"A-" Rating by Robert W. Hammerle

Wildly inventive and hugely entertaining, Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" is a magnificent cinematic achievement. Witty, subversive and visually resplendent, "Hellboy II" is a fitting bookend for del Toro's groundbreaking seminal masterpiece "Pans Labyrinth" (2006).

Ron Perlman's Hellboy remains as cocky, insecure and sardonic as we last saw him. Much to the continual frustration of his long suffering Government boss, played by the laconic Jeffrey Tambor, Hellboy is far to starved for public acceptance and affection to remain in the shadows as he has been ordered.

To complicate matters, Hellboy is madly in love with Liz Sherman (marvelously underplayed by Selma Blair), a woman who you really don't want to anger. Unfortunately, Hellboy is not particularly adept at niceties contributing to domestic bliss, and the ensuing bickering between Perlman and Blair is as consistently humorous as it is genuinely warm.

Once again Hellboy is called upon to save mankind, this time from the clutches of Prince Nuada, a scarred albino from the underworld who has vowed to destroy the human race. As the Prince, Luke Goss brings to the screen a villain of classic dimensions.

Memorable villains in Hollywood history have all been complex characters. Think of Andy Robinson's psychopathic killer in "Dirty Harry" (1971); Anthony Hopkins impish cannibal Hannibal Lector and James Earl Jones' conflicted, sinister Darth Vader.

Goss' Prince is genuinely frightening because he is singularly dedicated to his homicidal task. Additionally, the dazzling special effects in scenes where he displays his martial art skills, particularly with a sword and lance, are every bit as good as you will see in a Jet Li movie.

Goss is mesmerizing as he attempts to call the forces of non-humans to resume a war of extermination against humans. But what makes his character so rich is that he also evokes a strange sense of empathy from the audience. You kind of sympathize with his twisted vision as he tries to convince Hellboy that he has no future himself in the company of humans.

But this movie belongs to Pearlman's cigar chomping hero. In the human world, Hellboy's a freak, and he knows it. For no matter how many times he comes to mankind's rescue, it is hard for a red demon with two horns and a tail to win the respect and acceptance that he so longs for.

Additionally, there is an absolutely endearing, hysterical scene midway through the film where Hellboy and his close friend, the Aqua Man known as Abe Sapien (played absolutely wonderfully by Doug Jones), get drunk on Tecate beer while listening to love songs. Finally confronting the fact that they are both hopelessly in love and lacking the slightest clue on how to respond, they start to sing along with Barry Manilow's "I Can't Smile Without You." Both are blasted, neither can sing a lick, and this is a cinematic moment to treasure.

Simply put, you have to applaud the visionary genius of del Toro. There are moments where the sets compare favorably in scope and majesty to those of "The Lord of the Rings." Additionally, the sequence where our heroes venture into a City Market in the underworld populated by monsters and ogres of every description is unlike anything you have experienced since the bar scene in the original "Star Wars" movie (1977), and that in itself is a weak comparison.

The downside of "Hellboy" is the ugly realization of just how average this year's "Hancock" and the "Incredible Hulk" really were by comparison. In any event, if you want to take an acid trip that's legal, then treat yourself to "Hellboy."