Finally saw Hellboy II last night

[xiphias]

It was still playing at the second-run theater in Arlington.

If you haven't seen it, and it's still in a theater where you can get to it, try to see it.

The emotional highlight and center of the movie is a centuries-old aquatic humanoid and a demon lying in their living room, drinking beer, and singing along to Barry Manilow's "Can't Smile Without You." I think that pretty much says everything you need to know about the movie.

Well, that, and that when they destroy great eldrich horrors that are threatening humanity, they pause and feel sad that the universe is that much poorer now that the thing they destroyed is gone. They destroy a plant elemental that is destroying a city street and attacking people -- it collapses, and ferns, vines, moss, and beautiful white flowers spring up covering the whole area.

Oh -- and the way they do the exposition to let you know the backstory of the Evil Plot: it's Christmas Eve, 1955, and the adorable eleven-year-old demon, who's been watching Howdy Doody, demands a bedtime story while he's brushing his teeth before he goes to bed to wait for Santa Claus. His (adoptive) father, the kindly professor of parapsychology who has raised him since he was dragged out of Hell, tells him the story of the Golden Army.

Comments

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Well, dammit. I had the chance to see it, too. I should never have listened to the naysayers.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

It's still playing in Arlington.

It's not a must-see movie. It's not an all-time-world-classic.

But it's fun, and satisfying.

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

It doesn't quite measure up to the original, they were trying to hard.

You forgot to mention that said Aqautic Humanoid and Demon were drunk as can be

[sproutntad.livejournal.com]

It's Such a good movie. K and I saw it the weekend it came out and we both had a blast. The "Barry Manilow; boys will be boys; drunken antics" was one of the best parts. But I was also really happy to see that Abe got the girl :) Now I want to see it again!

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

I really wanted to see this based on the visuals in the trailer alone.

But I never managed to see the first one. Should I do that first? (I haven't read the comics either.)

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

The first one is, I think, a slightly better movie, but you don't need it to follow what's happening in the second one. Some characters are a couple; you'd have seen how they became a couple if you'd watched the first one, but it's pretty obvious that they're a couple when you see them, so it doesn't much matter.