No offense, Harry, but I feel that far too often you enter movies completely pre-judging them, viewing them as you feel you're SUPPOSED to, without just sitting it back and letting it do its work.

Do I think that's what MOST people do with movies? Yes, of course - that's why they are so subjective. But as the purveyor of all that is geeky and wonderful in the intricacies of comic book movies, I expect a little bit more.

I apologize if this is asking too much, but it's something that a few "this movie was awful" reviews simply can't fix.

I love Harry's site, and I enjoy reading his reviews - just sometimes I feel I need to point out when the premature bias might play a role.

In fact I'm still of the opinion that Del Toro is a pretty damn hollow film maker for the most part, something I've felt for a while now after watching his various over-hyped and under delivering works. Films that look pretty, sure, but which seem to have all the depth of a petrie dish, and all the impact of a damp squid. Films that never seem to be anywhere near as good as they should have been, and films that I never really have any desire to revisit. And yes, I include his over-hyped non english films in this. Don't get me wrong, I want to see Del Toro kick my ass, Visually the man has talent, and I especially want to see him deliver the goods now that he's been given the reigns of The Hobbit, but he hasn't managed to do so yet, the best he's ever scored with me is an "almost", and most of the time not even that much, so like I said, I'm not exactly holding my breath for this one. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised...we'll see.

But I will NEVER go it on Harry's word alone when he's been preaching the movie's greatness for a long time prior.

I really do hold the same high hopes that the majority of you do, though.

Finally, a proper review of Blade II, its taken how long to wash the strange aftertaste of your original Blade II review away...

Gotta give Harry props though. He wastes no time getting to the review and it's one of his most eloquent reviews in a long while.

I stopped caring what Harry thought of movies with his FF2 review, but I keep reading them because the guy experiences movies on a level few people ever will. And dammit, I just love the way he describes his feelings, even if the film itself is an unwatchable turd.

Sure it was an over-the-top whipped cream-and-strawberries review, but it didn't make me want to throw up after I read it, and I didn't feel like an idiot for clicking the link.

With the ink still note entirely dry on the Speed Racer review, I think we still need to keep Mr. Knowles comments properly catalogued not as a review, but as a kid excited to tell us all about his brand new toy. Is it simply exciting because it is new? Only time will tell.

The only problem with this is the rift in time and space due to the paradox that will inevitably be created when Harry views del Toro's Harry movie and then writes the inevitable gushing review.

p.s. i'm so amped bout Hellboy. Maybe the voices will go away after I see this one.

Don't give Guillermo a pass on this and let him think his style is fine for The Hobbit. Pan's Labyrinth was a brilliant film that reached a level of emotion unprecedented by most films that year. Hellboy is a flat comic book movie. All style no substance.

Anyway, the movie isn't perfect, some of the pacing is a bit off and earlier in the film it seems like we're jumping from action sequence to action sequence, but it eventually adds up to something pretty interesting and a whole lot of fun. Even my 15 year old step son commented 'are we supposed to like the bad guy? 'cause I kinda do.' I like that. And Abe Sapien kinda makes the film this time around. Sing it Abe!

I for one don't want Harry's Dark Knight review. What more could he say that hasn't been said by others (and probably better, too, might I add). I've got a weird feeling that Harry will be the only one in the world who would pan it. Ahh, the great enigma that is Harry Knowles. Sent here by the movie gods to test us. Much like Satan.

Or don't.

In the first movie, the supernatural doings were less frequent, and thus more exotic. It lent credence to the infrequent, and thus legendary sightings of HB and company. But in this movie, they are every day occurences. The HQ is over run with creatures, and while they try to be nonchalant about it, it is nevertheless very distracting. The dynamic between Abe, Liz and HB is good, but it was much better in first movie. There was tension there, that does not exist at all in this movie. Yes, I know they are a couple now, but outside of a pointless early scene of Liz and HB fighting, it really generates no sense of moment between them. Abe gets a much bigger role, and does very well with it, and his interactions with the Princess are the highlight of the movie. That being said, the huge plothole of bringing the princess who is linked to her twin into the heart of the HQ complex and blithely ignoring her warning that she will be followed, is dumbfounding. I will not give away any thing, but will say that Abe makes some very bad decisions, that are not explainable by simply being in love -more of a lazy scriptwriter.

The worst scene in entire movie, where the movie jumps the Troll, is the so called Troll market. It reminded not so much of the Cantina, as of Diagon Alley. Even the entrance to this 'magical' place, was a total rip-off. It takes you out of the story. They really jumped the troll with that one.

The problem is that this movie, like most sequels, believes that bigger is better. More monsters. More fights, more creatures - who by the way, seem to be leftovers from Pans Labyinth. But no tension. None. No sense of wonder and awe.

GDT packed a lot into this, and did a great job with his budget, but the ironic thing given the origin of HB is, despite the visual wealth on screen, despite the forced attempts at humor - that rarely succeeds and despite a villain who tries to be sympathetic - but is never a match for, HB Hellboy II is missing part of it's soul.

This is just Fred's opinion, and all opinions are subjective. See the movie for yourself - it not a bad movie, but Fred would not pay to see it again. And paying to see a movie again, is a true sign of how much you enjoyed it.

Anyway, here's my ranking of summer films I've seen so far: 1)Iron Man 2)Hellboy II 3)Speed Racer 4)Incredible Hulk 5)Prince Caspian 6)Crystal Skull

I thought about Wanted and Hancock, but wasn't terribly motivated.

Now of course next week it will get soundly dropped deep into 2nd place behind Dark Knight but this film has the legs to ride the #2 spot for at least a couple of weeks in Dark Knight's shadow and that coming off a #1 debut week.

So there....give a sh*t

Young Hellboy....why'd he have to be played like the village idiot? The horns looked silly. Why does everyone in Del Toro's movies have to spin a sword around 20 times before ACTUALLY attacking with it? When the prince jumped down at the auction and the guard is just watching him swing the sword around in awe....just silly. The "comedy" was not funny...at all...maybe one or two lines had me giggle. The prince is after his sister...so he finds sister at the top of Troll Market...but does not try to get her....at all....until later in the movie...DUMB. Hellboy wanting to be on tv? Completely out of character. The whole love angle...about as DUMB as the superman returns fiasco. The troll market...with something as cool sounding as "The Troll Market" seems like it couldve been shot/built to look better then any other scene from Babylon 5. WHY in God's name does the Sister stab herself in the freaking chest instead of simply saying "look out!"....nooooo...i think i'll stay silent and take out this dagger and kill myself...OKAYYYYYY.....saw a few wire-fu moments...lets leave those out of hellboy shall we? The way Johann Krauss was depicted was once again OUT OF CHARACTER...he's way cooler in the comics...and YOU PEOPLE NEED TO GET OFF OF DOUG JONES NUTSAC!!! Abe is NOT A FAIRY....ABE in the comic is about as tough as hellboy....NOT A FISH VERSION OF C3PO. SO DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even tho the first movie sucked....i had hopes that Del Toro could pull it off....i was wrong. He'll do good in the Hobbit...just keep him away from Hellboy PLEASE!!!

**MEGA-SPOILER-AHEAD***Too mushy. Not dark enough. Not even close to the HB from first movie. And what the HELL is that about ****SPOILER BEGINS**** HB being a dad? ***ENDS****

Pick any HB comic/graphic novel. HB is more of a loner than a team player. You feel that he is in constant internal struggle because every supernatural being he finds keeps bugging him about his destiny. And even the fantasy stories have a dark theme to it. Even the smallest fairy in the comics is dark and evil.

I would have enjoyed it a lot had it been darker and not so "funny". Next time, leave the love story out.

And at least visually, Hellboy II is probably the most imaginative and beautiful looking fantasy movie since perhaps Terry Gilliam's best work on movies like Time Bandits. There's really nothing else out there that even comes close to the imagination and production design evident in this movie.

It's not perfect (I do agree with a few of "StrokerX's" slams and would have really preferred a darker, harder tone), but overall in every way possible, it's much better than the first movie (which I liked a lot). I'm a huge fan of artist/writer Mike Mignola's work but I really don't have a problem with the liberties taken with this franchise in the transition to the screen.

The new character, "Krauss" is a German ghost living in a weird glass-domed diving suit amusingly voiced by Seth McFarland and steals many of the scenes he's in. Perlman and the rest of the returning cast from the first movie greatly expand and improve their respective characters. Unlike Iron Man and The Hulk, this movie's last 20 minutes don't seem like a tagged on afterthought.

Yeah, this movie may put off some who could never get into fairly old-school fantasy films of the likes of Time Bandits or the old 50's and 60's Ray Harryhausen mythology flicks but if you can suspend your sense of disbelief and let your sense of wonder go free for a couple hours, this movie is well worth seeing.

"You should have your mouth sewn shut, and you should be sterilized."

"Anybody who was bored by Batman Begins has the attention span of a 4 year old, and an I.Q. equivalent to someone roughly half that age."

SCYTHEOFLUNA later wrote:

We're here to talk about movies, not to call each other names like a bunch of high school dropout morons. Grow up gang. Elevate the dialogue. Disagree, but do it in a dignified way.

+++++++++++

Ya right. Glad a goof like you can set the standards.

Anyway, while I can understand why some Hellboy fans might enjoy GDT's take on the character, I really don't get why ANYBODY would consider it "everything you ever wanted it to be." It's really not. It's like saying Burton's Batman was "everything you ever wanted Batman to be." It's absurd, and reveals a lack of understanding of what the character is about. Del Toro's Hellboy is NOT Mignola's Hellboy, and anyone who's read the comic books would agree that the source material is FAR SUPERIOR to what GDT has put on film. Not only that, but it bears little resemblance to it, as well. Hellboy is just a simple guy, not a stupid jock. Abe is NOT a psychic fish C3PO/Niles Crane (thanks StrokerX). Liz is not the Mary Sue who gets accidentally knocked up with twins by the hero. The comic is PULP HORROR, not fantasy! The film was cringeworthy from start to finish, and I'm frankly bewildered as to why people who profess so much love for the source material make little to NO EFFORT to preserve the integrity of said source material. It's almost as if Del Toro thinks he knows better and is actually improving on it. HE'S NOT.

I never thought I'd see the day I'd actually consider HB1 a good film, but compared to HB2 it's a fucking masterpiece. At least we got some classic nods to the comics there. At least there were nazis, Rasputin, a Corpse and Lovecraftian creatures. No such luck here. At least there was that one shining moment in the movie when Doug Jones as creature with weirdly placed eyes #23854 called HB "Anung un Rama". Yeah, that was cool. Not worth the ticket price, though.

One more thing: There is no romance angle in the original comics. I get that the suits probably wanted some romance in the film. I get it. But seriously Guillermo, you've been watching too many fucking telenovelas. That was so GOD-AWFUL it made me want to gouge my eyes out with my own hands and poke hot iron sticks through my ear canals as I witnessed. It was as if some 13 year old in love with Hellboy had been script editor. Some subtlety in that area would've been nice (see: Christopher Golden). As is, huge parts of it feel as if you’re watching a stupid, awkward romantic comedy with the name “Hellboy” slapped on it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for inter-humanoid-species action, but only if it’s done well, which is not the case.

All in all, I think HB2 is a decent kid's flick if we pretend it's supposed to be an independent vision and by no stretch of the imagination a faithful adaptation (change the credits from "Based on Mignola's HB" to "VERY LOOSELY based..."). It’s certainly a visually stunning film. But this is Del Toro's Hellboy, his vision. That said, it's STILL not one of GDT's best films by far. And if it's not GDT at his best, and not Mignola's universe at its best, then what's the fucking point? Honestly. Maybe one day we Hellboy fans will get our Dark Knight, but if this film proves anything, it’s that it won’t happen with Del Toro at the helm.

Also, to Harry... I meant no disrespect. Good for you if you enjoyed it that much. But IMHO, HB2 is not only NOT a great Hellboy film... it's not a great film, period.