Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is by far the most imaginative action movie in ages -- a mix of epic fantasy, tender romance, broad comedy and double-barreled excitement that satisfies all your pleasure centers.

The latest opportunity to take a nightmarishly comical joy ride inside the mind of visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, Hellboy II: The Golden Army is one fantastic voyage.

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.

Hellboy II is more a work of pure, awe-inspiring fantasy than a superhero picture. It is also a completely self-contained sequel, easy to follow and utterly captivating even for those who never saw the first film.

The film is a visual marvel; the Troll Market recalls the Star Wars cantina scene with monsters rather than aliens. The film is similar in many ways to the original, but improved across the board.

Guillermo Del Toro's stylish sense of wonderment makes for the best superhero movie of the summer.

When I first heard that del Toro was making this movie, I feared he was just spinning his wheels, and I suppose he was, but nobody can spin them quite so vividly as he can.

We probably don't want to know exactly what it is del Toro sees when he turns out the lights, but as Hellboy II makes clear, we're richer for spending a couple of hours with what he brings to the screen.

Hellboy II breezes along on the strength of Perlman's brawling charisma, a likeable tone, and a deft combination of goofball humor, pathos, and big action setpieces.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army may not be a masterpiece -- del Toro is capable of much more -- but it is whip-smart, pain-stakingly crafted and exuberant

Rather than getting sappy, del Toro plays the romantic angles of his story for Barry Manilow-scored laughs, and he occasionally allows the spirit of the Three Stooges to invade fight scenes.

So stuffed with imagination, humor and action that its flaws can be easily forgiven, Hellboy II: The Golden Army is an often dizzying and resolutely offbeat comic-book movie that has more on its mind than most Oscar-nominated dramas.

In Hellboy II, del Toro pushes his fetish for all things weird and shape-shifty to the extreme; he makes us feel childlike, too.

The endlessly inventive del Toro creates visual fantasies unlike any other, and the creatures on display here are truly extraordinary.

The head from which it sprang is filled with wonders, so whatever way del Toro chooses to unleash them is guaranteed to mobilize an army of fans.

Hellboy II is bigger, louder, and a smidgen more mainstream than the first movie, and I expect hard-core fans of the comic won't like it as much.

The movie overall is engaging, though it's more cavalier regarding story and relentless in its action than its predecessor.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is one of the coolest-looking movies, if not the most visually impressive one, of the summer.

While cracking jokes and fighting evil, Hellboy II is also a monstrously beautiful chamber of horrors.

A mix of conventional pulp, self-conscious snark and grotesque fantasy, the films defy easy categorization, which is intermittently a good thing.

It's a visually striking, mildly amusing way to kill a couple of hours.

Hellboy II passes its predecessor quickly, mixing in an entertaining and action-packed story, timely humor and a strong cast of characters.

Granted, Guillermo del Toro's sequel to his 2004 Hellboy is not a work of art like his Oscar-winning Pan's Labyrinth. But his latest spin on Mike Mignola's vividly drawn Dark Horse comic series sure is a surprise package of fun, fright and untamed imagination.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army lacks the first-look eye pop of Guillermo del Toro's 2004 original. And at almost two hours, it lingers a little long on screen.

Even in the action-movie-filled middle of the summer, del Toro's imagination run amok is a lot for even the geekiest moviegoer to take in one sitting.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a flawed but tremendously fun comic-book flick with awe-inspiring visuals.

The tone is set from the very first scene that this is a pop-up children's book with lively pictures and a wide, wonderful rogues gallery of imaginatively Lovecraftian creatures.

There's so much beauty and imagination on display in Hellboy II: The Golden Army that it's sometimes hard to tell if you're watching an action movie or a museum exhibit called "The Artistry of Guillermo Del Toro."

Filled to overflowing with wild character designs and over-the-top action sequences, it's a nervy and largely successful antidote to the resolutely "realistic" takes that recent comic book adaptations have adopted.

The same super-heated visual imagination that made Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth such a darkly thrilling delight is very much in evidence in his sequel to Hellboy. It's a shame that it's at the service of such a blandly conventional story.

With director Guillermo del Toro's fantastical vision on overdrive tempered by an occasionally self-mocking sense of humor, this Hellboy sequel is a quintessential summer movie that delivers plenty of inventive thrills.

Del Toro stuffs the film with wit and wonderments. Yet, coming out this superhero summer, it plays like a lovingly crafted synthesis of every fantasy saga we've seen in the past decade.

Hellboy II doesn't take itself nearly as seriously but, like its predecessor, overdoses on big galumphing goblins and trolls and creepy-crawlies.

A rollicking popcorn flick about a demonic superman who loves kittens and cigars but who's not afraid to grab sci-fi conventions by the horns.

The sheer volume of amazing things that del Toro is able to mine from his unconscious and render plausibly on the screen is remarkable.

There's nothing hugely new or exciting about Hellboy II: The Golden Army, but it definitely gives us our money's worth in the sheer volume of its imaginative fantasy creatures and it's that rare superhero-movie sequel that's better than the original.

The action is all pretty cool, but a lot of the fight scenes go on too long. The flash and bombast get a little tiresome.

Del Toro's film occasionally suffers from the fact that there's almost too much to keep up with.

Del Toro excels at creating fully realized worlds on screen, and Hellboy II allows the filmmaker to craft a bigger, broader and more fantastical Hollywood movie than he had heretofore been allowed to make.

The plot is kind of arbitrary and forgettable: Mystical Bad Guy A wants Object B so that he can accomplish Objective C.

Del Toro seem to be having more fun than in the first film, which was sometimes overwhelmed by its overloaded mayhem.

While he again takes his movie over the top with effects excess, del Toro also indulges his idiosyncratic instincts.

The bravura visuals start to weigh the movie down, in part because they don't always feel right for the character of Hellboy, who has so much of the modern and the real in him, appearances to the contrary.

It's a bit of a disappointment unfortunately. A brilliantly created and beautifully looking one to be sure, but one that's ultimately less than the sum of its parts.

Fanboys won't mind the absence of depth or emotion; they may even welcome it for making the film more representative of its comic-book origins.

Perlman, del Toro and Mignola have made Hellboy such a fine brute and hero that it's hard not to want more from any story that contains him.

That kitten-loving, flame-retardant, kick-ass anti-hero is back -- bigger, badder and redder than ever. Hellboy fans will be in heaven; everyone else will be in... you guessed it.

It’s got explosions, big brawls, astonishing sets and so many bizarre creatures that you need a Field Guide to the Fantastic just to keep track of them.

The film is as noisy as a drunk at a sporting event, and has the hyperactivity of a child suckled on soft drinks, fast food and video games.

With the exception of Tambor, these creatures are done up in slithery style, with writhing tentacles and misshapen faces. If I were a kid, this movie's images would light up my nightmares.

Hellboy II, based on a comic-book character, overflows with striking sets, unusual-looking creatures, arresting fight sequences and a droll, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor about itself.

The spectacle of computer-generated baddies battling computer-generated goodies -- no matter how amazingly weird and wonderful they appear -- wears you down.

No one attending Hellboy II: The Golden Army should expect to see the brooding genius and deep shadows of the comic book series re-created on screen.

There should be little debate that Guillermo del Toro has the most vivid imagination of any filmmaker working today.

Del Toro's visual style continues to delight and amaze, with mythical creations that leave creative minds like Star Wars creator George Lucas in the dust.

There just isn't enough story driving Hellboy II, and the reawakening of the golden army is a letdown.

Stuffed with bits of geek-out pleasure, the movie offers action and charm but still feels lacking when compared with the more arthouse-geared efforts of writer/director Guillermo del Toro.

A colorful creature-palooza of nearly unparalleled diversity, Hellboy II: The Golden Army is like the cantina scene in Star Wars extended to two hours.

It's the cookie-cutter story, involving an ancient indestructible army and a villainous prince, that sinks the film.

Sadly, Hellboy II is visual overkill. It is like trying to see every display in the Louvre in just over two hours. There is no time to enjoy the work.

Incomprehensible back stories and obscure plot points spill out of the characters’ mouths, until the director gets bored with all that talk and stages overwrought, effects-drenched mayhem.

Hellboy II is simply a bull in a china shop, smashing around aimlessly, desperately hoping we'll at least be impressed with the horns.

Hellboy II doesn't know what to do with its one asset, its characters, it quickly loses its fire.