Hellboy II: The Golden Army has no bad scenes and about five great ones, the best of them as memorable as anything in sci-fi & fantasy cinema. It’s a far out fairy tale, more fun (and more weird) than the first Hellboy, but it lacks the satisfying coherence of a great start-to-finish story like Pan’s Labyrinth or the original Star Wars.

The tone of Hellboy II is set as the film opens with our hero’s adoptive father reading a fairy tale to him. Say goodbye to demons, say hello to elves, trolls and fairies. In this way Hellboy II feels more like Pan’s Labyrinth than the first Hellboy.

There’s a Troll Market scene, which is a long, cool drink of distilled joy. As Hellboy and friends explore the market nestled beneath the Brooklyn Bridge (where else would trolls hang out?) every monster, every activity, every backdrop is eye-popping. It’s reminiscent of the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars (”I don’t like you either!” and Ben Kenobi cuts off a guy’s arm), but the Troll Market is even better than Lucas’ Mos Eisley. Hellboy’s essentially Han Solo and Chewbacca in one guy, as dangerous as he is funny. His interrogation tactics take cues from slapstick comedy, and the results are surreal hilarity (one of Hellboy’s acquiescent victims is called a “chicken” by his own big, baby-like tumor).

Heading into spoiler territory (be warned), a scene near the end of the movie feels so primal it seems to be plucked from some nightmare we’ve all shared. Hellboy is dying from a chest wound and his lover, Liz Sherman, asks a passing goblin for help. The goblin leads them to a “friend” who turns out to be the Angel of Death. Death can extend Hellboy’s life, but he tells Liz that she should know: Hellboy’s destiny is to usher in the Apocalypse, and Liz will suffer more than anyone else. When the Angel of Death says this you believe it, which makes Liz’s decision all the more remarkable. It’s a visceral human dillemma embedded in the fantasy. A total victory for Del Toro. An unforgettable encounter buried in a tired story arc motivated by a villain that hates humanity for destroying the environment (watch out for the moral club heading toward your head). I don’t think this trope has to be boring, but del Toro handles it with an uncharacteristic lack of imagination.

So, Hellboy II is less than the sum of its parts. Imagine one of those images put together using hundreds of smaller, pixel-like photographs. You’ll be breathless looking at many of the smaller pieces of Hellboy II, but when you back up you’ll see hotel art. Still, the movie is a hell of a lot of fun and–albeit in short bursts–resets the bar for great sci-fi/fantasy filmmaking.