Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Fantasy adventure
Oscar-nominated director Guillermo del Toro of Pan's Labyrinth fame returns with the much-anticipated sequel to what critics have hailed as his 'fantasy-action-comedy-romance', Hellboy.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army kicks off with a flashback to Hellboy's childhood, when his father tells him a bedside story about a legendary battle between the elves and the human race.
A goblin makes a 4,900-strong clockwork Golden Army for King Balor of the elves, and the unstoppable force sets about decimating the human race. Only King Balor has the power to stop the army and, appalled at the violence he has unleashed, he breaks his crown into three pieces and calls for a truce with humans. He gives one third of the crown to mankind, who, according to the terms of the truce, can keep their cities, while the elves keep their forests.
Unfortunately, the king's son, Prince Nuada, is less than happy about the truce, and goes into exile, only to return - all these centuries on - determined to reawaken the Golden Army and destroy the human race.
It is an intriguing opening, but the ensuing action is so fast and complex it is difficult to know if it delivers on its promise. Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is joined by his new boss, the ectoplasmic Johann Krauss, and fellow save-the-world buddies - love interest Liz (Selma Blair) and best friend Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) - in a quest to stop Prince Nuada and rescue humanity.