Last night, I went to see Hellboy II: The Golden Army. My initial thought upon leaving the theater was, “wow, Guillermo del Toro really cut loose.” And if that sounds like a bad thing, well, you don’t know Guillermo.

Within Hellboy II are elements of Biblical legends, Lovecraftian horrors, Tolkien’s Middle Earth, steampunk culture, and Zdzisław Beksiński paintings. (For those who’ve seen it, recall the subterranean city that housed the titular army. Then, check out these Beksiński works. See what I mean?) Guillermo del Toro concocted a tasty goulash of everything he found appealing, and the result is fit for a king.

An elven king, that is. Which brings me to Tolkien – the comparisons are inevitable, since he is noted for portrayed Elves as humanoid, noble, and – most importantly – slowly fading out of our world. In Tolkien’s Middle Earth, of course, the Elves go willingly, understanding that their time has passed. In del Toro’s story, a lone rebel, played by Luke Goss of Blade II, is determined to reclaim the earth in the name of supernatural creatures.

But the human vs. Elf conflict did not begin with the bitter Prince Nuada. As John Hurt explains in his brief appearance in a flashback, it was during a great war between Elves and men that a goblin metalworker offered to build the Elf King an indestructable army of metal soldiers. As in all myths, this army, rather than being destroyed after its purpose had been served, merely laid dormant. Waiting.

Naturally, a golden crown must be assembled of three different pieces in order for the Prince to command the Golden Army and take back the earth. One piece belongs to his father, one to his twin sister, Nuala, and one to mankind. It’s up to Hellboy, Liz, Abe Sapien, and the rest of the BPRD to stop him in his quest. With Nuala’s help (and hinderance, since the mystical connection between the twins ensures that Nuada remains at least vaguely aware of what Nuala is doing), they fight for the earth.

Prince Nuada makes an interesting villian because it’s hard to argue against him.

The elves, forest spirits, and other antagonistic creatures in the film represent the vengeful spirit of nature, of the earth before it became merely a vessel for mankind. It’s hard for humans to imagine that something could suffer as much as the earth has suffered and not feel anger; it can’t, of course, so we personify it in these ways. Del Toro has done a bang-up job, and Nuada is very persausive in trying to turn Hellboy to his side.

The tragedy of Hellboy, of course, is that his destiny runs counter to his desires. As we learned in the fascinating conclusion to the first film, Hellboy is essentially the Antichrist. The Beast of the Apocalypse (who, in the book of Revelation, is an allegory for humankind – Del Toro could possibly explore this in sequels, too). His destiny is to destroy the earth. The Angel of Death, portrayed by the versatile Doug Jones (also Abe Sapien in both movies, and his voice in this installment), reminds us of this. But in del Toro’s world, can destiny be escaped?

In the midst of this theological puzzlebox we have several subplots, including Liz’s pregnancy and a budding romance between Nuala and Abe. Johann Krauss, a new character voiced by Seth MacFarlane, is a powerful ectoplasm with both brains and a heart, even though he literally has neither. All of these elements weave together into a lovely tapestry, with a background of del Toro’s breathtaking visual designs.

So, is Hellboy II: The Golden Army better than Hellboy? Almost certainly. Selma Blair as Liz Sherman has improved both her acting and her looks, the villains this time are more original and more interesting, and a sense of joyous humor is always there to help relieve the prophetic gloom. The few low points include the aforementioned flashback, which features an oddly humanoid and badly portrayed young Hellboy – and at the end, there’s a rather predictable plot resolution involving Nuala and Nuada, which should be obvious to anyone who is paying attention.

While I’d love a sequel, I’m in no hurry for one. As much as I’d like to see what happens when Hellboy’s destiny finally catches up with him, perhaps it’s better to leave him as he is: a man with a big red tail.

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