Saw Hellboy II at preview

[shmoo2]

I saw Hellboy II at a free preview Wednesday night.

I definitely enjoyed it.
Selma Blair is still terrible and I missed David Hyde Pierce's voice as Abe but I'd rate it better than the first one, which (for me) ended weakly after a great first hour.

This one has a nice mixture of action and comedy (the locker room scene between Hellboy and Johann Kraus is hilarious). The art direction and set/monster design in this one is much more creepy than the first film (which got a little to tentacle-y)- it's much more like the stuff in Pan's Labyrinth.

 

[Klaus]

How awesome are the fey creatures and their realm? Lots to plunder for a Feywild 4e game?

 

[Remus Lupin]

Selma Blair always seemed badly miscast in the first one. Too bad about David Hyde Peirce too ("We live charmed lives"). Still, it looks like it will be visually stunning. Can't wait for it to come out.

 

[shmoo2]

How awesome are the fey creatures and their realm? Lots to plunder for a Feywild 4e game?

There isn't much fey realm- they have been so injured by humanity that they are nearly wiped out. When the fey king's throne room is shown, it appears to be in a factory basement or similar, with lots of old piping and brick.

The fey creatures themselves though are pretty cool- a giant forest elemental, trolls, a legless dwarf, and, especially, the tooth fairies (you'll want to see them in action yourself- they show exactly why swarms are dangerous in D&D and would make a cool encounter).

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

I though Blair was okay but suffered from flat writing and directing. I didn't know DHP wasn't doing Abe, more is the pity. I'm looking forwards to this.

Did any of you stay until the credits were over?

I've heard you should...

 

[shmoo2]

Did any of you stay until the credits were over?
I've heard you should...

We did stay until after the credits, are there was no extra scene (those who had waited audibly groaned as the screen went dark).

Perhaps you were misinformed, or the extra wasn't included in the preview?

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Perhaps you were misinformed...

In the Hellboy II Artbook, available at bookstores, is part of the script. It includes a scene, described as coming after the credits, where

Spoiler

Rasputin and Kronin's head talk and seem to

think things are going the way the want them to.

 

[Trickstergod]

Is there any particular reason Pierce isn't involved in the movie? I understand an actor not being able to film due to other projects, but voice work seems like one of those things that doesn't interfere overly much with other work.

 

[Darth Shoju]

I saw a trailer for this at the Hulk tonight. It looks really good. I can't wait to see it.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Booting this up a bit.

Saw it today - Saturday, July 12 - and I enjoyed it. However, I think I liked the first better. Revealing Hellboy to the world was a nice twist, though.

The Golden Army itself was pretty cool; damage regenerating high level (if not epic level) helmed horror things. Niiiiiice.

I thought Blair was better in this one than the first. I thought Abe was weaker, as a character, in this one.

"Vell, I'm outta ideaz..."