I too am confused by the bitching, I saw it last night and JESUS FUCK it was the most visually fantastical film I've seen since, I don't know, City of Lost Children probably. I honestly didn't like Pan's Labyrinth very much, but this was just... wow.
Doug Jones though, I really think he did a pretty shitty job, I really missed David Hyde Pierce.
I thought the elf chick was pretty rad. And the elf dude, man, he was like Sephiroth if Sephiroth weren't an overrated mama's boy.
Oddly though I didn't really laugh. The comedy was good, but it didn't actually make me LOL like the first one did.
The giant Cthulhu elemental thing was... pretty fucking rad to put it mildly.
What else... better choreographed martial arts fighting than even Matrix Revolutions, though not as much of it, obv.
I am not sorry I paid the counter dude my six bucks instead of just walking into the theater, because I totally could have because he wasn't looking and obviously didn't give a shit anyway (I got there right as the trailers were ending so I was the only person there other than him).
Oh and Kraus was pretty awesome, did not guess it was McFarlane.
If they do a third (and I'm sure they will) they are seriously going to have a hard time making it anywhere near as good, unless they just bring Del Toro on board again.
Though having watched Planet Terror like three times this week I think Rodriguez would do a good job.