'Hellboy II' visuals burn hellaciously
Red battles Golden Army in del Toro action sequel
'Hellboy II' visuals burn hellaciously

Published: July 11, 2008

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army” brings back the cigar-chomping, wisecracking paranormal agent with the indestructible hand and big red body from the first "Hellboy.” Ron Perlman reprises his role as the most powerful agent of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, nicknamed "Red.” He and girl-friend Liz (Selma Blair), a pyrokinetic, are having off-and-on problems, largely based around Red's loutishness: He leaves her toothbrush in the cat food, for example.

Elfin Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), angered by the humans' constant encroachment on the elfin world, breaks a pact long-forgotten by the humans. The humans and the elves ended a long-ago war by agreeing to a truce — the elves would stay in the forests and the humans in the cities.

But, as Nuada declares, the parking lots and shopping malls have driven the elves from their homes. He will reawaken the Golden Army, a clockwork grouping of 14,400 soldiers, built by a goblin for the elf king to answer the aggression of humanity in the first war. Nuada reclaims part of the crown needed to rule the Golden Army from an auction house — slaughtering the bidders in the process, with demented "tooth fairies” — so called because of their desire to feed on bones and teeth.

Hellboy and his crew from the bureau, now led by the ectoplasmic German Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth MacFarlane), seek the Troll Market for clues to who unleashed the tooth fairies.

Fish-man Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) encounters Nuala (Anna Walton), Nuada's twin sister, who wishes to keep her brother from awakening the Golden Army.

Conflicts and showdowns follow, including the final meeting with the Golden Army. But before that, director Guillermo del Toro craftily sets up a possible sequel: With Hellboy on the verge of death, Liz must decide whether she believes in Red, or what his destiny was foretold to be. Those who have read Mike Mignola's comic books have an idea what's coming, but it would still be spectacular to see filtered through del Toro's vision.

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.

"Hellboy II” is an over-the-top B movie, but near-perfectly so.

— Matthew Price

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