Guillermo Del Toro’s first cinematic offering since Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army opens today. In this one, Hellboy battles a bunch of mythical creatures and saves the human race from decimation by a gigantic mechanical army made of gold.

It’s clear that the studio let del Toro go to town with this film. Pan’s Labyrinth had like four or five creatures. This one has hundreds and they’re all pretty much incredible. It’s impossible to get bored watching del Toro’s imagination run completely wild on the screen. This guy is on the verge of becoming the new Jim Henson.

When it’s time for the action though (this is summer after all) it’s pretty average. In fact, the person I went to the preview with literally fell asleep during the final fight scene. Not because it was incredibly boring though, he was just really sleepy. The film also jumps back and forth between Lord of the Rings style Fantasy and Men in Black style sci-fi too much. Take a wild guess which genre del Toro handles better (hint: he recently signed on to direct the Hobbit).

All in all, this movie, given the budget, is probably about as good as it could be. Hellboy 2 falls somewhere in between The Devil’s Backbone (incredible) and Blade 2 (forgettable). By that logic, this is a matinee-er. But an opening weekend matinee-er.

If you’re into Guilermo del Toro as much as I am you can read an interview I did with him before Pan’s Labyrinth won a bunch of oscars here.

Hellboy 2 Website

Will Christian Bale be able to top Val Kilmer’s masterful performance in Batman and Robin? Could The Dark Knight possibly be better than Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever? Was Heath Ledger’s drug overdose all just an elaborate viral marketing scheme? Find out the answers to these pressing questions on Thursday July 17 at midnight.

There’ll be Midnight Screenings of The Dark Knight on Thursday July 17th at the following Bridge and Tunnel Megoplexes

Colossus Langley Cinemas (IMAX Location) 20090 91A Avenue, Langley.

SilverCity Riverport Cinemas (IMAX Location)14211 Entertainment Way, Richmond.

SilverCity Coquitlam Cinemas 170 Schoolhouse Street, Coquitlam.

SilverCity Metropolis Cinemas 4700 Kingsway Ave, Burnaby.

SilverCity Victoria Cinemas 3130 Tillicum Road, Victoria.

Cineplex Odeon Strawberry Hill Cinemas 12161 72nd Avenue, Surrey.

And one at the only theater you really need to care about:

Scotiabank Theatre 900 Burrard Street, Vancouver.

Tickets are on sale Friday June 27, 2008 at 6 am from www.cineplex.com