In the ongoing deluge of comic-book adaptations; Hellboy ranks well above average. Having turned down an offer to helm Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in favor of bringing Hellboy's origin story to the big screen; the gifted Mexican director Guillermo del Toro compensates for the excesses of Blade II with a moodily effective; consistently entertaining action-packed fantasy; beginning in 1944 when the mad monk Rasputin--in cahoots with occult-buff Hitler and his Nazi thugs--opens a transdimensional portal through which a baby demon emerges; capable of destroying the world with his powers. Instead; the aptly named Hellboy is raised by the benevolent Prof. Bloom; founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense; whose allied forces enlist the adult Hellboy (Ron Perlman; perfectly cast) to battle evil at every turn. While nursing a melancholy love for the comely firestarter Liz (Selma Blair); Hellboy files his demonic horns ("to fit in;" says Bloom) and wreaks havoc on the bad guys. The action is occasionally routine (the movie suffers when compared to the similar X-Men blockbusters); but del Toro and Perlman have honored Mike Mignola's original Dark Horse comics with a lavish and loyal interpretation; retaining the amusing and sympathetic quirks of character that made the comic-book Hellboy a pop-culture original. He's red as a lobster; puffs stogies like Groucho Marx; and fights the good fight with a kind but troubled heart. What's not to like? --Jeff Shannon