Hellboy II: The Golden Army

This, like the first Hellboy, is del Toro on holiday in Hollywood, having as much fun as he can without totally compromising his considerable powers of invention.

Hellboy II is fabulously imaginative, visually sumptuous and dramatically complex; what's more, it's very funny and engaging.

The film's exuberance, and the sense that it's all one big gimmick-packed action toy, give Hellboy II: The Golden Army a refreshing cinematic purity.

Clearly, such material appeals primarily to teenage fanboys, but del Toro's dark humour broadens its scope.

The plot is paper thin (something about an ancient battle between humans and mythical creatures and a goblin-built clockwork) but Guillermo del Toro's talent has always been to create worlds and bring creatures to life.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army has the technical brilliance of a Renaissance masterpiece and a brain the size of a pea.

Full of imaginative creatures and settings, Del Toro lets loose on this fun sequel that improves what came before. Ron Perlman is perfect as the cocky hero with a heart. [Full review in Spanish}

There's still too much posing for the camera, but the introduction of dozens of new fantastical deviations drowns out the typical overdose of heroic photo stances.

The rarest of sequels that is actually better than its predecessor.

So, follow the yellow brick road to Hell, Hellboy that is, as Big Red and company attempt to save the world from destruction by an invisible realm...