to compare the two formats I couldn’t help but be drawn more to the blu-ray. The vivid color palette and textured world was magnified in the 1080p transfer. And despite the lack of HD extras, it’s got plenty of supplements that will keep you in del Toro and Mignola’s fantasy world for hours long after and is sure to get multiple spins in your player.
DVD VS BLU-RAY
Choose your format and read on for extensive disc by disc analysis — presentation, audio, video, extras & exclusives!
No Responses to "DVD vs Blu-Ray: Hellboy 2"
Comments are closed.
