Now Playing
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

xx Babylon A.D.
xx College
82 Dark Knight, The
42 Death Race
xx Disaster Movie
36 Fly Me to the Moon
54 Get Smart
xx Goal II: Living the Dream
49 Hancock
34 Happening, The
78 Hellboy II: The Golden Army
71 Horton Hears a Who!
55 House Bunny, The
61 Incredible Hulk, The
65 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
79 Iron Man
57 Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
73 Kung Fu Panda
53 Longshots, The
24 Love Guru, The
51 Mamma Mia!
43 Meet Dave
35 Mirrors
31 Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
64 Pineapple Express
53 Rocker, The
53 Sex and the City: The Movie
63 Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
36 Space Chimps
35 Star Wars: The Clone Wars
51 Step Brothers
47 Swing Vote
60 Traitor
71 Tropic Thunder
70 Vicky Cristina Barcelona
93 WALL-E
64 Wanted
47 X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
54 You Don't Mess with the Zohan

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

sort by name

sort by score

85 Alexandra
39 America the Beautiful
66 American Teen
73 Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
xx Bachna Ae Haseeno
61 Baghead
57 Beautiful Losers
xx Beer for My Horses
47 Before the Rains
80 Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
56 Bottle Shock
75 Boy A
55 Bra Boys
61 Brick Lane
64 Brideshead Revisited
61 Bustin' Down the Door
49 Children of Huang Shi, The
54 CSNY: Déjà Vu
xx Cthulhu
86 Edge of Heaven, The
66 Elegy
52 Elsa & Fred
80 Encounters at the End of the World
64 Fall, The
86 Flight of the Red Balloon, The
83 Frozen River
68 Girl Cut in Two, A
62 Girls Rock!
73 Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
54 Hamlet 2
25 Hell Ride
44 Henry Poole is Here
76 I Served the King of England
72 I.O.U.S. A
63 In Search of a Midnight Kiss
46 Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
67 Jellyfish
62 Kabluey
63 Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
78 Last Mistress, The
50 Last Stop for Paul
70 Love Songs
61 Man Named Pearl, A
89 Man on Wire
87 Momma's Man
74 Mongol
48 My Mexican Shivah
80 Order of Myths, The
66 Patti Smith: Dream of Life
72 Priceless
61 Red
71 Roman de gare
78 Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
51 Savage Grace
57 Sixty Six
58 Sukiyaki Western Django
83 Tell No One
56 Then She Found Me
71 To the Limit
72 Transsiberian
80 Trouble the Water
83 U2 3D
86 Up the Yangtze
79 Visitor, The
61 Wackness, The
53 What We Do Is Secret
66 When Did You Last See Your Father?
64 XXY
50 Year of the Fish
xx Young People F**king
75 Young@Heart

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Universal Pictures


7.4

based on 36 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 123 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some language

Starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Luke Goss, Seth MacFarlane, Anna Walton, Brian Steele, and John Hurt

After an ancient truce existing between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, hell on Earth is ready to erupt. A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below defies his bloodline and awakens an unstoppable army of creatures. Now, it’s up to the planets toughest, roughest superhero to battle the merciless dictator and his marauders. He may be red. He may be horned. He may be misunderstood. But when you need the job done right, it’s time to call in Hellboy. (Universal Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Action \| Adventure \| Comedy \| Drama \| Fantasy \| Sci-fi
WRITTEN BY:	Mike Mignola (comic book& story) Guillermo del Toro (& story)
DIRECTED BY:	Guillermo del Toro
RELEASE DATE:	Theatrical: July 11, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	110 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

With writer-director del Toro given free license to go where his singular vision takes him, Hellboy II plays like Guillermo's Greatest Hits with even hotter visual effects.

100

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Poetic, funny, darkly romantic and beautifully structured -- is a very different picture from "Pan's Labyrinth." But there's no doubt that it springs from the same cathedral.

100

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Del Toro is almost alone in his ability to re-create on screen the wide-eyed exhilaration and disturbing grotesqueness that is the legacy of reading comics on the page.

Slate Dana Stevens

Perlman's Red is hilarious, combining the gritty delivery of a film noir cop with the physiognomy of a horned behemoth. And the script, by del Toro and Mignola, alternates action smackdowns with sweet, goofy moments, like a scene in which Red and the lovelorn Abe drink beer and croon along with a Barry Manilow record.

Time Richard Corliss

If the film is just as strange and endearing as its glowing protagonist -- and it is -- that's because the director and co-writer (with Mignola) is Guillermo del Toro, 43, who has the wildest imagination and grandest ambitions of anybody in modern movies.

Variety John Anderson

Not to disparage the f/x guys, but what's onscreen in Hellboy II is all about the seismic eruptions in del Toro's head. Comparing his work to most fantasy cinema is like comparing cave drawings to the Cathedral of Cologne.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

As he has done in all his movies, from creature features such as "Mimic" to serious dramas such as "Pan's Labyrinth," del Toro creates unforgettable images, filled with color, texture, lyricism and horror.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Hugely inventive -- and smashingly beautiful.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Imagine the forges of hell crossed with the extraterrestrial saloon on Tatooine, and you have a notion of Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

It's a dry, mundane title. It's also the only thing about the film that doesn't blow your mind right out of its comfortable, I've-seen-all-this-before rut.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Ron Perlman returns as the film's loveable title character, a demon gone good who's tough on the outside but tender underneath, with a soft spot for kittens, candy, and babies.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

The Golden Army dazzles like something out of "Jason and the Argonauts." To make a comic-book fantasy this derivative yet this dazzling requires more than technique. It takes a director in touch with his inner hellboy.

Village Voice Chuck Wilson

Despite the rosary beads Red wraps around his wrist, Hellboy II doesn't have much on its mind, but few will care since del Toro and his stellar "Pan's Labyrinth" team, including Oscar-winning cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, stage one virtuoso set-piece after another.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

The endlessly inventive del Toro creates visual fantasies unlike any other, and the creatures on display here are truly extraordinary. But amid all the costumes, all the action, and all the special effects, it's the humanity that makes his work so memorable. Yes, the monsters are amazing. But the moment when a heartsick Hellboy discovers Barry Manilow? Priceless.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

Better than the first in some ways: the superfluous Agent Meyers is gone, Doug Jones is great as Abe, and Strauss is an amusing addition (if almost structurally identical to Kroenen).

Empire Helen O'Hara

As much Tolkien's baby as Mignola's, this has more heart and humour than most fantasy films can dream of. Hellaciously good.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

It's not perfect -- thank Satan! -- but Hellboy II: The Golden Army is by far the most splendidly imaginative and creatively uncorked piece of fantastic cinema since the director's "Pan's Labyrinth" netted an Oscar trifecta in 2007.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

The movie overall is engaging, though it's more cavalier regarding story and relentless in its action than its predecessor.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Hellboy II is solid entertainment, but it's a shame such blemishes prevent it from achieving a higher level.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It definitely gives us our money's worth in the sheer volume of its imaginative fantasy creatures and it's that rare superhero-movie sequel that's better than the original.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Highly imaginative and consistently amusing without pretensions.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

The talented fantasy filmmaker and heir to the "Lord of the Rings" throne gets the tone right throughout Hellboy 2, and the hip retro charm alone is enough to merit recommendation.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

A surprise package of fun, fright and untamed imagination.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

The sheer volume of amazing things that del Toro is able to mine from his unconscious and render plausibly on the screen is remarkable. Hellboy II feels pretty sequel-y, as these things go, but there's a lot in it that has no precedent of any kind, anywhere, ever. That stuff makes it worthwhile.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Hellboy II comes across as an original. But being original is not always the same thing as being wonderful.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Del Toro stuffs the film with wit and wonderments. Yet, coming out this superhero summer, it plays like a lovingly crafted synthesis of every fantasy saga we've seen in the past decade.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Of all the comic book movies that have spun out of theaters this long and pulpy summer, Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army is the most unapologetically comic book-y.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The same super-heated visual imagination that made Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" such a darkly thrilling delight is very much in evidence in his sequel to "Hellboy." It's a shame that it's at the service of such a blandly conventional story.

Chicago Reader Joshua Katzman

A funny, offbeat superhero flick.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

The whole affair is pulpy, jokey, sometimes touching and frequently nonsensical: a big mess and, mostly, a lot of fun.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Goes somewhere the first "Hellboy" never ventured: into the Realms of Tedium.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Fanboys won't mind the absence of depth or emotion; they may even welcome it for making the film more representative of its comic-book origins. The rest of us, however, cannot rejoice at the overspending and overkill likely to come in Hellboy III.

Premiere Stuart Levine

It's in the script, however, that del Toro the writer falls a wee bit short of del Toro the visionary.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Like a lot of well-staged parties, though, the affair peaks shortly after the introductions, and then devolves into intrigues, fights and mayhem.

New York Post Kyle Smith

Despite all of the hideous critters Hellboy encounters, there is a hint that things are considerably weirder elsewhere.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

The best scene is when Hellboy and Abe get drunk and sing out raucously, which after "Hancock" suggests a trend toward superhero alcoholism.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 123 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Nick K. gave it a2:
Painful viewing experience. The first movie wasn't very good but much easier to take than number II. The ending of the movie is thrown in your face about half way through and then when it actually happens you're still expected to be surprised by it. Hey, but the visual effects are great!

Jordan R. gave it a6:
Fairly well done, Del Toro's visual extravaganza goes slightly over board though. It feels like some points we are just watching the stuff Del Toro dreams about. The Humor is fairly dry but gets a chuckle.

Vezar gave it a10:
Tsk, tsk! You can't recognize greatness when is front you, because you are so closed minded, this is one of the best fantasy movies ever, and a true work of art.

Nick B gave it a10:
Most satisfying surrealistic action fantasy movie I've ever seen, and noticeably better than the first Hellboy. I may have watched Dark Knight and thought, "here is a film which transcends its genre", but with Hellboy 2 I saw a film that had mastered its own genre, and made it fun, as well.

Gabe N. gave it a2:
This movie is bad bordering on the incompetent. I was a fan of the first movie, even with all its flaws, and had high expectations for the sequel. The fear set in almost immediately with the scene between a young Hellboy and Professor Bruttenholm IJohn Hurt banking a paycheck). This was not Hellboy as a kid - this was Guillermo del Toro lazily and incomprehensibly grafting a pointless backstory onto the film. It was downhill from there. Hellboy has gone from a flawed hero to a mildly repulsive loser. Individual scenes fall apart with no sense of significance or consequence (e.g. killing the elemental is done purely to let loose the set designers even though emotionally it's completely disconnected from the narrative). And all the praise the art direction and creature design has received in completely undeserved. Taking a monster from the Star Wars cantina scene and putting a house on top of its head is not design, it's self-indulgence. Just like fight scenes, good monster design has to tell you something about the world, the characters, or the story, and not just be an excuse for more latex costumes composed of pieces selected by a random number generator. B--23! A monster with wings and bananas. C-17! A siamese twin with a mouth where its belly button goes. This was a badly written, ill conceived film that comes across as a director indulging his worst tendencies. It makes me worried for The Hobbit.

Tanya M gave it a0:
Holy crap. What a flaming bag of dog doo. I thought this was supposed to be even mildly good. It ain't. So boring (effects included). And the comedic moments were absolutely painful.

T K gave it a5:
Too Long - could have better shorter - script for Jeffrey Tambor was lame and poorly acted.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army Universal Pictures

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Universal Pictures