DVD of the Week: Hellboy II - The Golden Army

Visionary director Guillermo del Toro, who previously helmed the rightfully fawned over Pan's Labyrinth, returns with another stab at making a viable Hollywood franchise out of his beloved Hellboy, an unconventional superhero not of the same culturally iconic stock as more recently successful film crossovers such as Batman. Hellboy (Ron Perlman), a demon from another dimension that has been taken in by the American military, is a gruff, awkward, and insecure protagonist (he even files off his devil horns to blend in better). His crack team of paranormal investigators is really just a team of misfits, which includes his fiery (literally) fiancé, Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), and aquatic confidant Abe Sapien (Doug Jones). The team, always a government secret, is facing the threat of exposure as the war between the humans and the mystical creatures of older times ignites for the first time in centuries. The misplaced Hellboy must decide if he should defend the humans or join his supernatural brethren in their fight to regain dominance.

The central story, which involves the diabolical efforts of a pale-faced ancient prince (Luke Goss) and his willowy sister (Anna Walton) is an engagingly weird effort to be sure, but narrative is only half the fun of this film (or maybe less than half) as del Toro and his team of visual masterminds (many reunited from their Oscar winning work on Pan's) piece together what has got to be the most stunningly weird and imaginative film to come out of commercial Hollywood in years. Del Toro is a gem of an innovator with the comic sensibilities of a toddler and the visual lyricism of a poet. He blends broad comedy and cheap sight gags with oddly affecting stunts and action sequences that can be as beautiful to behold as they are drenched in kooky excitement. Among his team's most unforgettable creations: a vividly costumed "angel of death" (also Doug Jones) and a plant monster 30 stories tall whose gooey death covers the city in a lovely coat of pollen that falls with the gentle beauty of snowflakes. This is a popcorn spectacle like no other that should be savored for its rare gifts.