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"Hell" and Back

There's a moment midway through "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" - director Guillermo del Toro's visually stunning sequel to his 2004 comic adaptation - in which the titular demon-hero (played again by the frightfully perfect-for-the-role Ron Perlman) squares off against a ten-story tall "forest elemental" at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. During the ensuing battle, the effects are, naturally, seamless; the forest creature throws cars and breaks through concrete with ease. But there's a real beauty at work here - not just in the creature's visual design (which is typically fantastic) but in our hero's dilemma. If he kills the creature, he's killing the last of its kind (Hellboy himself is similarly unique). But if the creature lives, it will grow further out of control, endangering the lives of millions. More than any other moment in the film - and this is really saying something - this sequence exemplifies everything that's great about "Hellboy II". As Mr. del Toro has proven before ("The Devil's Backbone", "Pan's Labyrinth"), he can orchestrate effects (both practical and CG) with the grace of a conductor. It's just this time, instead of using a baton he wields a sledgehammer.

"Hellboy II" opens with a flood of exposition, delivered as a bedtime story and animated with a beautiful technique reminiscent of Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" crossed with "The Lord of the Rings". The story sets up an ancient war between humans and magical creatures (fairies, elves, trolls, what-have-you) involving a three-piece crown which endows the wearer with control over the indestructible fighting force of the title. As you might imagine, awakening the Golden Army would be, as "Ghostbusters" so eloquently put it, "bad".

Unlike the first "Hellboy", which was more of an origin story, "Hellboy II" doesn't revolve around the title character. In "II", Hellboy, or "Red" as he's called, is simply on a job - assigned to protect a city that largely fears him. As a result, there's not enough of Mr. Perlman's conflicted would-be hero. Instead, Red is mostly given one-liners and an undercooked subplot involving his relationship with Liz Sherman (Selma Blair, doing what she can).

As for the remaining actors (many of whom reprise their roles), they struggle and shout for attention amid the din of effects (the final battle, in particular, reaches a clanging plateau of noisiness). There are some new characters as well - most notably, Luke Goss as the memorably evil Prince Nuada and an ectoplasmic German scientist voiced with "Family Guy" gusto by Seth MacFarlane - who would be intriguing if they had any time to be.

More than anything else, "Hellboy II" is a showcase for Mr. del Toro's talents (convenient, seeing how he wrote the script, with help on the story from comic creator Mike Mignola). From an opening slaughter at an auction house involving particularly cute-nasty toothfairies to a stroll through the "Troll Market" (which makes Harry Potter's Diagon Alley look like Sesame Street), Mr. del Toro and his team of designers prove again and again that they are endlessly imaginative. But just because they can be, doesn't necessarily mean they should be. Our superheroes have all had to learn it in the past. Now it may be time for the directors of superhero movies to practice what they teach. You've heard it before: great power, great responsibility, yadda yadda.

Having proven himself a uniquely competent action director with 2002's "Blade II" and the first "Hellboy", and then proving that his vision alone can sell tickets with the success of "Pan's", Mr. del Toro is given free rein with this follow-up. And that is both a blessing and a curse. Something Mr. del Toro's title character can well appreciate.