Hell'z Yeah! Rock'em sock'em entertainment from del Toro & Co.

Rating: 9/10 (14 July 2008)

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (2008) ***1/2 Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Seth MacFarlane (voice), Luke Goss, Anna Walton, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt. Wunderkind filmmaker Guillermo del Toro's fantastic sequel to his collaboration with/on Mike Mignola's cult comic book hero, Hellboy (Perlman coming across as a cross between Lee Marvin and a strawberry colored Twizzler), this time with the world-weary demon spawn facing a rebellious elf prince (Goss, a cross between Iggy Pop and Legolas from LORD OF THE RINGS) wanting to sever the agreement between mankind and the subterranean otherworld denizens by unleashing the titular soldiers of misfortune. Blair and Jones lend able support reprising their roles as Big Red's main squeeze, fire starter extraordinaire Liz Sherman and empathetic aquatic creature Abe Sapien, respectively. Added to the mix is protoplasmic mystic Johann Krauss (voiced by MacFarlane), new leader of the secret US organization The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD) with his no-nonsense, Teutonic ways of dealing with adversity within the ranks; and ethereal Walton as the elf princess twin sister who also provides a love interest for Abe. Del Toro gets his cinematic ya-yas out by employing some truly dazzling SFX and homages to Ray Harryhausen, STAR WARS' cantina sequence, Barry Manilow (!) and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Rock'em, sock'em rousing entertainment all around. Hell'z yeah!