Blu-ray Movie Reviews

The roughest, toughest, unlikeliest of heroes is back with a signature blend of action and humor. With bigger muscle, badder weapons and more ungodly villains than ever before, "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" features the ultimate battle of good versus evil. The fate of mankind hangs in the balance when a ruthless prince awakens an unstoppable army of creatures and wages war with the human world. It's up to Hellboy and his team of paranormal outcasts to face off with the forces of darkness in the ultimate battle of good versus evil.

Del Toro delivered one of the best graphic novel adaptations to date with Hellboy. While it didn’t score overly big with box office crowds it delivered a great mix of dark humor, imagery and excitement. The follow up looked to be the first one on steroids with a broader universe and a step up in action. Unfortunately the second film just didn’t resonate nearly as well with me. I love the new production values and vast character designs but the comic relief was a bit much for me and ruined the tone in my opinion. While the first film had its share of one-liners, this new film takes it up a notch and also goes in other directions with its humor that I didn’t think fit the world of the film. Ultimately the film is entertaining and has some incredible moments, but I thought it was a disappointing follow up to a solid entry in the series.

The HD presentation is a solid one with a rare film-like quality that really blends the live action and CG imagery of the film together. Depth and dimensionality are outstanding and contrast levels are strong. I noticed a slight softening with some of the action which appears to be used mostly in the big effects sequences. While this robs some of the imagery of very fine detail, it helped the effects shots blend in a lot more. Colors are quite vivid and I loved the production values of the sets and creature design. While I don’t think this title represents the pinnacle of eye candy, it is a very strong HD presentation for a very visual production.

This was an intense audio presentation in the theaters and every bit of that impact is delivered with the discrete 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix. This is the first 7.1 mix from Universal and it is an all out onslaught of surround effects and deep bass extension. I loved the visceral impact the action scenes delivered and the battle at the end with the Golden Army was an intense mix of low bass and surround panning. The film’s score floats around the soundstage and discrete surround use of the side and rear speakers are exemplary. A reference audio presentation through and through.

Universal continues to go all out with the extras and takes full advantage of Blu-ray’s interactivity. Using its U-Control interface you can get a look at the production art and early concept work while watching the film or take a look at the director’s early notes and sketches. You can also take a look at the sets during production while the film is playing. Using the separate viewing modes, you can toggle different stages of the production as you watch the film. This allows you to watch the green screen footage, rough special effects or combinations without ever leaving the movie. Another cool feature is the ability to build your own comic from the film. You can screen grab images from the film and put them together with your own phrases and upload them for sharing using BD-Live. You can also share your own bookmarks online. Other features include a feature length look at the production complete with interviews and behind the scenes footage, a multi-angle mode for certain scenes of the film, deleted scenes and two feature length audio commentaries. A digital copy is also included. A tremendous extras package!!

Universal continues to raise the bar when it comes to interactivity and features. This is one of the richest experiences I’ve seen on Blu-ray. The A/V presentation is also outstanding. If you’re a fan of the film, this is definitely one to add to your Blu-ray library.