2004's Hellboy left me feeling somewhat cold. It wasn't that I thought it was a bad movie, it just never captivated me the way I thought it should. I liked the character, I liked the idea behind it, I liked Ron Perlman in the title role, and I really wanted to like the movie. Maybe Hellboy II: The Golden Army caught me in a better mood, or maybe the sequel really is just that much better of a movie. All I know is that this is an extremely enthralling action film, and is what I wanted the first movie to be.

Hellboy II contains a lot of things I go to the movies for. It's visually stunning in a way I haven't seen in any other movie this year so far. It's also funny, imaginative, heartfelt, and exciting as hell. Returning writer-director Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) seems to be running on all cylinders here. He's raised the stakes from the first film, and he's also opened the floodgates to his vivid imagination to create some of the most wondrous creatures and sights to hit the screen. This is a movie that offers something new or exciting to see in almost every scene. More than just a visual wonder, this is a movie with genuine characters inhabiting the effects-filled worlds that it shows us. With his soft spot for kittens, Baby Ruth candy bars, and a genuine desire just to be accepted in a world that sees him as an outcast, Hellboy is a much easier superhero to identify with than say The Incredible Hulk or Batman.

For those of you who don't remember the original film, or have never read the comic book series by Mike Mignola, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is a demon who was brought into our world when the Nazis tried to open a gateway between Earth and the demonic realm during the height of World War II. The gate was closed, but the demon (only an infant at the time) had managed to get left behind. He was adopted by the US military, and has since been living amongst us in secrecy. He now works for a top secret government organization that fights an underground war to keep the peace between the humans, the monsters, and the many other mythical creatures that exist. His allies in battle are the aquatic Abe Sapian (Doug Jones), his human love interest Liz (Selma Blair), who has the ability to generate and manipulate flames, and newcomer Johann Krauss (voice by Seth McFarlane from TV's Family Guy), who is a cloud of ectoplasmic gas living in a mechanical body. The head of the agency, Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor), is always trying to keep their exploits and battles under wraps, but Hellboy's desire to live out in the open amongst the humans frequently causes problems, such as when the demon pauses for publicity shots.

As the film opens, the delicate treaty that keeps the peace and separates the various worlds is on the verge of being broken when the elf prince Nuada (Luke Goss) grows tired of the greedy and ignorant ways of the humans who live on the surface world. He overthrows and murders his father, the king, and plans to combine the three pieces of an ancient crown that, when assembled, can revive the Golden Army, an unstoppable army of mechanical soldiers that were sealed away long ago. His sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), manages to escape with the last piece of the crown her brother needs to summon the Army, but finds it hard to stay ahead of him, since they share a psychic bond together. Hellboy and his team eventually track her down, and must now fight to protect her and the balance that separates the human world from the hidden fantasy worlds.

Hellboy II is definitely a lot better balanced and much more fun than its predecessor. If the original was the set up, than this is the one where it all comes together. The pacing is tighter, the humor is funnier and much better timed, the scope of the film with its heavy influence of fantasy and mythology is much broader, and the action sequences definitely blow away anything that was attempted the first time around. The film's opening action sequence, where Hellboy and his squad must fend off hundreds of carnivorous "tooth fairies" (little winged demons that eat the calcium in your teeth before they devour your entire body), is intense and a lot of fun to watch. It's also a good sign of what's to come, as the imagination only grows from there. The film's key imaginative moment comes when the heroes must visit an underground marketplace and city for monsters. The various creatures on display in this scene alone are astonishing, and pretty much made me think this is what George Lucas had in mind when he did his alien canteena scene in the original Star Wars movie. The effects are mostly physical, using puppetry and costumes whenever possible, and the CG that is used never seems glaringly obvious or intrusive. It certainly gives the worlds and creatures an organic and believable quality to them.

More than that, its what goes on behind the creatures that fascinated me the most. Despite his appearance, Hellboy longs to be like everyone else. He regularly files his horns down to tiny stubs in a vain attempt to appear slightly more normal, and he frequently has domestic squabbles with his live-in girlfriend, Liz. Ron Perlman obviously has a great amount of respect for the character, and tries to make him as human as possible, while still making him come across as a badass destructive force in battle. Selma Blair has more to do this time around, and her character seems much stronger and more confident here. Her secret that she has been keeping from Hellboy, which we learn early on, should provide an interesting plot development should Hellboy III be on the way. We also learn some information late in the film via a prophecy that has me literally jumping for more. (Del Toro is currently slated for a Doctor Strange movie, followed up by The Hobbit.) The same goes for Abe Sapian, who is much more fleshed out this time around, and even gets a touch of tragedy to his character. Of the new characters, the elven siblings who drive the plot come across the strongest, and are much more than simply a "villain" and a "damsel in distress", respectively. The bond between them plays a large part in the story, and it's handled in a mature fashion.

If there is any fault to be found in Hellboy II, it is that its climax seems somewhat rushed and surprisingly sloppy, with some last minute decisions by certain characters that had me wondering why they didn't just go ahead and do these things in the first place. Still, for a majority of its nearly two hour running time, this is one of the most imaginative films I've seen this year, and definitely the best comic book movie to come along this summer since Iron Man. With the growing and deafening buzz surrounding July 18th's The Dark Knight, I'm almost surprised it can get better than this. (Of course, I am trying my best to keep expectations in check, so I can write an honest review.) That being said, Hellboy II is everything the original should have been, and I have much more respect for del Toro's vision for this budding franchise. This is one of those rare times that I'm hoping the opening weekend numbers are big enough to get another sequel greenlit come Monday morning.

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