For those who feel director Guillermo del Toro is the wrong man for The Hobbit, you might think twice about that assessment after seeing Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, a gloriously energetic follow up to his fantastically creative take on Mike Mignola's comic book.

In The Golden Army, the lumbering red beastie (played with fantastic physicality and humorous gusto by Ron Perlman) with a bad temper is back, and despite the occasional angry outburst, he's actually got quite the sense of humor. In this follow up, Hellboy takes on Prince Nuada (Luke Gross), an ancient being who resides in a magical underground world populated by elves, fairies, and other mystical creatures. It seems that Nuada has grown tired of the human race and he no longer wishes to honor a truce that would allow his kind and humans to live with one another in peace.

Hellboy has other issues to tend with as well, including a somewhat turbulent relationship with girlfriend Liz (a cute but bland Selma Blair), and contention in his professional life. Red, as he's often called by those close to him, has become increasingly tired of a job that never allows him to be seen. If he's going to save the world, he might as well take some credit for it, right? Angered by Red's constant shenanigans, boss Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) opts to bring a new team member into the fold. That member arrives in the form of the robotic Johann Krauss (perfectly voiced by Family Guy's creator Seth MacFarlane), an odd being who's level of power has clouded his judgement.

Hellboy 2 does a terrific job amplifying the stronger elements of the first film. Not only does amphibian intellectual Abe Sapien (played perfectly by creature expert Doug Jones) take on a more prominent role here, but the entire tale is painted on a much larger canvas.

Guillermo del Toro has really outdone himself in terms of visual style. Be it the stunning Troll Market sequence–featuring an eye popping assortment of strange and exotic creatures at every turn, to a positively breathtaking action piece in which Hellboy takes on a colossal plant-like monster while cradling a baby in the grip of his tail (a nifty little ode to John Woo's Hard Boiled), there is no shortage of memorable imagery here. What's more, del Toro and crew have chosen to employ a plethora of practical effects. Many of the creatures that populate this world were hand crafted. CGI is incorporated as well, but it is the make up effects that leave the bigger impression.

With Hellboy 2, del Toro has found a way to mesh his independent sensibility with the rigors of a major Hollywood production. It's clear that residue from the brilliant Pan's Labyrinth has seeped into The Golden Army. Whereas that stunning picture was a tale of a girl slipping into a make believe fantasy world to escape the horrors of her real life, Hellboy 2 imagines a real fantasy world filled with creatures who are tired of living in the shadows. This includes Hellboy himself.

Hellboy 2 isn't perfect. It has it's flaws. The love story portions of the plot, and there's actually two of them here, are positively generic. At first, I thought perhaps del Toro was purposely going for normalcy to offset the film's perfectly fitting oddness. Whether or not that's the case, the love story aspects of the picture didn't work for me, particularly the pivotal relationship between Red and Liz (Selma Blair). I won't elaborate only to say that we've seen this stuff in mediocre sitcoms. You know the story. One character has something important to tell the other, but every time they're about ready to deliver the Earth shattering revelation, something happens, inevitably postponing the reveal. As for Abe Sapien's foray into the land of love, it's certainly cute, but perhaps a little too cute. It almost didn't fit. There's also a strange little flashback at the beginning of the film, showcasing an adolescent Hellboy and his relationship with John Hurt's Trevor Bruttenholm . I like the idea of the sequence more than the actual sequence itself.

There are other mis-steps in the film. The Abe and Hellboy rendition of Barry Manilow's Can't Smile Without You is bizarre beyond belief. Funny I suppose, but in a distracting way. Still, these minor setbacks don't hinder the overall effectiveness of the film. This isn't Spiderman 3. In that picture, I found myself laughing at scenes I wasn't supposed to be laughing at. That isn't the case here. Del Toro more than redeems himself with the rest of the picture. Tonally, this is very much in keeping with the first film. The humor, visual bravado, and stunning action sequences remain firmly in tact.

I applaud del Toro's infectious spirit. Not only is he a wonderfully charming human being–I've had the opportunity to see him speak in person on several occasions–but his passion and love for film completely comes across in his work. Hellboy 2 offers up nods to H.P. Lovecraft, Clive Barker, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg just to name a precious few, but there are also a number of jokes aimed squarely at the hardcore movie geek crowd (watch for a movie marquee homage to John Landis). There's a little something for everyone in Hellboy 2.

Is The Golden Army better than the original film? That's a tough call. It's certainly bigger in scale, but the first movie had the virtue of being an original work. I'd say it's a worthy successor, but not necessarily better. At the very least, it's further proof that del Toro is one of the most exciting film makers working today. The idea that he's doing The Hobbit has me completely giddy with excitement.