There's no script to speak of, but del Toro devises every battle to wow even the most jaded martial-arts mavens; the dissolutions and implosions are beautiful.

It is directed by Guillermo del Toro: by "directed" I simply mean he turned his camerawork over to the computer graphics surgeons who cut, slice, dice and vivisect the material to mount a gross eyeassault of CG sequences.

Del Toro is a stylish horrormeister, and he has created an evocative, foreboding atmosphere. But only a fan of this kind of mayhem could find a way into the story. And only a critic, sworn to serve, could stick it out to the end.

Twenty years ago, Wesley Snipes and Guillermo del Toro paved the way for everything from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to ‘Twilight’...