The sequel to Guillermo del Toro's 2004 fantasy, based on Mike Mignola's comic series, is every bit as fast and furious as its predecessor, melding dazzling production design with wry humour and explosive action sequences.
The writer-director's distinctive visual style, celebrated with three Academy Awards for Pan's Labyrinth, is very much in evidence, including a swarm of voracious tooth fairies, who crave calcium and eagerly devour human flesh to extract tasty molars
from gums.
The clandestine Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development (B.P.R.D.) is struggling to keep Hellboy (Ron Perlman) hidden from prying eyes. After a visit to an auction house, Hellboy and his cohorts Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) are propelled into the media spotlight to the chagrin of B.P.R.D. chief.
Meanwhile, disgruntled prince of the underworld, Nuada Silverlance (Luke Goss), grows resentful of the wasteful humans.
He spearheads a revolution, searching for three shards of his father's ancient gold crown, which controls The Golden Army: unstoppable fighting machines created by the goblins. The final piece of the crown is in the possession of Nuada's twin, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), but she does not share his thirst for world domination.
Perlman carries off his role with gusto, bringing out the humour of his reluctant saviour from beneath the prosthetic make-up as Hellboy contends with so-called domestic bliss ("I would die for her...but she wants me to do the dishes!").
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