Free Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms
Genres: ActionAdventureFant
Starring: Doug Jones, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Peri Gilpin
Director(s): Tad Stones, Phil Weinstein
Country: USA
Year: 2006
IMDB Rating: 6.6
A university professor reads a forbidden scroll and becomes possessed by the twin demons of Thunder and Lightning. The demons want to come to the human world to awaken their brothers, the dragons. Hellboy and company travel to Japan to investigate where Hellboy finds the Sword of Storms which transports him to a world of Japanese folklore.
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Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (iPod) | Resolution: 480x256 px | Total Size: 187 Mb |
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Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (DivX) | Resolution: 692x378 px | Total Size: 684 Mb |
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We have taken some photos of "Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms". They represent actual movie quality.
Visitors Review
ZekeRage911 (10 May 2013)
Better than the Live Action movie, but not much
I'm a fan of Hellboy. I'll get that out of the way first. But the LiveAction movie was painful. So I wasn't surprised when I liked Sword ofStorms better, but it was still sorely lacking.While I like that Hellboy got to swear occasionally, and I love thedialog, a lot of this movie seemed to fail to live up to theaward-winning style and substance of Hellboy as a comic book. For onething, the animation was a little childish to me. It seemed too muchlike they were watering down the Hellboy world to make it appealing tokids. Unfortunately, they then include a lot of blood and some swearingto make it inappropriate for kids. The dialog seemed very forced insome places, like the voice actors were just reading lines and notinterested in the characters at all.Some of the little "episodes" that Hellboy goes through, though, areenjoyable. The scene where he faces the disembodied heads is almoststraight out of the comic books, and the real highlight of thisotherwise disappointing tale. What really damaged this movie for me,though, was the clumsy attempt at characterization. Liz Sherman woesabout being pyknotic, the psychic guy is thoroughly annoying, and thebig bad demons at the end are more reminiscent of stereotypical animetheme villains than actual threats to the world. While I applaud theattempt, this one just didn't work for me. I do hope they work a littleharder on the next ones and really develop the potential they havehere.
EXodus25X (09 May 2013)
Cheap animation.
Not a fan of this animation style, the proportions between thecharacter were way off from the movie and the voice acting wasterrible. It was a nice touch to use some of the same voice actors fromthe films, but when the actors don't give a great performance in liveaction what makes them think there voice work will be better. I reallywanted to like this animated movie because I had heard it was closer tothe comic books (which I have never read) and I have felt the movie wasmissing a little something and maybe that was it's distance from thecomic books. But if this is really a better representation of the comicbooks then I'll just stick to the live action movies.
jim pyke (05 May 2013)
Really very good, actually
I've been a Hellboy reader from the day the first issue of the comichit the stands. When the live action movie came out I liked it, butthought it could've been a lot better. This movie, however, gave me the"a lot better" that I was hoping for: really fun and interestingMYTHOLOGICAL story (with interesting little bits of cultural detailslike the comics always have); interestingly plotted story that cutsbackward and forward in time in a smart and engaging way; lots of cool,scary bad guys; and better written dialog than I thought the liveaction had, including better one-liners from HB.I watched it with my six year old boy - checking in with him andexplaining stuff if I felt nervous that he might be scared by anythingin it - and he loved it too. I think it a great HB movie for a wide agerange - again, like the comics.The animation was sharp and detailed, but I kind of wished that thecharacter designs and background work came closer to Mignola'soriginals. I guess if that were so, though, it would have probably beena much darker, scarier, and more "experimental" looking movie - all ofwhich would have altered it's demographics a lot, and maybe killed it'sfinancing in the process.All in all I'd really recommend it.
OttoVonB (05 May 2013)
A very enjoyable experiment
Mike Mignola's "Hellboy" is a treasure among comics, both for itsjovial quirk and its sublime visuals, that defy translation to thescreen. Guillermo Del Toro's 2004 feature film succeeded beyond allhopes, thanks to his visuals (deep shadows and spot-on use of colors)and the casting (particularly Ron Perlman as our hero). Here's theanimated version, meant to explore the character more and help us bepatient until the 2008 sequel is released.After a nifty prologue introducing our main protagonists in their newform and setting the tone, "Sword of Storms" develops its main plot(demonic possession in Japan and a mystical sword), blending severalgenres with ease by separating its main characters for most of therunning time: part fantasy quest (as Hellboy journeys through adreamlike Japan), part paranormal mystery (for Kate), part adventurefilm (Abe and Liz), it manages to remain fresh throughout while stayingtrue to the spirit of original comics. Retaining the film's voice castprovides one of the main joys, as does Hellboy's animated physique (thelower part of his body, hooves as originally conceived rather than thefilm's humanoid feet, is more appropriate).The story and tone might put off some newcomers, but kudos to theproducers for defending Hellboy's "aquired taste" status that makes itso special. Fans will also note that while the story is mostlyoriginal, a small episode with a group of flying heads follows one ofMignola's short stories to the letter. The animation is not the stuffthat will give Pixar or Disney nightmares, but is appropriate and someof the designs and settings are truly interesting. The way the sword'slegend is recounted is visually daring, and a huge fight betweenHellboy and a massive army of demons is truly a joy.All in all, the animated series of features, of which "Sword of Storms"is the promising first, will more than adequately fill the gap untilDel Toro's Hellboy 2 is released next year.
Shawn Watson (27 April 2013)
What the Hellboy?
Live action translates perfectly into animation in this feature-lengthHellboy adventure. What makes it even better is that the main castreturn to do the voices and Marco Beltrami's main theme is used. A lotof animated spin-offs in the past have proved to be just as good whentaken seriously by the makers (Animatrix, Spider-Man) but, in myopinion, Hellboy: Sword of Storms was good enough for a theatricalrelease. A small one, like Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.The story has HB, Liz and Abe go to Japan where a local historian hasgone missing and a priceless exhibit damaged. While at the scene, HBwanders off, following a strange Fox and ends up trapped somewhere intime. Liz and Abe have no idea where he is but have their own problemsto deal with as the weather takes a turn for the worse.Stuck in ancient Japan, HB must deal with a bunch of vampires, demonsand monsters in an effort to get home. Easier said than done.I liked the movie, but felt it lacked something. Still, it made meinterested in the character, even though I have yet to buy a singleHellboy comic book. After watching this however, I can't wait to getsome more of HB. The animation style follows that of the comic prettyclosely and the color pallet ranges from very bright and very colorfulto 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 fanof the movie then you totally have to get this. I eagerly awaitHellboy: Blood and Iron, due out this summer. In the meantime, I reckonI ought to get me some Hellboy comic-books.
Grann-Bach (27 April 2013)
It's just common sense
After a professor opens an enchanted scroll, the BPRD have to face thethreat of two gods(Storm and Lightning) returning, and awakening theirbrothers, the dragons, and ending the reign of man on Earth. Hellboyhimself(who spends almost all of this isolated from the others, on asort of spirit quest, defeating a handful of fairly distinguishedmythical creatures from Asian folklore - spiders, cannibalism, thosekinds of things... admittedly, that does lead to this having avideo-game structure, with just one fight sequence after another, andthere is only minimal connection between them; they just wanted a lotof these beings in the same production) has to protect the titularsword, which holds the power to release the duo. Abe and Liz aretogether on a mission, supporting each other and developing theirrelationship, with her having to deal with her powers(in that they areextremely useful, yet they make her feel like, as she puts it, "afreak") and him going far to help keep her safe. This is roughly 78minutes, including the short end credits. Having not read the comics, Ican't say if this lives up to the source material. The style appears tobe pretty similar, and certainly quite non-threatening. Animation isnice, with some visual ingenuity and use of colors to set tone(this iseffective at being creepy, at establishing mood and at very sharp turnsin our perception of something as a positive or negative presence) ifnothing terribly creative about the camera-work and editing(consideringthe possibilities, when one doesn't have the laws of physics thatconstrict live features). The voice acting is well-done. This gets someextra appeal to those of us who only know these great characters fromthe movies by it being the same trio, and they make the transitionwell(Perlman is just as enjoyable here as in the flicks, and steals theshow here, as well). I suppose you could argue that Blair soundsslightly off, and slightly overdoing it here and there. The plot issufficiently engaging and there is a fair balance between eerie,mysterious beings and the like and explanation so you aren't completelyweirded out. This is well-paced, you're not bored and there's a solidamount of action, as well as catching up on what's going on, withconsistently rising stakes throughout. The humor comes very naturallyto it and is genuinely funny. Dialog is very well-written. We changelocations numerous times, and you don't get bored with the setting. Andyes, Red does get to swing that blade a bit. One could probably followthis reasonably going into it blind, not knowing who these people are,etc. The DVD comes with slightly longer extras put together than thepicture itself: An informational commentary track by Mike Mignola, TadStones, Phil Weinstein, and interesting featurettes: 42 and a halfminute Keepers of Hellboy(the first scene of the film, then a panel ofthe creators of this at a con), To Hell & Back(10 minutes), ConqueringHellboy: The Actor's Role(6 and a half minutes), View From The Top(5and a half minutes), A New Breed(5 minutes), Hellboy Goes East: TailSpin(3 minutes), Hellboy Goes East: Samurai Songs(3 minutes), HellboyGoes East: Prop Prefecture(2 and a half minutes) and Hellboy Goes East:Origins(2 and a half minutes). There is violent and disturbing contentin this. I recommend this to fans of the franchise. 7/10
Harris Tweed (18 April 2013)
A Chore of a Movie
Supposedly only 75 minutes long, but it feels nearly twice that, Swordof Storms is exactly what you don't want the Hellboy movie to be. Itmanages the trifecta of bad animated movies, to wit:1.) Bad Voice-Acting - Someone apparently told Selma Blair to growl allher lines (deadpan), and while Perlman and Doug Jones were great, theyweren't enough to make up for the rest of the straight-to-videoplayers. I really don't need to hear Phil Lamarr do his stock suburbanwhite kid voice ever again.2.) Clunky, Boring Animation - I can accept that the native Hellboystyle probably wouldn't work in an animated movie, but why would you gowith this? It's as if a low-budget anime and Ultimate Avengers had aparticularly ugly child. I wouldn't be surprised if Sword of Stormsshares an animation studio with Ultimate Avengers, it's crap.3.) More minutes than story - There's a gigantic lull in this movie,worse than any Bond Film, nestled neatly between the beginning and end.This part is especially disappointing because Mignola actually wrotethis incarnation of Hellboy. Combind with the clunky, slow, thrill-lessanimation style the movie utterly fails to redeem itself with theclimax. I was too deep in my coma/stupor to enjoy Hellboy punchingthings, and that's saying something.This is the kind of movie you can only enjoy as light background music,the instant you take an interest in the story it will disappoint.
Jack Gattanella (18 April 2013)
not quite as sweet as the movie, but pretty darn close- should definitely appease fans of the comic book
Hellboy: Sword of Storms is in the quality of animation no more or lessthe standard one might see on the average program on Adult Swim(Cartoon Network, of course). Which means it's always eye-catching, ifonly on a kind of wacky 2-D level that is left in the dust in thesedays of cinema going the way of CGI. What makes Sword of Stormssignificant, if only in parts, is that Mignola, Del-Toro and companystart to introduce a lot more surreal imagery than was seen in thefirst theatrical feature. Hellboy gets swept up this time in a prettyconvoluted (or just seems that way, turns out it's actually painfullysimplistic in terms of the Japanese folklore played out as drama), withmonsters and demons all under the control of a sword that if brokenspells doom for the Earth. As usual he does his job well at whackingaround creatures like a big turtle/lizard creature, and at the starteven tackles a big beast that, until Liz- as kind of a running un-funnygag- blazes fire all over the place till the job's done- but that's notall.This time the supernatural is accentuated in the world of what is across between Noh theater and, well, the average Hellboy comic-book. Itdoesn't matter either way how much the writers and producers researchedJapanese history and creatures and such (though I'm sure they did theirshare). What matters is how effective it all is, and in the end Hellboyis also a dark comedy- how is it to see Hellboy, after spending anuncomfortable night with some unpleasant Japanese fellows, to awake tofind that they're heads have been disconnected from their bodies, andare attacking him viciously! It's even better, of course, to see thefate of the heads, pleading Hellboy to tell where their bodies lay. Ialso liked the little asides with the talking fox, the old lady, and ofcourse the big-ass demons, who allow one or two quips from Hellboy ashe 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 makean interesting issue in the comics.Only the conventions of the story (the psychic has been seen incountless permutations of the annoying side character who's only therefor moments of sudden exposition for another side character who isn'tas annoying; plus the ending with the Japanese ghosts going through aredemption moment) drag the film really downward. Aside from that, it'sfrom cartoony viewing, and it should appeal to anyone who's somewhat afan, and mandatory for fans of the books; lord knows there's only somany times we can see Hellboy in the whirlwind of samurai dreams.
Review total: 8, showing from 1 to 8