An Extraordinary "Monster Movie," Full of Action, Humor, and Imagination.

Rating: 8/10 (15 July 2008)

*MANY SPOILERS AHEAD*
"Hellboy 2 The Golden Army" is action-packed fun, and in my opinion better than the original. Director Guillermo Del Toro who did "Pan's Labyrinth" throws at the audience the old stars we loved (Hellboy, Abe, and Liz). As well as a ton of creatures, who are anything but ordinary.
The story begins when a 10 year old Hellboy being told a story by his adoptive father Trevor Broom. He tells Hellboy that there once was a king named Balor, with a son named Nuada and a daughter named Nuala. The king has a mythical creatures build him an army of 70 mechanical soldiers. All of which are controlled by a gold crown. After a time of warfare, the Golden Army is put to rest and the crown is divided by the fairytale creatures and the human race. Now the prince wants to reclaim their land which was taken by the humans. Such as lands created into "parking lots" and "shopping malls".
After a piece of the crown is stolen from an auction Hellboy, Liz, and Abe investigate. Soon they are accompanied by the comical and intelligent John Krauss, (Voiced by Seth McFarlane). A Gaseous person inside an old-fashioned Scuba suit with a gas helmet. He has the power to animate and control non-living objects. The heroes battle a swarm of tooth fairies, a 10 foot troll, a giant plant monster, the prince, and the best scene of all The Golden Army. Although some of the action sequences run together, possibly to save time and money. There is never a boring moment. The director also balances the action with a heart too. Abe Sapien falls for Princess Nuala, while Hellboy is struggling to get along with Liz. Abe finds out early in the film that Liz is pregnant, and they hide the truth from Hellboy later on. The love builds up to Hellboy and Abe drinking beer and singing Barry Manilow. A scene that I thought was oddly funny.
This is a fun movie-going experience and the hour and 50 minute running time just flies right by. Go see this movie it's a rare comic book movie that is beautiful to look at. Of course, "The Dark Knight" looks better than this, but people who have less patience watching a movie well over two hours long, will find Hellboy 2 a real treat.