3. Hellboy
Guillermo Del Toro is one of the greatest directors of the last decade and his take on the Hellboy franchise perfectly suits his directorial vision. Hellboy is a dark character who also has many redeeming qualities, which puts him perfectly in line with what Del Toro has tackled on screen before. The darkness of Hellboy also allows him to avoid repeating himself by adding a tone of humour to his adaptation. Del Toro is adept at presenting tales that show the inherent humanity to be found in horrific stories and Hellboy is truly one of his best in that regard. The story of Hellboy and his pursuit of normalcy is one that anyone can relate to even when its presented in such an unorthodox way. In any normal movie he would be the villain, his name is Hellboy after all, but here he is given an honest and realistic treatment that makes the movie far better than many of the other cookie cutter superhero movies that have been released since it came out. Plus, the opening 15 minutes accomplish more than most superhero movies can in 90 minutes.