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Apparently “less is more” is not an axiom that writer/director Guillermo del Toro embraces. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is bigger, longer, louder, more complex, and decidedly show-off-ier than its predecessor and, while entertaining, can’t help but call to mind yet another oft-heard cliché, “just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.”

Some time has passed since the first Hellboy: professor Broom (John Hurt) is gone (but seen in a brief flashback to the ‘50s, telling young Hellboy a bedtime story), Liz (Selma Blair) and HB (Ron Perlman) are now “a couple,” and Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) is still fretting about the public’s awareness of the supposedly super-secret BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense). Meanwhile, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) of an ancient race of underworld woodland people, is looking to assemble the three pieces of a Very Special Crown in order to gain power and command of the legendary Golden Army (a huge cadre of unstoppable metal automatons hidden away for centuries) in order to break his people’s treaty with humanity and re-take the surface world. His psychically-linked twin sister Nuala (Anna Walton) opposes his plan and ends up aiding the BPRD. Much monster mayhem manifests.

I was never a huge fan of the first Hellboy, even though I adore the comic book – it was a decent flick, entertaining enough, with a great performance from Ron Perlman. But, while much of the design work was based directly on Mike Mignola’s superb original series, very little of the actual ambiance of the comics made it into the movie – the first film was far more del Toro than Mignola (with the tacked-on romance between Hellboy and Liz being particularly annoying), and Hellboy 2 is even further removed from the gothic trappings of Mignola’s expressive work. HB2 is more like a pinball machine, with flashing lights and jangling noises that attempt to keep the viewer in a constant state of engagement. Not intrinsically a bad thing, but you can take this mentality too far, and Hellboy 2 definitely does.

Indeed, the film’s most basic problem is overkill. The frantic, hyperkinetic editing often grates, and the wall-to-wall CGI quickly becomes wearing. There is some absolutely stunning design work here, but, especially after an extended Cantina-type sequence in the middle, in which there must be at least 200 uniquely designed creatures, it all starts to feel a bit redundant, and by the time we get to a pivotal sequence near the end, the creatures can’t help but seem less impressive than they should, through the sheer volume of rubber and pixels we’ve already had shoved in our faces. HB2TGA also gives in to the current trend of pitting heroes against incredibly impossible odds and having them emerge virtually without a scratch – and does it more than once. There are only so many times you can have your good guys facing truly insurmountable forces without it becoming tiresome. Much like last year’s Transformers, there’s just Too Much going on in these action scenes, and this has the ironic effect of making them somewhat boring rather than super-exciting. Epileptics may want to stay home.

Having said all that, it’s not a bad film, and there’s a lot to recommend in Hellboy 2. As mentioned, there is some beautiful design work, and the film looks amazing, courtesy of del Toro’s regular cinematographer Guillermo Navarro. The Lord of the Rings-ish sequence in which professor Broom relates the history of the Golden Army to a young Hellboy is rendered with wooden puppets standing in for the human and supernatural characters, one of del Toro’s most elegant touches. While some of the plot elements seem trite – HB carrying around a baby for one extended sequence (a gag we’ve seen before, including last year’s excellent Shoot ‘Em Up), the public turning against our heroes because they’re “different,” and Liz’s ewww-inducing “expecting” status – the story is actually pretty well-paced and engaging enough, if a bit Buffy-ish. The humor mostly works, and there’s a lovely scene between HB and Abe, discussing their romantic problems. A new character, BPRD agent Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth McFarlane) is extremely fun, with a cool suit design. The production values are lavish and the CGI, while overwhelming at times, is almost seamless, far better than the often-rubbery look of the first Hellboy. HB2 is utterly opulent, and you can’t help but gape at some of the cool/creepy/weird/wonderful beasts, even given the caveat mentioned above. There’s enough creature design here for a dozen movies, but you have to admire the craftsmanship.

Perlman is, again, a delight, perfectly embodying the world-weary take-nothing-seriously guy who’s just trying to do his job, and just happens to be a seven-foot tall fire-engine-red demon with filed-down horns. Doug Jones returns as Abe Sapien (here providing his own voice, without the dubbing of David Hyde Pierce as heard in the first film) as well as at least two other creatures, and again proves he is the master of the rubber suit. Jeffrey Tambor is amusing (if a bit over-used) as the fretful Manning. Luke Goss is terrific as Nuada, bringing a sense of fallen nobility to the role, and Anna Walton has a nice creepy-sexy vibe. Overall, the cast is first-rate.

With the sublime Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro proved that he is capable of more than just energetic pulp fiction, but Hellboy 2 is a step back into “blockbuster” territory, and can’t help but feel a bit hollow for it. It is certainly head-and-shoulders above most Hollywood drek, and everybody involved seems to be having a good time and trying to make a fun movie. And, for the most part, HB2 is fun, if a little spastic. It is grotesque and gorgeous, and its faults lie mostly with overambition rather than a lack of talent, hardly the worst cinematic sin. It is not wholly successful, but frankly I liked it better than the first Hellboy, despite its flaws. You certainly won’t see another film quite like it this year, and that’s something that can be said of precious few movies these days.

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