Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Guillermo del Toro first introduced moviegoers to Mike Mignola’s demonic superhero in the 2004 original film, but this sequel arguably provides a better picture of the imaginative approach the filmmaker – who both writes and directs here – is capable of when operating at the top of his game. In Hellboy II: The Golden Army, he takes the titular hero and his allies at the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense into the realm of fantasy and magic, pitting them against an elf prince with designs on a mythical army. Frequent del Toro collaborators Ron Perlman and Doug Jones have dynamite chemistry as Hellboy and Abe Sapien here, and the film’s third act is so strong that its rabid fanbase is still crying for del Toro to find a way to finish the trilogy with one more installment. Here’s hoping.

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