In “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” writer/director Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”) takes another stab at the supernatural/sci-fi material based on the comic book series by co-writer Mike Mignola. This time around Del Toro reunites most of his cast from the darker first installment and incorporates his flair for producing visually stunning special effects and art direction along with liberal doses of humor.

Recounting a legend from a storybook, Hellboy’s adopted father (John Hurt) tells the tale of an ancient battle between humans and trolls. After raising an unbeatable army of golden mechanical annihilators, a truce is struck by a wise peace-minded king who agrees that humans should have control of cities and trolls will settle for the forests. Never accepting that this was a “fair deal” Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) takes a few centuries to harbor a nasty grudge and decides to defy his father and destroy modern-day mankind once and for all.

When Prince Nuada starts imposing death and destruction in Manhattan, a team of “special forces” are called in from their government controlled top-secret compound and soon Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his comrades vow to overpower the new leader of the underworld.

In between confronting a particularly nasty flock of “tooth fairies” (named so because of their penchant for eating human teeth and bones) and battling an enormous tentacle-adorned plant that threatens New York City, Hellboy still finds time for his beloved pet cats and the complications presented by his on-again off-again girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair) who has a secret that will permanently alter the course of their lives.

With the unexpected help of Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) Hellboy crafts a plan to end the prince’s wrath which requires a trip to an underground city of trolls, somewhat reminiscent of the Tatooine bar in “Star Wars.” Eventually the fate of the world is secured and Prince Nuada and his golden army are defeated.

In terms of fantasy, the performances in this film are adequately confident and consistent. While the script and character development are not remarkable, the original and artistically rendered visual aspects make this film surprisingly engrossing. Del Toro’s trademark style and attention to detail are admirable and should serve him well as he helms “The Hobbit” due for release in 2011.

2 1/2 stars out of 4

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