Hellboy II: The Golden Army Blu-ray

Guillermo del Toro’s stunning imagination shines in beautiful, saturated colors and booming sound in the Blu-ray version of Hellboy II. One of Hollywood’s most DVD-friendly directors, Del Toro is all over this set, in introductions on both discs and throughout the extras. Two feature commentaries are offered, one with del Toro pointing out all the movie’s subtle and not-so-subtle fertility references, and another with the cast telling anecdotes. On disc two, a whopping 19 featurettes offer hours of behind-the-scenes footage, including del Toro and the designers creating the film’s incredible creatures. Completists might be disappointed that these featurettes are on a standard-def DVD, but they’re fine nonetheless.

Shelf Talk: In his commentary, del Toro admits this movie was made based on DVD sales of the original. This sequel grossed more in theaters than the original and should follow its predecessor’s success on home video. It’s the right demographic for early adopters who are now used to coughing up a little extra for the Blu-ray version.