Practical effects, brutal action and rough antiheroes with a cigar in the corner of their mouth: Hellboy 2 – The Golden Army comes from an unregulated time of superhero films. The time before the MCU. The Fantasy part is also big, which is thanks to director Guillermo del Toro, who has already created some memorable works in this genre.
Tonight you can watch the second Hellboy movie on TV.
TV tip on Tuesday: This is what the detailed superhero fantasy Hellboy 2 is about
Hellboy 2 is again about the anti-hero played by Ron Perlman. In World War II, as we learn in Part 1, the Nazis opened a Portal to HellIt is closed, but the little hell boy stays behind and is raised by his foster father Professor ‘Broom’ Bruttenholm (John Hurt). Together with Liz (Selma Blair) and the merman Abe Sapiens (Doug Jones), he works for the American agency for the investigation and prevention of paranormal phenomena.
You can watch the trailer for Hellboy 2 here:
Hellboy 2 – Trailer (German)
In the sequel, there are new enemies: the eternal truce between our world and the invisible realms of the underworld has come to an end. The sleeping golden army was brought back to life by a cruel ruler of darkness, Prince Nuada.
Fantasy Fest tonight on TV: Why the Hellboy trilogy was never completed
In fact, director Guillermo del Toro planned a trilogy for his devilish hero and his eccentric team. The ideas and the will were there:
[…] I would love to end this incarnation of Hellboy in a bittersweet way. We have ideas that are heartbreaking. The third one would be the end of everything, grand, operatic and quite tragic.
However, the studios behind the production lacked the final willingness to finance the risky project. Hellboy 2, although celebrated by fans and critics, was not a commercial success. So the third part spent year after year in the Production hell. The fans were fuming.
Del Toro finally let the frustrated fans vote on part 3 and got the required 100,000 votes. But when that didn’t lead to successful financing, he declared his third part dead.
Then a third film was announced. Ironically, it ended hopes of the return of the popular original actors Ron Perlman and Selma Blair. And it turned out to be a disaster waiting to happen.
The series was rebooted 11 years later with different actors. It became one of the worst flops of 2019. And that surprised no one.
The new film Hellboy: Call of Darkness tried unsuccessfully to reproduce the spirit of the original. It overlooked the fact that fans were interested in more than just practical effects and violence. So the film received the desired FSK 16 rating, but used it mindlessly. This was of course also due to the fact that the most important creative personalities who had shaped the unique style were no longer on board. The new crew had nothing substantial to counter the expectations.
So much the film everywhere: With hardcore fans, at the box office and with critics. It became one of the worst flops of 2019. And that surprised no one.
Today, the Hellboy franchise is facing a Rubble with an unfinished trilogy and a panned reboot. That’s what you have to be able to do after two such popular films. We can’t wait to see how the next reboot, Hellboy: The Crooked Man, turns out. When the film will be released in Germany is not yet known.
Fantasy sequel: When will Hellboy 2 be on TV?
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is showing tonight on September 17, 2024 at 20:15 on NITRO. The broadcast will run with advertising until 10:35 p.m. The repeat will follow at 12:35 a.m. Alternatively, you can stream the film with various purchase and rental options on Amazon Prime Video.
This article was first published in a similar form on Moviepilot in January 2022.