SOURCE.

At this point the breadth and depth of Guillermo del Toro's raw talent are undeniable. He's been reliably elevating pulp to pop art since he left his mark on 2002's shoulda-been-forgettable Blade II. His ability to elicit wonder and joy via the sorts of set pieces that many of his peers increasingly execute on autopilot, and to continually present visual effects in ways that feel fresh and tactile in an era of impersonal, overblown spectacle (where "wonders tend never to cease," to borrow a phrase Owen Gleiberman once used to describe feature animation), are rare gifts. Hellboy II is packed with enough technical flourishes to nourish several summer blockbusters; indeed, the eye-popping density of some shots occasionally borders on the exhausting; however, it speaks to some achievement that the imagery frequently registers as gorgeous despite the director's proclivity for poop-creatures, vagina-dentata face-huggers, tumor babies and orifice anxiety. The inventiveness almost makes up for what is otherwise a routine story, affectionately if predictably plotted. Also predictable: del Toro's upcoming Hobbit adaptation is going to set a new standard for mainstream fantasy entertainment. Grade: B+