A follow-up to the 2004 movie adaptation of Mike Mignola's groundbreaking comic book, "Hellboy II" reintroduces us to the red-skinned, cigar-chomping spawn of Satan known as Hellboy (played by Ron Perlman) and his colleagues at the top-secret Bureau for Paranormal Research and Detection. They hunt wayward ghosts, goblins and ghoulies up and down the Eastern Seaboard, when they aren't battling personal problems.

The script, by the film's director, Guillermo del Toro (who shares a story credit with Mignola), neatly balances the grandiose with the intimate. Hellboy and the BPRD are pressed to find the exiled elf Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), who aims to reclaim the Earth from human domination by reactivating an ancient evil - the Golden Army, an indestructible fighting force believed lost to legend.

While Hellboy tracks down Nuada, he has to deal with a new boss - the ectoplasmic Johann Krauss, literally a bag of gas (with a scene-stealing vocal performance by "Family Guy" creator Seth McFarlane) - and domestic tension with his pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) over where she can keep her toothbrush. Meanwhile, Hellboy's amphibious colleague Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) strikes romantic sparks with Nuada's twin sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton).

Del Toro's spooky and inventive creations - from flesh-devouring "tooth fairies" to hill-size rock guardians - are not-too-distant cousins to the beasties who populated his Oscar-winning "Pan's Labyrinth." But for every moment of epic grandeur, when the fate of the world is hanging by a thread, there are also tender romantic moments, some gut-busting laughs and the best use of a Barry Manilow song in a soundtrack ever. And del Toro glides effortlessly from one mood to another.

This balancing act would be impossible without Perlman, who handles Hellboy's gruff charm and outsider angst with equal parts campy humor and heartfelt charm - all while clad in bright crimson prosthetics. Perlman, with plenty of help from del Toro, makes Hellboy the most dynamic superhero of the summer.

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Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Where - Theaters everywhere.

When - Opens today.

Rating - PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some language.

Running time - 110 minutes.

Bottom line - The big red hero returns in this bold and imaginative mix of action, humor and romance.