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| Ron Perlman's titular hero brandishes a grotesquely oversized weapon on this poster for Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army |
Hellboy is not the most discreet of superheros, but he is the best, now that fearful monsters are on the loose.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army is written and directed by great Mexican-born American filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Cronos (1992)), with Mike Mignola contributing story elements and based on his Dark Horse Comics character. It is a sequel to Del Toro's Hellboy (2004).
The story here completely escapes me and seems really weak, but this is also said in light of the fact that I simply cannot engage myself in this universe's baroque 'characters'.
There's humor, production design and special effects in excess in just about all scenes of the film, and Del Toro's unique nerd's mind and enthusiasm is definitely present: His monsters are incredible to look at, and they are the main reason to watch the overlong Hellboy II: The Golden Army for my money.
Related posts:
Hellboy character: Hellboy (2019) - Grisly reboot a mixed bag
Guillermo del Toro: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) - Øvredal's ascent to big budget moviemaking gets by on weird horror sequences (co-writer)
The day after the day after ... the 2018 Oscars
The Shape of Water (2017) - Toro's strange monster romance is mostly an amusing fantasy
Pacific Rim (2013) or, The Monster Resistance
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) - Jackson's megalomania gives birth to the first third of an enormous fantasy whopper (co-writer)
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010) or, What Creeps in the Dark (co-writer)
Julia's Eyes/Los Ojos de Julia (2010) - Decent Spanish horror with good craftsmanship, little else (co-producer)
Pan's Labyrinth/El Laberinto del Fauno (2006) - Horrors of Franco era in Del Toro fantasy ride
Hellboy (2004) - Del Toro's super-antihero is a tiring blast
Blade II (2002) or, The Vampire Ass-Kicker 2
Top 10: Best ghost horror movies
2001 in films and TV-series - according to Film ExcessTop 10: The best big flop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
The Devil's Backbone/El Espinoza del Diablo (2001) - The excellent Gothic genre-mix that is Del Toro's best film so far
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 82.5-85 mil. $ (different reports)
Box office: 168.3 mil. $
= Flop (returned 2.00 times its cost)
[Hellboy II: The Golden Army premiered 28 June (Los Angeles Film Festival) and runs 120 minutes. Shooting took place from June - November 2007 in England, including in London, Northern Ireland and in Hungary, including in Budapest. The film opened #1 to a 34.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5), grossing 75.9 mil. $ (45.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 13.9 mil. $ (8.3 %) and Russia with 8.5 mil. $ (5.1 %). The film was nominated for the Best Makeup Oscar, lost to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. The film additionally grossed an estimated excess of 53.9 mil. $ on the North-American home video market. The film's flop killed the opportunity for a third despite the wishes of the filmmakers. The character was instead rebooted in Hellboy (2019), also a flop. Del Toro returned with Pacific Rim (2013). Ron Perlman (Nightmare Alley (2021)) returned in Outlander (2008). Hellboy II: The Golden Army is fresh at 86 % with a 7.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Hellboy II: The Golden Army?
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