Hellboy II: The Golden Army – Blu-ray Disc Review

October 31, 2008 – 1:34 AM - Posted by: Justin Sluss

Tags: BD-Live, Bonus View, Danny Elfman, Digital Copy, Doug Jones, Guillermo del Toro, Jeffrey Tambor, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Seth Macfarlane, U-Control, Universal

has an average rating of 7.6 on IMDb
1080p in AVC MPEG-4 on a 50gb disc
DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio
are very in-depth with Digital Copy
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– 2008
– 120 minutes
– Universal
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Overall Verdict – Very Highly Recommended

Buy it for $25.49 @ Amazon.com

— Review by: Justin Sluss & Brendan Surpless —

Trailer:

The Movie Itself is directed by visionary Guillermo Del Toro (known for “Pan’s Labyrinth“). After a seemingly unstoppable force of creatures are awaken, Earth knows it can only call on one superhero to save the planet. Enter Hellboy (Ron Pearlman) and his expanding team in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development. This includes girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair), aquatic empath Abe (Doug Jones) and mystic Johann (James Dodd). Now the BRPD must travel between the surface strata and the land where magical creatures rule. It’s up to the BRPD to save the planet one more time. What results is an instantly great film not only because of the amazing visuals presented by Del Toro but also due to the interesting story.

As I just mentioned above the worlds Del Toro creates in all of his films just make us stop and stare in utter amazement at how his mind must work. Del Toro’s worlds seem like something we might read in a type of horror novel as children. Horrifying creatures, terrifying landscapes and areas that would make the child in all of us want to hide underneath the blankets. I’ve always been a fan of Del Toro, especially of his amazing “Pan’s Labyrinth“, but here in “Hellboy II” he takes it up another notch. For a true example take a look at the sequence where Hellboy is climbing up at pole. Simply look at the creature in the background. Thanks to the image quality on this Blu-ray release, we finally get to see the utter realism and detail Del Toro puts into his creatures.

The story presented here, in all honesty, is more interesting and works on a better level than the first. The first film, from what I recall, was fairly slowly paced and had many scenes that didn’t work. Now I haven’t seen the director’s cut but went into “Hellboy II” with higher optimism if not only because I’ve grown to like Del Toro’s work and have appreciated his talent ever since seeing “Pan’s Labyrinth” (a visual masterpiece in its own). Here in “Hellboy II“, Del Toro has put together a story that is much better than the first if not only because the situations he involves our characters are stunning and are visually amazing. I do realize that I keep saying that but I just trying to drive home a point here folks.

Overall a film like “Hellboy II” is a visual treat for both the eyes and ears as Del Toro’s visionary mind is one that needs to be seen and heard. The creatures he has created for this film are nothing short of astounding and really do require the viewer to pause and simply look in utter amazement at how this man’s mind works. In fact I’ll go so far as to say that within the next 5 years this man will win a Best Director statue for his work. He’s that good and in this day and age of less than stellar quality that is considered ‘horror’ per say, it’s refreshing to see films with creatures that don’t physically scare us but instead make us think about how a child’s mind works. This one is definitely worth a watch regardless if you might have been turned off by the first installment in the series.

— Synopsis (above) written by: Brendan Surpless —

Video Quality on this release is in full 1080p using the AVC MPEG-4 codec on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte Blu-ray Disc) and presented in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Considering the vagueness of IMDb’s technical specifications listing regarding the filming methods I have to speculate on what this was shot on. Judging from his past few films he’s Directed or recently Produced, Guillermo del Toro likely shot this on 35mm film with Arriflex and MovieCam cameras with Zeiss lenses. This 35mm film (analog) to Hi-Def (digital) transfer comes with only a slight bit of film grain and a really nice sense of detail, vibrant color palette and accurate fleshtones. The black level found here is as solid as ink that did outlines in the comic book pages the film gets it’s inspiration from. An obvious strong emphasis can be seen on the color red throughout the film because of our main character. The CG used here really blends almost at times seamlessly with the live-action footage, making it absolute “EYE CANDY” — thanks in large part to the vivid imagination and visual styling of Director Guillermo del Toro. No signs are present of any filter usage such as DNR (digital noise reduction) or Edge Enhancement, which these days has become a relief to report. Also, I didn’t see any signs of compression here but I didn’t honest expect to. I say that because the film has a 120 minute runtime and is housed on a 50 gigabyte disc.

Overall, the combination of the unique visual style of Guillermo del Toro‘s films and the “Hellboy” characters’ colorful, action-filled lifestyle make for an absolutely pleasing Hi-Def video presentation. It does look stunning yes, but it comes nowhere close to “leaping off the screen” at you as some other films do out on Blu-ray. I will say, it looks the best you could possibly expect for it to look and will offer as close to the original theatrical experience possible in a home theater setting. Fans will be very satisfied with the video quality here, which earns a respectable “4.5 Star Rating“.

Audio Quality on this release is presented in DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio English and even DTS 5.1 Spanish and French language tracks. Things start out magnificently with Danny Elfman‘s musical Score. The music gets excellent use of the 7.1 soundscape with great rear channel and bass presence throughout. Dialogue is very distinct as it plays a pivotal role between action sequences, and never requires any volume adjustment. At about 10 minutes in, you’ll be treated to an extremely realistic sound of a window shattering into thousands of pieces that makes superb pan use of the 7.1 soundscape. This is just a taste of that to come.

The DTS-HD 7.1 MA here is INTENSE to say the very least; about 12 minutes into the film and I had to stop and catch my breath (metaphorically and literally). The “toothfairies” sound incredible as they surround you, accompanied by great use of the subwoofer. About 24 minutes in, I got that awesome wood smell coming back on speakers years old (definitely dusted my speakers off!). Foley and other sounds effects are presented very realistically here, leaving you on the edge of your seat during action sequences. This is by far a “5 Star Rating” as it is the utter definition of “demo material” for sound.

Bonus Materials are presented on 2 different discs in this set. Video quality is in 480i/p Standard Definition. Audio is in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo throughout all bonus materials.

Disc 1 (Blu-ray) contains:

• “U-Control” includes the following features this time around. All of which use Bonus View and require a “Profile 1.1” capable Blu-ray Disc Player.
– “Concept Art Gallery” allows you view concept art while you watch the film that is relevant to the particular scene and/or character onscreen. This is probably best left to the die-hard fans of “Hellboy” or Director Guillermo del Toro‘s unique style of creatures in his films. I will say it is VERY informative but just doesn’t prove worth the watch for the casual viewer.
– “Director’s Notebook” gives you insight on Director Guillermo del Toro‘s personal notebook that lets you access video interviews, sketches and notes that pop-up (PIP via Bonus View) as you’re watching the film.
– “Set Visits” take you on a “all-access”, behind-the-scenes tour of the set to the film. This also includes some alternate takes that didn’t make it into the film as well as cast video interviews. All of this again will pop-up (PIP via Bonus View) while you’re watching the film — as long as you have “U-Control” enabled which is as simple as hitting the red button on your Blu-ray Disc Player‘s remote control to toggle it on or off.

• BD-Live is included on this release using Universal‘s “BD-Live Center” feature that allows you to download additional content such as trailers, chat with others in real-time and even share your favorite scenes through the “My Scenes” function. Exclusive to this release is a unique BD-Live feature I’ll discuss in further detail below. Here are the main points of interest in terms of BD-Live on this disc (release).
– “My Scenes” allows you to share your favorite clips from the film with others online via BD-Live.
– “BD-Live Center” allows you to download more content such as trailers for upcoming films or sometimes even content-specific material.
– “Comic Book Builder” is an exclusive Blu-ray feature that I’ll discuss in further detail below. But what’s important is that it includes the ability to share your creations with others online via BD-Live integration. Very impressive.
• “Comic Book Builder” allows you to create your very own “Hellboy” comic book using illustrations of scenes from the film. You pick your own font, type in your own phrases and then you have your own comic which you can share with your friends via BD-Live if you’re on a “Profile 2.0” Blu-ray Disc Player such as PlayStation 3 for example.
• Audio Commentary with Director Guillermo del Toro
• Audio Commentary with Cast Members Jeffrey Tambor, Selma Blair and Luke Goss
• “Troll Market Tour with Guillermo del Toro” (12 minutes) uses a blend of sketches and backstage video to allow the Director to deliver to the audience a walk through the very creation of the very unique and soon to be legendary scene at “Troll Market” in the film.
• Animated Zinco Epilogue Comic (5 minutes) will likely be enjoyed by fans of “Hellboy” but not the casual viewer. Still it’s nice to see included.
• Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by director Guillermo del Toro (5 minutes) total up to six different scenes.

Disc 2 (DVD) contains:

• Digital Copy that allows you to copy the film to your personal computer (either Mac or PC) as well as copy it to your portable device such as iPod. This actually is included on the 2nd disc of the set that is also a DVD for video playback of bonus materials listed below. I have to say this idea is pretty smart on behalf of Universal. They seem to be learning more and more ways to do Digital Copy each time around.
• “Prologue” gives you a special introduction to the home video release from the Director himself, Guillermo del Toro that runs only a short 23 seconds.
• “Hellboy: In Service of the Demon” (155 minutes) is an extensive behind-the-scenes look at the creation of “Hellboy II. This is probably best saved for the true fans of the film, character from the comic or the film’s Director.
• “Marketing Campaigns” is split up into two different sections.
– “Print Gallery” (1 minute)
– “Poster Explorations” (5 minutes)
• DVD-ROM version of the script to “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” can be accessed on your PC or Mac.

Overall the the bonus materials are extremely impressive here even on the Standard release. I can just imagine how cool the physical bonus materials that come in the “Collector’s Edition” are. For those interested, the Collector’s Edition includes a collectible “Golden Army” statuette, limited edition poster, director’s production journal and a certificate of authenticity. If you don’t mind paying an extra $18 or so it’s worth it. Either way you get disc 1 of bonus materials housed on the BD-50 (50 gigabyte Blu-ray Disc) and then you have disc 2 of bonus materials housed on a DVD-ROM that includes DVD playback of bonus content, the Digital Copy of the film in two formats (Windows Media and iTunes) as well as a DVD-ROM version of the film’s script. You really can’t complain here about anything lacking. This earns itself a very, very respectable “4.5 Star Rating” for overall quality of the bonus materials. Keep up the great work Universal!

Blu-ray Disc packaging:

Screenshots:

NOTE: The full-sized 1920×1080 files are in a .PNG file format and uncompressed. Bare with the slow loading times, keep in mind these files are at least 1MB (1 megabyte) in size each.

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