Hellboy - La Spada Maledetta

At a time when it looked as if there wasn't going to be another live-action Hellboy film, creator Mike Mignola teamed up with Tad Stones to make this visually stunning animated adaptation (the scene in the forest with the spiders is a standout). Taking place sometime after the events of the first film & focusing primarily on the paranormal, this features the 3 principal cast members of Ron Perlman, Selma Blair & Doug Jones (who gets to use his own voice this time) reprising their roles & being joined by Professor Kate Corrigan (clearly replacing Tom Manning), apart from taking moments directly from the comics (such as the Heads sequence), there are some fabulous nods to Highlander & the Simpsons episode El Viaje Misterioso de nuestro Jomer Definitley recommended if you're a fan of the Del Toro film but especially if you love the comics.

After a professor opens an enchanted scroll, the BPRD have to face the threat of two gods(Storm and Lightning) returning, and awakening their brothers, the dragons, and ending the reign of man on Earth. Hellboy himself(who spends almost all of this isolated from the others, on a sort of spirit quest, defeating a handful of fairly distinguished mythical creatures from Asian folklore - spiders, cannibalism, those kinds of things... admittedly, that does lead to this having a video-game structure, with just one fight sequence after another, and there is only minimal connection between them; they just wanted a lot of these beings in the same production) has to protect the titular sword, which holds the power to release the duo. Abe and Liz are together on a mission, supporting each other and developing their relationship, with her having to deal with her powers(in that they are extremely useful, yet they make her feel like, as she puts it, "a freak") and him going far to help keep her safe. This is roughly 78 minutes, including the short end credits. Having not read the comics, I can't say if this lives up to the source material. The style appears to be pretty similar, and certainly quite non-threatening. Animation is nice, with some visual ingenuity and use of colors to set tone(this is effective at being creepy, at establishing mood and at very sharp turns in our perception of something as a positive or negative presence) if nothing terribly creative about the camera-work and editing(considering the possibilities, when one doesn't have the laws of physics that constrict live features). The voice acting is well-done. This gets some extra appeal to those of us who only know these great characters from the movies by it being the same trio, and they make the transition well(Perlman is just as enjoyable here as in the flicks, and steals the show here, as well). I suppose you could argue that Blair sounds slightly off, and slightly overdoing it here and there. The plot is sufficiently engaging and there is a fair balance between eerie, mysterious beings and the like and explanation so you aren't completely weirded out. This is well-paced, you're not bored and there's a solid amount of action, as well as catching up on what's going on, with consistently rising stakes throughout. The humor comes very naturally to it and is genuinely funny. Dialog is very well-written. We change locations numerous times, and you don't get bored with the setting. And yes, Red does get to swing that blade a bit. One could probably follow this reasonably going into it blind, not knowing who these people are, etc. The DVD comes with slightly longer extras put together than the picture itself: An informational commentary track by Mike Mignola, Tad Stones, Phil Weinstein, and interesting featurettes: 42 and a half minute Keepers of Hellboy(the first scene of the film, then a panel of the creators of this at a con), To Hell & Back(10 minutes), Conquering Hellboy: The Actor's Role(6 and a half minutes), View From The Top(5 and a half minutes), A New Breed(5 minutes), Hellboy Goes East: Tail Spin(3 minutes), Hellboy Goes East: Samurai Songs(3 minutes), Hellboy Goes East: Prop Prefecture(2 and a half minutes) and Hellboy Goes East: Origins(2 and a half minutes). There is violent and disturbing content in this. I recommend this to fans of the franchise. 7/10

Hellboy: Sword of Storms is in the quality of animation no more or less the standard one might see on the average program on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network, of course). Which means it's always eye-catching, if only on a kind of wacky 2-D level that is left in the dust in these days of cinema going the way of CGI. What makes Sword of Storms significant, if only in parts, is that Mignola, Del-Toro and company start to introduce a lot more surreal imagery than was seen in the first theatrical feature. Hellboy gets swept up this time in a pretty convoluted (or just seems that way, turns out it's actually painfully simplistic in terms of the Japanese folklore played out as drama), with monsters and demons all under the control of a sword that if broken spells doom for the Earth. As usual he does his job well at whacking around creatures like a big turtle/lizard creature, and at the start even tackles a big beast that, until Liz- as kind of a running un-funny gag- blazes fire all over the place till the job's done- but that's not all.

This time the supernatural is accentuated in the world of what is a cross between Noh theater and, well, the average Hellboy comic-book. It doesn't matter either way how much the writers and producers researched Japanese history and creatures and such (though I'm sure they did their share). What matters is how effective it all is, and in the end Hellboy is also a dark comedy- how is it to see Hellboy, after spending an uncomfortable night with some unpleasant Japanese fellows, to awake to find that they're heads have been disconnected from their bodies, and are attacking him viciously! It's even better, of course, to see the fate of the heads, pleading Hellboy to tell where their bodies lay. I also liked the little asides with the talking fox, the old lady, and of course the big-ass demons, who allow one or two quips from Hellboy as he has to tackle them any way possible. On top of the fighting heads, there's a crazy possessed researcher, which in and of itself could make an interesting issue in the comics.

Only the conventions of the story (the psychic has been seen in countless permutations of the annoying side character who's only there for moments of sudden exposition for another side character who isn't as annoying; plus the ending with the Japanese ghosts going through a redemption moment) drag the film really downward. Aside from that, it's from cartoony viewing, and it should appeal to anyone who's somewhat a fan, and mandatory for fans of the books; lord knows there's only so many times we can see Hellboy in the whirlwind of samurai dreams.

I caught this on its Cartoon Network debut, after about two weeks of waiting eagerly for the day to come. After I'd witnessed the Sci-Fi Channel's absolutely brilliant "Amazing Screw-On Head", also a creation of Mike Mignola, maybe my hopes were too high that this would have the same edge and charm and wit. It didn't quite hit that peak. Considering the audience, I guess it couldn't have.

Another thing I wasn't prepared for was Abe Sapien being so completely different from his movie incarnation. Not worse, just different. Despite having most of the same voice actors, don't come into this movie expecting it to be a translation of the live film.

Artistically, it's pretty great stuff. I watch the DeviantArt gallery of one of the film's concept artists, and minus some tweaking on the designs to make them easier to animate they kept it pretty consistent to the art direction. The character designs of the supporting characters are pretty standard stuff, but the film also boasts some truly beautiful layouts and artwork with rich and well-used color. Animation's kinda choppy in places, but nothing too bad.

I kinda wish the script and voice acting really stepped up to plate; despite its efforts there was only one line in the whole film I really laughed at. Still, it was a good way to spend two hours. I'd watch it again.

Live action translates perfectly into animation in this feature-length Hellboy adventure. What makes it even better is that the main cast return to do the voices and Marco Beltrami's main theme is used. A lot of animated spin-offs in the past have proved to be just as good when taken seriously by the makers (Animatrix, Spider-Man) but, in my opinion, Hellboy: Sword of Storms was good enough for a theatrical release. A small one, like Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.

The story has HB, Liz and Abe go to Japan where a local historian has gone missing and a priceless exhibit damaged. While at the scene, HB wanders off, following a strange Fox and ends up trapped somewhere in time. Liz and Abe have no idea where he is but have their own problems to deal with as the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Stuck in ancient Japan, HB must deal with a bunch of vampires, demons and monsters in an effort to get home. Easier said than done.

I liked the movie, but felt it lacked something. Still, it made me interested in the character, even though I have yet to buy a single Hellboy comic book. After watching this however, I can't wait to get some more of HB. The animation style follows that of the comic pretty closely and the color pallet ranges from very bright and very colorful to moody and atmospheric. It's very impressive and highly detailed. Don't expect 'saturday morning' style animation here.

If you are seriously into Hellboy or even if you are just a casual fan of the movie then you totally have to get this. I eagerly await Hellboy: Blood and Iron, due out this summer. In the meantime, I reckon I ought to get me some Hellboy comic-books.