Drawing on and synthesizing plot devices mainly from the graphic novel compilations Seeds of Destruction and The Right Hand of Doom, Hellboy's' story opens in 1944 on a Scottish coastal islet. There, Germans anxious to reverse the course of World War II to favor their side, seek to let loose and use the uncanny powers latent in the ancient ruins found on the off-shore locale. To achieve this, a military squad led by Commander Kroenen (Ladislav Baren), a bionically enhanced, blade-wielding martial arts expert; his advisor the mysterious Russian occultist Rasputin (Karel Roden) secretly still alive through unholy means; and Rasputin's lover, the leather-clad, amazon, she-wolf Ilse (Bridget Hodson) conduct an arcane ritual to summon and harness the forces of the Lovecraft-inspired, horrific 7 Lords of Chaos. Fortunately for known history, a contingent of American soldiers under the auspices of scholar of the paranormal Dr. Trevor Bruttenholm, a.k.a. Dr. Broom (John Hurt), arrives. They manage to prevent the enemy from completing the interdimensional gateway's opening, closing the portal only to find an entity got through — a small, red, devilish baby with tail, horns and enlarged, rock-like right hand.

Cut to the present day where, at the clandestine, New Jersey-based Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), the now aged Dr. Broom has raised the otherworldly foundling like a son to become the 6'5" eponymous, heroic Hellboy (Ron Perlman). Also under the good doctor's care we find the telepathically gifted, mutant man-fish Abe Sapien (Doug Jones with voice-over by David Hyde Pierce). Additionally, Dr. Broom works closely with a specially assigned government operative, the world-weary Agent Clay (John William Johnson) and re-recruits the estranged, emotionally tormented, pyrokinetically-powered beauty Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). These just-mentioned folks devote themselves to opposing the "things that go bump in the night— but we bump back!"

When Dr. Bloom finds out he will soon die of cancer, his chosen successor – the "pure of heart," smart, novice Agent John Meyers (Rupert Evans), despite his youth and inexperience in the field — quickly wins the respect of his outré colleagues, especially Liz, whose feelings and John's in return grow warmer than mere professional regard. This causes some consternation for Hellboy, also yearning for the firestarter but afraid to show it for fear of rejection. Soon all thoughts of romance get put aside when the magically immortalized Kroenen, Rasputin and Ilse re-emerge plotting to achieve the world domination goal they strove for 60 years before. The antagonists' unleashing in New York City, Sammael (Brian Steele) — a huge, ferocious, slimy, tentacled, even egg-laying, hell-hound that produces two when one is downed — proves just the beginning of the dangers, globe-trotting adventures and squid-like, creepy creatures that Hellboy and his allies will face, events building in intensity until the searing climax.

A geek-fest guaranteed to delight cognoscenti, among whom the director/writer and the star belong, Hellboy will please wider audiences too by adroitly balancing background detail with captivating, dimensional character development, plenty of humor, snappy dialog, pulse-pounding action and the state-of-the-art CGI SPFX of this type of genre cinema — del Toro's love and respect for the source material obvious in every frame.

Star Ron Perlman was born to play the titular role — perfect emoting gruff, warm-hearted, blue-collar-type affability through the incredible Rick Baker designed prosthetic make-up exterior — Hellboy's fondness for pancakes and for cats by the dozens, endearing true-to-persona traits. Abe Sapien, another astonishing Rick Baker prosthetic make-up job and a fascinating entity, deserved a much larger role, ditto for Liz, Dr. Broom and the villains who could have been fleshed out more.

Minor quibbles aside, dazzling sets, costumes, make-up, cinematography, and fine performances — all communicate effectively the eclectic, atmospheric genre mix of the original Hellboy comics, making this film adaptation worthy to rank among the best of its kind, X-Men 1 & 2 and Spiderman. Marco Beltrani's excellent score adds the right symphonic notes to this rousing romp. For pure entertainment packed with impressive visuals, wit and thrills, Hellboy offers a helluva good time!