Of course, just how much more would depend on how the fanboys will feel about sequences like Red and Abe drunkenly singing along to Barry Manilow’s Can’t Smile Without You. With the origin story out of the way, del Toro wastes little time in getting down to business. When a longstanding truce between the underground-dwelling original sons of the earth and humankind is broken by Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), the rebellious son of King Balor (Ron Perlman’s old Beauty And The Beast co-star Roy Dotrice), something must be done to prevent him from reawakening the killing machines known as the Golden Army.

Also back to save the day is the aquatic Abe Sapien (Doug Jones, now also doing the vocals that last time were handled by an uncredited David Hyde Pierce), as well as long-suffering B.P.R.D. bureaucrat Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor). Joining the highly dysfunctional family is the Germanic Johann Krauss (John Alexander and James Dodd) a protoplasmic robot who constantly gets in Red’s face.

With writer-director del Toro given free license to go where his singular vision takes him, Hellboy II plays like Guillermo’s Greatest Hits with even hotter visual effects - Liz’s engulfing flames have come a long way in four years - and a winking nod to The Wizard Of Oz tossed into the crazy mix for good measure.

Reuters

Lost star Fox spots Smoke

Warner Bros. has acquired Billy Smoke, an upcoming comic book series and is developing the project as a vehicle for Lost actor Matthew Fox, who is in negotiations to star. The story centres on an elite hit-man who is nearly killed during a botched job. He realises that his only way to find redemption is to rid the world of all assassins.

The comic book series, written by B. Clay Moore and illustrated by Eric Kim, will published by Oni Press in 2009. Moore’s books have a knack of getting snapped up by Hollywood, with his comic Leading Man, another Oni title, being developed at Universal and his Hawaiian Dick set up at New Line. Fox was recently in theatres with Speed Racer and Vantage Point.