Hellboy 2 - Die goldene Armee

Der fantastischste und schönste Fantasyfilm seit Der Herr der Ringe - Die Rückkehr des Königs. Guillermo del Toro liebt diese Monster und man spürt es. Vor dem Wald-Elementalen knie ich mich hin. Gleich zwei Liebesmotive, cooler Humor, eine Harmonie der visuellen Buntheit und der Fantasy-Welt, keine kitschige Aufnahme. Der Film ist weder überladen noch chaotisch, wie manche sagen. Del Toro ist ein ehrlicher Zauberer mit einer klaren Vision und einer perfektionistischen Umsetzung. (21.09.2008)

For having a budget of eighty-five million, del Toro delivers an incredible piece of theatre, but the plot itself gets somewhat lost. Gone is the flamboyance of the first film, when the in-love "red man" was spouting dry catchphrases, and in the dark alleys he would fight other monsters from time to time. It does go into some of the depth of the mythology, but del Toro would have had to take an extra half hour to really get the whole colossus rolling and not just jump from place to place to blow it all away in two hours. Fortunately, it's still done with that passionate creative love for the comics and it's enjoyable all the way through. I give it a weaker four stars. PS: I believe that under Jackson's patronage, The Hobbit will be a smash hit. (19.09.2008)

Guillermo Del Toro did exactly what was expected of him. The film looks like it cost three times as much as it actually did, and the parade of entertaining action scenes, monsters and original ideas is almost never-ending. Unfortunately, the film loses its pace when it works with emotions. Nevertheless, Hellboy and his crew saving the world from an invincible army is definitely worth a cinema visit, because it's still a damn good film. (11.08.2008)

Der Spruch: Wenn du ihn liebst, ist alles klar, stimmt im Falle des großen roten nur umso mehr. Der Zweier ist im Bezug auf die Charaktere ausgewogener, optisch abwechslungsreicher, actionreicher und lustiger. Hellboys Sarkasmus + die Szenen aus dem Familienleben mit Liz sind hervorragend, Abe ist auch richtig gut gelungen. Abermals treibt hier jedoch das Drehbuch Unsinn, welches dürrer, als dem gesund wäre, ist, und nirgends steht ja geschrieben, dass das Publikum nicht durch die auffällige hobbitähnliche Einstimmung irritiert sein wird. Jedoch ich war fasziniert von dem Fantasy-Gewand der Geschichte, Guillermo hatte zumindest enorm viel Platz für seine niedlichen Monster und Kreaturen aus anderen Dimensionen. Dennoch scheint es mir immer noch, dass Hellboy besser sein könnte, wenn es da nur eine würdigere Verschwörungsstory gäbe. Wie auch immer, starke ****, aus Liebe zu abgesägten Ecken runde ich´s nach oben auf, Yepeeyaayeeey. (30.08.2008)

The magic about “Hellboy" for me was always in its short, punchy stories. In longer stories, his strength, atmosphere and links with myths and legends fades, like it or not. Then it has to be scotch-taped together with a quickly thought-up mythology that is as dull as it is shameful. Unfortunately, Del Toro took the this path the second time around too. You can see that he concentrated on every last detail of this, but in doing so he forgot about the main thing. Entertainment. Despite action and humor aplenty, it just doesn’t work, even with a ton of tongue in cheek humor. If it weren’t for the central trio and the Ireland trip at the end (you see legends work better in myth-rich parts of Europe than on neon-lit Manhattan), so despite its pleasant visual aspect and a few nice ideas here and there (singing over a beer), it falls apart like Sparta Football Club did at Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona. It’s good to watch, you certainly won’t get bored, but when the final credits came up I found it hard to remember what in fact happened. (16.08.2008)

It may hold together less than part one, on the other hand Hellboy II is full of enthusiasm and enough fantasy for another ten movies. Guillermo gives the movie the heart and playfulness of a young child who loved old fairytales and fantasy stories. I used to be like that too and maybe that’s why I gave The Golden Army a full set of stars. In fact, I’m rather disappointed that del Toro signed up for Tolkien’s Hobbit because he’s need elsewhere. Because of him we are going to have to wait longer for the third Hellboy than I would like. I’m going to miss this red guy’s world and I won’t even mention the shelving of the adaptation of Lovecraft’s ‘At the Mountains of Madness’. (02.10.2008)

Nichts stimmt mich so zärtlich wie das erneute Wiedersehen mit dem Mignol-Universum, das mir Crew in einer entscheidenden Phase meiner Jugend in die Wiege gelegt hat. Ob Live-Action oder Zeichentrickfilme, Comics oder Bücher, Hellboy und seine Welt sind das, was ich mir regelmäßig wünsche, und das tut mir mehr als gut. Wenn ich "Weihnachten in der Unterwelt" vor einer Vorführung von Hellboy 2 - Die goldene Armee noch einmal lese, ist bereits alles perfekt. Schade, dass es nie einen dritten Film gab. (01.02.2012)

The shallow and awkwardly simple clash of good and evil wrapped in the most clichéd motifs. Good characters, evil characters, an old king, a young hot-blooded lad and heir to the throne, a princess, love, monsters, a final battle, etc. We've had something similar at least a thousand times before, and if it weren't for the solid wisecracks, the beautiful costumes and make-up (it's clear that del Toro loves colors and is not afraid to experiment), the high-quality visuals and Luke Goss, who knows how to kick ass, as fans have known since the days of Blade 2, there would be almost nothing here, because this boring tale didn't appeal to me even halfway as much as I expected. (20.11.2008)

Ich muss fünf Sterne vergeben. Ich muss einfach. Nicht, dass mich jemand dazu gezwungen hätte, aber Hellboy ist ja mein Lieblingscomic ist und hier sieht alles genauso aus wie auf dem Papier (obwohl es gleichzeitig völlig anders ist). Mike Mignola konnte keinen Mann mit mehr Fantasie und Sinn für Atmosphäre finden als Guillermo del Toro. Ich hoffe, es wird einen dritten Teil geben. H-O-F-F-E. (26.04.2009)

Perhaps the best possible sequel I could have hoped for! The Golden Army surpasses the previous adventure in every respect, whether in its straightforward and spectacular execution, its stylish story, or its approach to the main characters, which is perhaps even more human and distinctive. Del Toro again literally revels in his work, getting the absolute most out of his characters, and his world full of diverse monsters is portrayed as breathtakingly as only a certain gentleman named George Lucas could. His direction is much more assured and less cluttered than in the first one, the action scenes are more imaginative and better structured, and Ron Perlman is still in top form, churning out one wisecrack after another, and his Red is slowly becoming one of my favourite comic book characters. Too bad we probably won't see a sequel. (29.08.2012)

Hellboy 2 was supposed to be a non-narrative film from the start. The giants rising from the ground, giant flowers that bloom during death, and winged reapers could have silently told a story on their own, and their presence alone would have worked visually even as metaphor, which they are. They work on a fundamental level; everything around them does not. (15.09.2013)

The first time I saw the film in the cinema, I was enthusiastic about it. Mainly because I like Perlman's interpretation of Hellboy. But the second time, the flaws become too obvious. In terms of script, it is an incredibly ordinary film, a film that is clearly defined from the beginning, the rules are stated immediately, and you realize what needs to be exploited and how the story will progress. It is visually beautiful, but empty in terms of content, similar to Del Toro's "Pacific Rim". It saves the world and the characters, even though I don't really care about the elves in relation to Hellboy. (12.04.2014)