Poster art for "Hellboy II: The Golden Army."

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Avg. Critic Score: 78 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
13 Iffy for 13+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen

    With writer-director del Toro given free license to go where his singular vision takes him, Hellboy II plays like Guillermo's Greatest Hits with even hotter visual effects. Read full review

  • 100
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    Del Toro is almost alone in his ability to re-create on screen the wide-eyed exhilaration and disturbing grotesqueness that is the legacy of reading comics on the page. Read full review

  • 90
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    As he has done in all his movies, from creature features such as "Mimic" to serious dramas such as "Pan's Labyrinth," del Toro creates unforgettable images, filled with color, texture, lyricism and horror. Read full review

  • 90
    Variety |

    Not to disparage the f/x guys, but what's onscreen in Hellboy II is all about the seismic eruptions in del Toro's head. Comparing his work to most fantasy cinema is like comparing cave drawings to the Cathedral of Cologne. Read full review

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Imagine the forges of hell crossed with the extraterrestrial saloon on Tatooine, and you have a notion of Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Read full review

  • 83
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    The Golden Army dazzles like something out of "Jason and the Argonauts." To make a comic-book fantasy this derivative yet this dazzling requires more than technique. It takes a director in touch with his inner hellboy. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    A surprise package of fun, fright and untamed imagination. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    The talented fantasy filmmaker and heir to the "Lord of the Rings" throne gets the tone right throughout Hellboy 2, and the hip retro charm alone is enough to merit recommendation. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Highly imaginative and consistently amusing without pretensions. Read full review

  • 70
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    The whole affair is pulpy, jokey, sometimes touching and frequently nonsensical: a big mess and, mostly, a lot of fun. Read full review

View more reviews for Hellboy II: The Golden Army on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 13+ Imaginative, campy comic book fun; lots of scares.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this action-packed sequel includes a plethora of scary monsters and supernatural creatures and extensive fantastic violence, including shootings, superhuman fist-fights, and grisly deaths at the hands of nightmarish creatures. That said, the movie's overall tone is so light and fantastical that it never becomes too oppressive or grim for fantasy-loving teens and adults, and its sheer visual imagination is stunning to behold. The title character is a demon, albeit one with a soft spot for kittens. He likes his cigars and Baby Ruth candy bars; characters also drink, and other brands pop up here and there.
  • Families can talk about the film's underlying message of tolerance. What's more important, how someone looks, or how they act? How does the movie move Hellboy toward adult responsibility (although he ages slowly and is supernatural, Hellboy is fairly immature and teen-like at the beginning of the film)? Does that strike any chords with teens? What does being "human" mean for Hellboy? Where does he have the power of choice?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Extensive discussion of acceptance and tolerance, as Hellboy and his outlandish paranormal-busting team endure scorn and derision due to their appearance and odd natures after they go public. The public reaction to the relationship between Hellboy and his human girlfriend prompts a news anchor to ask rhetorically "Inter-species marriage -- A threat to traditional marriage?" A German-accented character's name, Kraus, is misspoken (somewhat derisively) as "Kraut."
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Extensive fantasy violence throughout, including (but not limited to) super-powered fistfights, decapitations, stabbings, slashings, gun battles against gigantic monsters, and property damage. A paranormal supporting character controls flames to incinerate inhuman enemies. Pedestrians are threatened by debris and tentacles during a giant monster's urban rampage. Hellboy saves an infant from peril. A supernatural creature is interrupted as it prepares to eat a cat. A brutish monster is pulled into a large set of grinding gears and ground to bits. A character spends several scenes with a blade lodged in their body; epic battles between inhuman creatures; several supporting human characters are graphically devoured by tiny, hungry gnawing fantastic creatures. A supporting character commits a mystical murder-suicide.
  • sex false1 Sex: Unmarried characters live together; a character takes a pregnancy test. Some kissing.
  • language false2 Language: Fairly mild, including "crap," "ass," "poop," "a--hole," "screw" and, obviously, "hell."
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Some real-world brands are featured, like Tecate and Tecate Light beers and Baby Ruth candy bars. A brief snippet of Jimmy Kimmel Live is incorporated into the plot.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters speak of "needing a beer" as a prelude to talking about challenges and problems; mild comedic drunkenness involving non-human characters, resulting in a beer-fueled Barry Manilow sing-along; Hellboy smokes cigars.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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