Hellboy 2

Release Date: July 11

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writers: Guillermo del Toro, Mike Mignola
Cinematographer: Guillermo Navarro
Starring: Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Selma Blair, Seth McFarlane

Studio/Run Time: Universal Studios/110 mins.

Remember Hellboy? You'd be forgiven if you didn't. The 2004 film, released after Spider-Man but before Batman Begins, came along during the run-up to today's golden age of comics-to-film adaptations. As such, it's remembered by fans as an earnest, functional introduction to the world of Hellboy, where fantastical creatures (including the titular demonspawn) investigate paranormal disturbances and generally safeguard humanity. But in retrospect, it's clear that the creativity of director Guillermo del Toro was severely hampered by cautious studio execs more concerned with avoiding a flop than with creating a blockbuster.

Then something unexpected happened. In 2006, del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth was released to critical acclaim, instantly cementing the director's place among contemporary fantasy directors. The film took three Academy Awards that year, including Best Cinematography, and suddenly del Toro possessed the Midas touch. For the Hellboy sequel, the director's accolades kickstarted the stagnating development. Matters were complicated by Sony's decision to stop funding Revolution Studios (Hellboy's production house), but Universal stepped in almost immediately and snapped up the rights. For this reason, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army stands as one of a very few superhero sequels made by a different production studio than the original.

Del Toro's newfound status as fantasy guru gave the filmmaking team the leverage and leeway it needed to truly expand the scope of the project. The film's three original characters—Hellboy (Ron Perlman), Abe (Doug Jones) and Liz (Selma Blair)—returned for the sequel, with the addition of Johann (Seth McFarlane, capably channeling his inner Hitler), and a vast array of supernatural beasties. The creative recharge particularly suited Mike Mignola, the Dark Horse Comics artist who dreamed up the red-skinned lead character; he took a sabbatical from comics to draft a completely original story for the sequel. Since the late '90s, Mignola has been lauded for his singular ability to blend age-old mythology, contemporary storytelling and a keen understanding for what makes a person (or demon) truly human.

True to form, Hellboy 2 serves up a story that is at once epic and deeply personal, oftentimes highlighting in the same scene how the two parallel themes can coexist. The best example is Hellboy's fight with a 10-story-tall plant elemental, which batters him relentlessly until he's forced to dispatch it. Only when the green titan collapses onto the street, its sappy blood sprouting flowers and moss from the buckled pavement, do we realize Hellboy's sadness at having to kill the creature. It is the last of its kind, a nearby villain informs us, and the world will be less interesting for its passing.

This is the central idea of Hellboy 2, which concerns itself with an evil, exiled elf prince named Nuada (Luke Goss) and his efforts to find and awaken the Golden Army, a horrific fighting force composed of wind-up, mechanical killing machines that have lain dormant for eons. Nuada wants to make the world safe for the dwindling population of supernatural creatures (like the plant elemental). But with Hellboy and team hot on his trail, the prince must call upon an array of fantastical threats to waylay his pursuers. This, of course, is the macro-plot upon which the film's myriad smaller stories hang. While the large-scale action scenes delight, they can get tiresome, especially by the end of the film. Far more watchable, however, are the shorter vignettes contained within the larger film that serve to weave the characters' complicated lives together. Hellboy's girl trouble, for example, is best dealt with by consuming vast quantities of beer (spoiler: he drinks the rampantly product-placed Tecate). Johann's uber-German attitude is made all the more entertaining when you realize that he's voiced by the same guy who does Peter from Family Guy.

Hellboy 2 is a film that stands independent of its predecessor, which is the essential measure of a superhero franchise's success or failure. Del Toro's creative palette was deftly employed from the first moments of the film, which bodes well for his upcoming involvement with The Hobbit movie(s). As with the first installation, this Hellboy is festooned with plot hooks for a third movie, so DVD collectors might want to wait a few more years to pick up the inevitable box-set trilogy. Luckily, the character's weighty comic-book mythos, dating back to 1993, ensures that the franchise will have fodder for a third film at least as satisfying as the first two.

Watch the trailer for Hellboy 2: The Golden Army: