Hell of a boy!

''Did you ever lose track of him?''

''Well let's see - there was that moment, when I had the train on top of my head...''

In 1945, a Nazi secret society summons a demon, but the ritual is disrupted and the creature taken by Professor Bruttenholm (Hurt). Now Hellboy, the star employee of the US Bureau For Paranormal Research And Defence, must stop evil monk man Rasputin, who wants to immolate the world.

Ron Perlman: Hellboy

Hellboy might not have the name-recognition factor like major heroes have the luxury of having but Guillermo del Toro brings us the audience swiftly up to speed on artist-writer Mike Mignola's comic book hero.

First, we are treated to an absorbingly detailed World War II prelude.
Then after we meet the present Hellboy who equals a hulking flaming red guy, complete with sawn-off horns, a stone right hand and teenage attitude due to his unique aging, coping with slimy tentacled threats to the fabric of reality while nurturing a crush on a fellow agent, troubled pyro-kinetic fire-starter Liz Sherman (Blair).

There are many characters and situations to display here, on hand is sensitive fish-man Abe Sapien (voiced by David Hyde Pierce), Del Toro brings in a new BPRD agent (Evans), developing a romantic triangle by having him attracted to Liz. This thread is easily the flimsiest, but so much else is going on that it doesn't get in the way of the film.

Del Toro turned down other projects to make this with a bigger budget in return for putting a star in Hellboy's giant boots, but he was right to hold out for Ron Perlman, thanks to his gruff, blue-collar charisma, a character who could easily have been just a big, scarlet special effect works like gangbusters.

Meanwhile, Blair and Hurt (as the hero's adoptive pop) provide calming outward interests, but the best supporting turn comes from the always-welcome Jeffrey "Hey now!" Tambor, as the smarmy bureaucrat boss.

Del Toro's already been down the comic-adaptation route in Blade II, Mignola's series is also congenial material ripe for cinematic treatment, with its blocky stone-and-iron architecture translating wonderfully to the screen. It's just a shame the promised reign of giant evil squid gods is too nebulous a threat to play as well as an old-fashioned fist-fest.

As usual, a human-shaped foe (here, Kroenen - a near-immortal Nazi assassin in stylised gas-mask, with a wind-up key in his heart and dust in his veins) is more interestingly hateful and remains a memorable aspect to Hellboy than the final encounter with a huge tentacled monster.

One of my fave Comic book adapts, Hellboy has dark humour and action galore and one I never get tired of watching or experiencing.

8/10