Want to know if you should see Hellboy 2? Well, there is a pretty simple formula you can follow in order to determine if you'll enjoy the movie or not, but in order to utilize it you'll have to have seen Hellboy 1. Think you can handle that? The movie is on tv every other day, and costs about $5 used at Blockbuster, so it's not much to ask.

So lets begin!

1) If you loved Hellboy 1, then SEE HELLBOY 2. It's got everything a fan of the original would want to see. Ron Pearlman as Hellboy again proves that he can make any dialog, no matter how ridiculous, sound infinitely cool. All the characters from the first film that you may have liked are back, with one more added from the Hellboy comics, and many others created specifically for the movie. No fan of the first film will be disappointed.

2) If you didn't like Hellboy 1 because the effects weren't that good, there were too few monsters, and/or the monsters that did show up were too generic looking, then - SEE HELLBOY 2. This film is worlds apart from the first in terms of visuals. Gulliero Del Toro took everything he learned (and all the clout he obtained) from Pan's Labyrinth and put it into this movie. It looks much better than the first.

3) If normally like fantasy films but you didn't like Hellboy 1 because you found the
film to be nothing but a Men in Black knock off with some Nazi's thrown in for added genericness, then - SEE HELLBOY 2. It's got a much more multi-layered storyline, the Men in Black stuff is over with pretty quickly, and there are some genuine surprises to be found in the film as well (especially in the first hour). One could make a case for Hellboy not even being the "main character" of the film, which in itself was a surprise. The first twenty minutes or so of Hellboy 2 felt like they were all about the films "villain", who incidentally is much more interesting and multi-faceted that the "bad guy" from the first film.

4) If you didn't enjoy Hellboy 1 because you found the way all the central characters had the tendency to act like they were 14 years old to be intolerably irritating, then- DON'T SEE HELLBOY 2. If anything, the teen angst shenanigans and less than sophisticated humor that leaked there way into Hellboy 1 (and are completely absent in the Hellboy comics) all get turned up a notch in the sequel. The "kids stuff" is done better this time, with no cliche' love triangle, less heavy handed themes, and arguably better catch phrases (if there is such a thing) but the feeling that this movie is for the under 20 set is still present. Characters over dramatically proclaim their love for each other, make stupid jokes, break into unnecessary violence (and song) at the drop of a hat, and generally just don't act there age.

5) If you liked Hellboy 2 but couldn't find it in your heart to love the film because it didn't feature the Travis song "All I want to do is Rock" for approximately 2 at the climax of a huge action sequence, then- SEE HELLBOY 2. As a fan of Travis' early work, I was completely shocked to hear this song start, then stop, in the span of time no longer than two or three heart beats, in a scene in the film where it absolutely did not belong. It was the single weirdest thing I've experienced in a mainstream Hollywood movie. For this moment and many others, Hellboy gets points for randomness alone.

In short, everything about Hellboy 1 is done better in Hellboy 2, but the sense that creators of the film saw teenagers as their target audience still remains. I can't see anyone who loved Pan's Labyrinth, or likes fantasy movies of any kind, hating Hellboy 2, but I could see how those thirty and over could find the film to be a little to "young" for them to really love.

People who need their fantasy to be dead serious, in the vein of the Matrix, the serious episodes of the X-files, or Lord of the Rings, may want to pass. On the other hand, fans of Ghostbusters, Men in Black, and the goofier episodes of the X-files, should see Hellboy 2 post haste.