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Brilliant Mexican director Guillermo del Toro once again demonstrates his commitment to making even the most fantastic tale of a paranormal group of monster fighters seem believable.

As in the first, Del Toro relies more on his superb cast's ability to instil emotions, rather than purely on computer-generated effects.

While the sequel is nowhere near as good as the original, there is continuity, with John Hurt coming back for a brief five minutes in the opening sequence, where he plays "dad" to the hero.

While Ron Perlman took much of the centre stage in the first flick, he gives his co-stars more room to shine here. Selma Blair and Doug Jones as his sidekicks are great as is Jeffry Tambor as the group's long-suffering boss who is getting an ulcer trying to keep Hellboy a secret, except that the hero likes to meet the press.

As with the first, the body count is high, but there is a stronger attempt, probably by the producers, to keep the action from going overboard. As such, this Hellboy is visibly toned down, although Del Toro does his best not to compromise too much.

You must remember that the first "Hellboy" was cut by as much as 10 minutes and it was only later that Del Toro's full 132-minute film was restored.

This movie runs just 110 minutes, with the likelihood that much has been cut out to please mediocre censors, even if this is mainly a picture for the family.

The Golden Army that Hellboy tries to stop is a formidable opponent indeed, but toward the end, the scene most people will enjoy is seeing Hellboy and Abe, his aquatic friend, getting smashed on beer as they wallow in self-pity over their romantic misfires.

Hancock

This latest attempt to rescue Will Smith's faltering career, scorched by a string of recent misfires, fails to do its job.

"Hancock", with so much going for it, fizzles out soon after its handful of smart jokes are exhausted and we are left with a colossal turkey that compares with Smith's other failures such as "Hitch", "I Am Legend" and "I Robot" - flicks that have hurt his star billing.

The fault is Smith's alone. He appears to have no understanding about what he can or cannot do when playing a super-human.

For a supposedly blundering, boozing, blistering buffoon, he comes across as being excessively polite. When scenes demand he use strong language, he appears much too clean and contrite.

This is what kills "Hancock", 92 minutes about a fake impersonating a misfit.

While superheroes are allowed to be goofy, even stupid, they are not without pedigree.

The one moment where you cringe most is when Charlize Theron tells him where superheroes come from.

"They are God's angels", she says. In one stroke, the film dies.

Why bring God into the picture is anyone's guess, but in the pantheon of comic book mutants, such as X-Men, and galactic beings, such as the Superman and Silver Surfer, or accidental heroes, such as Spider-Man and Hulk, God never comes into the picture.

None of them would qualify as "angels". But leave it to "Hancock's" dopey creators, who have probably never read a comic in their lives, to complicate the story.

In any case, spoofing superheroes is nothing new. It has been done to death.

From "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" to "Hellboy", anti-social cape-crusaders have made their mark to the point where "Hancock" appears unoriginal and fake.

Finally, casting Theron as Hancock's "technical wife" is one of the worst casting decisions in a long while. Not only would it infuriate many Black sisters, but Theron and Smith simply lack chemistry.

Jason Bateman as the public-relations specialist who tries to help improve the superhero's poor image is one of the better actors in the film.

But still, the overdose of bad script, quirky settings and shoddy acting take their toll to make this one of the more painful excursions to the cinema this year.

At a glance

Hellboy 2: the Golden Army

Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, John Hurt, Jeffrey Tambor, Doug Jones

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Running time: 110 minutes

Hanuman rating: Four

At a glance

Hancock

Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman

Director: Peter Berg

Running time: 92 minutes

Hanuman rating: Two