Hellboy Animated : De sang et de fer

this second animated Hellboy adventure(following Sword of Storms)is an improvement.i found the story more interesting,as well as the characters.the villain was much more defined and compelling.i felt the pacing was better in this one,and the story was more straightforward.as in the previous animated film,much of the cast of the two live action features are in this one,so the voice acting from the main characters is good.the supporting actors are also good.again,there are some laughs as well.but i found the overall tone darker,which is much more suited to this franchise,in my opinion.for me,Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron is a 6/10

Every time I watch the Hellboy Animated films I always ding myself wondering how much more badass would he be if he didn't miss leg day...

Such a shame they haven't made more. Ron Pearlman is excellent as are the rest of the cast. Story line is good.

It's a vampire film, but it doesn't bite. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Sword and Stones was a good film, don't get me wrong. Tad Stones and Mike Mignola are really trying hard to make Hellboy a house hold name. Since the movie came out, I have been trying to read every comic and watch anything that remotes to the character.

But the problem with that film, and this one Blood and Iron, is the script and acting itself. We got a lot of great voice talent here like John Hurt, Ron Perlman, and Selma Blair. But with choppy dialog's (it seems like Ron only says 'crap' in both films), and just a sense of uninterest with the actors itself; it makes it a bit of a downer to watch.

The animation is great, the material is incredible. Although reworked for filming, there is a TON of comic references in both films. I just think that in order for this franchise to work, we need a better script. And try and make it more livier with the actors. It needs just abit more hard work to make this a great thing. Here's to the next film, The Phantom Claw.

This time Hellboy and his team square off against the gothic horrors of Vampires, witches, wolves and a cult of Hecate.

I loved this. All of the action is tied intrinsically into the story and it all serves to either propel the narrative, flesh out characterizations, or resolve issues from the past. Sometime all three simultaneously.

Each player gets a chance to shine and it never feels overstuffed.

Another point in it's favor; the stakes feel real. I was genuinely concerned for the characters safety. Even Hellboy who is generally treated a bit like The Tick in that he is nigh invulnerable. You usually never worry about him because he is so resilient, but here he meets his match. In fact it's more than his match.

A Terrific chapter that makes me wish there were more of these animated features.

Hellboy: Blood and Iron is about vampires coming back after many, many years in wait, and also about ghosts and memory and all those things left behind. If it were about these things more-so in-depth (or rather the kind of attention that Guillermo del-Toro would pay to the subject matter if he directed), it would be really great material. Trouble is, the Hellboy animated movies, with this the second installment, are limited by means of budget, time, and even to an extent the scripting. There's a lack of the dry, sly and just outright clever humor from the Hellboy live-action movies, with only one or two quips from ol' Red (Ron Perelman, always good even in dull one-liners), and some characterizations and dialog that are as routine as whatever one might find in a straight-to-video release.

These flaws being noted, Blood and Iron is extremely enjoyable for what it can afford in its 75 minute running time, which is giving some lifeblood to a comic-book that needs it desperately. The plot works mostly upon the strengths of the animators, and luckily they are many. What might seem ordinary and traditional- even a little lacking in fluidity (again, budget)- gives way to extraordinary moments going past the expected for "kids" stuff. There's some very dark material particularly in this installment, as we see an iron goddess, a vampire curse, a couple of blasted witches, snakes, and those creepy ghosts (which, thanks to some del-Toro presence, reminds one of the Gothic folklore of Mexico). It's all very impressive when it works best, and there's even some interesting designs for these villains and creatures of the night.

There might not be much depth (the climax is just a bunch of "we are not like *them*" semantics from the iron woman to Hellboy as they punch each other senseless), but for a short while it's some good fun and some brilliant animation, for what it's worth. Less than great, and at the same time far better than it should have any right to be. A-