Just a reminder that Hellboy II is glorious. If you are fan of Ray Harryhausen, or any of del Toros movies or even Barry Manilow then you owe it to yourself to go out and get this thing. It’s exactly the kind of film fans will watch over and over again and it will bring a smile to your face every time. It’s also likely to, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, move you. del Toro deconstructs myth here even as he lays it on thick blending elements of martial arts cinema and even anime into the already familiar genre bending style that makes the Hellboy films so funny, so thrilling and so wondrous. There are monsters and creatures galore and intensely detailed worlds on display that almost take the bad taste out my mouth when I say the phrase cinematic spectacle. del Toro does a lot of things for show but his movies always have the depth to justify the extra icing on the cake. Fans hoping for a bigger part for “the fishstick” get it in spades. Doug Jones makes the most of his creature appearances and gets to stretch his acting muscles in a romantic subplot and even a little singing.

The extras here are great and include two commentaries, one by del Toro and the other by cast members Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor and Luke Goss. Why no Perlman or Doug Jones? It’s hard to imagine. But of course we get a lot of everyone in the literally hours of featurettes, behind the set visits and deleted scenes. The third disc is simply a digital copy that can be downloaded onto your laptop, phone or whatever other device you want to use to destroy the experience of watching something that was clearly created to be watched in a large format.