At the end of WWII, the Nazi's were desperate for victory, turning to the immortal Rasputin (Roden), who opens a portal to hell and brings a demon infant across into this world. But "Hellboy" is intercepted by the English spy Professor Broom (Trainor, then Hurt), and now 60 years later as a red-skinned, stone-fisted adult (Perlman) he helps the FBI to deal with supernatural nuisances, along with the brainy water-bound Abe (Jones, with Pierce's voice) and the fire-starting Liz (Blair). As Broom's protege Myers (Evans) forges a relationship with Hellboy, a kind of love triangle develops between them and Liz. All while they're coping with the reappearance of Rasputin and his cronies (Beran and Hodson).

Yes, the plot is rather complicated, and Del Toro takes a refreshingly offhanded approach, keeping things strangely realistic amid the outrageousness of the plot. Like the X-Men, each major and minor character has a personal journey, and they interact with warmth, dry humour and edginess. All are very well-played, and the daring casting of Perlman pays off with a sardonic, energetically charged performance that fills the screen with sheer attitude. He's the coolest of movie superheroes; even though he's a demon, we want to be him!

These depths of character draw us in and make the film much more than an exercise in eye-poppingly inventive design, make-up, effects and action sequences. The extraordinary colour spectrum makes it simultaneously gothic and modern, while the script is involving, witty and surprisingly moving, often at the same time (such as in the deepening Hellboy-Liz relationship). Yes, the humour sometimes gets a bit corny, but it emerges from the characters rather than making them the butt of the joke. And Del Toro bravely resists the temptation of overblown Hollywood-style finales to the action or romantic plotlines--both are understated and clever, leaving us with something to think about while we wait for the sequel.