My Take: An elaborate set of imaginative creature effects and the always interesting lead character make the show worth watching.

I have a confession to make: I haven't seen the original HELLBOY yet. And neither have I seen it when I saw the much-praised sequel HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY. But that's just what I really like about this sequel: It doesn't require you to have seen the original to fully enjoy this weird and entertaining excursion. Seeing the original would certainly add to the experience, but taken in its own rights, HELLBOY II does what a sequel should do: Not just live up to the expectations left by its predecessor, but also shine as a stand-alone effort.

And yet I have another confession: I have not seen Guillermo Del Toro's crown jewel PAN'S LABYRINTH yet. But seeing HELLBOY II, I am more than impressed by his wild imagination. HELLBOY may have been based on a comic book, but for anyone who isn't a fan of the comics, Hellboy is Del Toro's own creation. Like what Tim Burton did with BATMAN, Del Toro has modeled Hellboy (Ron Perlman) as his own creation on-screen, and he's a very interesting character. Perlman never wastes his opportunity to provide depth as well as nuance to his character. Perlman proves himself worthy, not just an ideal action hero (under tons of make-up),but as yet another actor who successfully embodies the role of a comic-book character.

As in PAN'S LABYRINTH, Del Toro populates the world of HELLBOY II with some truly fascinating and intriguing creatures. Roger Ebert made a truthful compliment by stating that the world of HELLBOY II reminded him of the famous Cantina scene from STAR WARS. What George Lucas has conceived within only a few minutes of screen time in his movie, Del Toro manages to do for 2 hours. The creatures are imaginative, not just in look but in personality, and they are at an abundance. Plus, they're also mostly done using make-up effects rather than CGI, which makes them all the more real. Add to Del Toro's imaginative set pieces, he is a master storyteller. From the opening scene, where "Broom" Bruttenholm (John Hurt) tells the legend of the "Golden Army" to a young Hellboy, Del Toro exhibits is true talents at telling a good story. There are moments of thrills and even laughs, and the visuals are superb. Supporting performances and some neat special effects (notice that I praised the CGI later in in this review) make for one worthy adventure ride. HELLBOY II isn't perfect, but it sure is great at what it was doing.

Rating: **** out of 5.

When I saw the trailer for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, I hadn't seen the first Hellboy, so before I saw the sequel, I wanted to see the first movie, so I rented it and when I watched it, I wasn't really thrilled with it. I mean, it was a decent movie, but it wasn't something I would watch again, so I was thinking that the sequel was going to be a bust and probably not do much for the story, for what they had at least. Another thing was that the people that I talked to who had seen this movie before I saw it said that it was horrible and a waste of time, but I still did want to see this movie, so I decided to go ahead and just judge for myself. After all, I do admire Guillermo del Toro's style, his visions are eye candy and his stories can be incredible, so Hellboy II: The Golden Army? It seriously was so awesome! It was a whole lot better and stronger than the first Hellboy.

Hellboy is becoming quite the star in town, which isn't making the government very happy and they are becoming more and more angry with him since his growing popularity, but they're not the only one who's unhappy with his behavior, Liz is getting upset with his behavior as well. But things are more worse than Hellboy's youtube popularity, Prince Nuada wishes to raise the undefeatable golden army that can destroy the human race. Princess Nuala, his twin sister, is the only link that can stop him as well as Hellboy and his friends, but the strong link between Nuala and Nauda is scary, if he dies, she dies as well since she helps out Hellboy and becomes Abe Sapien's new love.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a great action movie and I'm really glad I gave it a chance. I'm telling you right now, the creatures in this movie are so visually stunning, the work that was put into this film was absolutely incredible and I have a whole lot more respect for Guillermo del Toro for his work, he really knows how to keep the audience's eyes on the screen. He made Hellboy into a solid comic book film. I love the character, Hellboy, I think more so in this one because he acts more human and you can't help but feel for him when the world turns on him after him saving it. Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a recommendation from me, it's a good movie and is guaranteed fun to watch.

8/10

Ron Perlman repeats his characterization of Hellboy and saves humanity once again, this time from a Golden Army from his demon world. Although you have to wonder why he does this considering all the thanks he gets for it.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army moves on to an even higher level entertainment than the original tongue in cheek production of the first Hellboy film. Hellboy is working for a secret government agency dealing with paranormal phenomenon when a demon prince invades an art auction and steals a piece of a magical crown. The prince, played by Luke Goss has a nasty demonic creature called a Wink.

The object he stole is part of a crown which when he places it on its head will enable him to activate a golden robot like army that's invincible. Just see what these babies do after Hellboy and his cronies finish with them once. Talk about self repairing, YOIKES.

Both Hellboy movies are a lot of fun because they don't take themselves to seriously. We never forget we are in fact watching a comic strip come to life.

Hopefully Ron Perlman and his sidekicks Selma Blair and Doug Jones will be back for a Hellboy III.