"Hellboy II" received its world premiere as closing night of the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival," and will be released by Universal on July 11. Expect a sequel to this sequel, which should outdo the grosses of the 2004 feature (about $100 million world-wide) at the global box-office.

I can only speculate about the sources of Del Toro's wild: Repressive Catholic upbringing, living in Spain, a society that suffered for decades from Franco's oppression, comic books and video games--and years of watching and absorbing Hollywood movies. Nonetheless, he has developed his own palette of effects, his unique cinematic vocabulary that can't be compared to any director working today.

Based on his work, it's safe to predict that Del Toro's upcoming "Hobbit" pictures will be just as visionary as his previous work (my favorite is still the Oscar-winning "Pan's Labyrinth") and a good companion piece to "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson, who serves as exec producer on the new screen version of Tolkien's books. The Jackson-Del Toro team is a match made in heaven, and you wonder why it has taken so long for these wild birds to collaborate.

You may recall that in 2004, writer-director Del Toro brought Mike Mignolas comic-book hero "Hellboy," played by Ron Perlman ("Blade II," "Alien: Resurrection") in a bravura performance, to the screen. In fact, it's hard to imagine "Hellboy II" without Perlman, who now belongs to Del Toro's visual landscape and is integral to this kind of excessive folklore.

As a hero, the overly muscled occult detective, complete with horns, tail and hard-boiled attitude, was an everyman whod become a favorite of fanboys around the world. Del Toro introduced the reluctant crime-fighter to a global audience, and his films wit, action and ingenious effects launched a critical and commercial hit for comic lovers and lay viewers alike.

Del Toro's screenplay for "Hellboy II" is based on his and Mike Mignola's story, inspired by the Dark Horse comic book created by Mignola (who's also credited as exec-producer). Four years later, the kitten-loving red hero is back-with a vengeance, and this time around he's kicking even more evil ass. Indeed, the wildly epic odyssey continues with the action-thriller "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," which ups the ante in every respect, bringing bigger muscle, badder weapons, bigger multitudes of monsters, but also a little domestic conflict at home,

In this version, Hellboy fights the good fight when duty calls from his employer, the top-secret Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. It's quickly established that, created in 1943 by President Roosevelt, the Bureau (B.P.R.D.) is a clandestine operation, which uses secret technology, mysterious powers and a network of operatives with otherworldly powers to defend the world against the more violent supernatural forces.

However, given the choice, Hellboy would much rather kick back with a cigar, six-pack, his pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and their clutter of cats. But this is a Del Toro work, which means that fate and destiny have bigger plans for the duo.

After an ancient truce between humankind and the original sons of the Earth is broken, all hell breaks loose. The anarchical underworld Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), weary of centuries of deference to mankind, now schemes to awaken a long-dormant army of killing machines that will return what belongs to his people; all magical creatures shall finally be free to roam again. Needless to say, only Hellboy can stop the dark ruler and save our world from annihilation.

Joining the wise-cracking, amber-eyed demon and his flammable girlfriend are returning principals of the "Hellboy" original cast, including the bureaus brilliant aquatic empath Abe Sapien (Del Toro's regular Doug Jones) and B.P.R.D. bureaucrat Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor). John Hurt is also back as Hellboys surrogate dad (and savior from the Nazis), Professor Trevor Broom.

The new members are just as colorful and interesting: the now-public face of the formerly clandestine B.P.R.D., protoplasmic mystic Johann Krauss, a role shared by John Alexander and newcomer James Dodd, with Krauss voiced by Seth MacFarlane, the noted creator of Foxs hit "Family Guy," and the artist behind many of that shows signature voices.

The dramatic climax, as the title suggests, is the showdown in the Golden Army Chamber past the Angel of Deaths lairs, and what a lavishly choreographed spectacle it is, involving every aspect of the production, not just stunts and visual effects. The one-on-one fight between Hellboy and the prince is a flesh-and-blood encounter.

The dramatic design of the Golden Army Chamber heightened the fights ferocity, with huge golden cogs that flank the stage where the prince surveys the army. The movement of the cogs, which is the trigger that brings the Golden Army to life, is staged like a fighting ballet, with some cogs spinning and moving vertically, while others are beveled gears. But it's done with the humor and logic of the silent comedies of Charlie Chaplin ("Modern Times"), combined with modern gesture by the likes of Jackie Chan.

Moreover, if you watch closely, you see that the two combatants have different fighting styles: Living up to his repute, Hellboy is a strength guy, a stone-fisted brawler, whereas the prince is all speed and stealth, lean and like lightning. The physically fit Luke Goss performs much of the sword and spear work, which is mixed with top Chinese martial artists (some vets of Jackie Chan's team).

There are at least two-dozen spectacular fantasy-moments, including the sight of Liz, engulfed in orange flames, the tipsy Red and Abe singing in tandem to Barry Manillow's schmaltzy tune, "Can't Smile Without You," and a tribute to The Wizard of Oz" the 1939 classic that must have influenced Del Toro's ferocious and fearless imagination.

Cast

Hellboy - Ron Perlman Liz - Selma Blair Abe Sapien - Doug Jones Johann Krauss - John Alexander, James Dodd Voice of Johann - Seth MacFarlane Prince Nuada - Luke Goss Princess Nuala - Anna Walton Tom Manning - Jeffrey Tambor Professor Broom - John Hurt

Credits

A Universal Pictures release, presented in association with Relativity Media, of a Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin production, in association with Dark Horse Entertainment. Produced by Lawrence Gordon, Mike Richardson, Levin. Executive producer, Chris Symes. Co-producer, John Swallow. Co-executive producer, Mike Mignola. Directed by Guillermo del Toro. Screenplay, Guillermo del Toro, Mike Mignola, based on the Dark Horse comicbook created by Mignola. Cinematography, Guillermo Navarro. Editor, Bernat Vilaplana. Music, Danny Elfman; music supervisor, Kathy Nelson. Production designer, Stephen Scott. Supervising art director, Peter Francis. Set decorator, Elli Griff. Costume designer, Sammy Sheldon. Sound, Mac Ruth; sound supervisors-designers, Scott Martin Gershin, Martin Hernandez; re-recording mixers, Mike Prestwood Smith, Mark Taylor, Michael Keller. Visual effects supervisor, Michael J. Wassel. Makeup effects designer, Mike Elizalde; prosthetic/animatronic creatures, Creature Effects, Filmefex Studio KFT, Euroart Studios, Solution Studios. Visual effects/animation, Double Negative. Stunt coordinator, Domonokos Pardanyi.

MPAA rating: PG-13. Running time: 110 Minutes.