Diabolik - Ginko all'attacco!

No pun intended - I assume you have seen at least the first Diabolik movie (the predecessor for this that is and not the Mario Bava movie from the 60s). With that in mind, all major returning characters are being played by the same actors ... except the one that should matter the most: Diabolik ... it is a different actor altogether! For whatever reason (I did not check for the reason to be honest) ... I won't speculate.

What I can say is that this does not fair as good as the first movie. I can only hope that part 3 ramps things up a bit ... maybe with another Diabolik actor? I would not really be surprised. We get some new characters and actors added - mainly Monica Belucci - if you know her, you probably love or loved her at one time. She still has the charisma - but some people who criticize the movie say she is not close to the characters she is supposed to portray ... something I can't confirm or deny, since I have not read any of the comic books (graphic novels) ... not the best throwback ever (go to the original), but not the worst either.

The sequel beats the same path as Diabolik (2021): a stylistic throwback to the 1960s and the (European mystery) cinema of the time, with a close adaptation of the feeling of the comic book. Unfortunately this means that it carries all the flaws of its predecessor, coming across as somewhat flat in performance, or didactic in the exposition. The overall vibe of the first movie was interesting enough to make it worth watching, but now the novelty effect starts to wear off. Isn't the planned trilogy too much, an experiment that has gone on for too long not to come across as self-serving?

The new plot doesn't make up for it. Eva Kant is replaced as the real focus of the film by Ginko, the police inspector relentlessly trying to track down Diabolik (like Ganimard to Lupin). Unfortunately, he's not as captivating of a character as Ms. Kant. Luca Marinelli has been replaced by Giacomo Gianniotti as the actor performing Diabolik, and thankfully he's barely given any screentime: while he may be physically more convincing he's less skilled than Marinelli and he's nowhere mysterious or charismatic enough for anyone to believe he should be this story's lead. Monica Bellucci simply shouldn't have been cast.

Not terrible, but it's a notch down from the first and it's increasingly showing a lack of direction. I worry for what's to come.

This film isn't satisfying. The image of the king of terror is a mirage. The character of Diabolik is difficult to represent in a film but the choice of this actor is a mistake bigger than the choice of the actor of the first film. Gianniotti is a gorgeous man but the beauty of this man isn't different from the sex appeal of Diabolik. His apparitions aren't unexpected and spectral but to tell the truth with this man the character of Diabolik results boring.

Valerio Mastrandrea as Ginko results better than Diabolik but worse than in the first film. The reason probably is the general plot of the story too long and with very few action scenes and for a Diabolik's story is a fatal error.

Monica Bellucci as Althea is an evanescent character, totally extraneous from the story.

The only character that is very well characterized is Eva Kant, interpreted by Miriam Leone, that is similar to Eva not only for physical elements but also for the personality.

The movie is overall very nice and enjoyable. Nice reconstruction of the Diabolik world. Nice costumes. Nice cartoonish scenography. Good overall acting for such kind of film. Just one big stain on it... and therefore a big question..... why to ruin an overall well made movie with the horrible acting of Monica Bellucci and why choose (or accept) to soft focus (or photoshop) her face (and only her) all around the movie when she appear in the scenes? I know... her presence will probably open additional markets to the movie... but I stil don't understand.... Maybe she paid to be in the film if soft focused?

What else to say? If the Italian film industry keeps finincing movies with taxpayer's money, they will never be as relevant as they were in the post WW2. Thieves call themselves moviemakers in that lan. Every film and television productionm becomess a money grabbing feast at vthe expenses of the taxpayers. They literally steal millions from the budget for personal gain or to cover for their companies debt. It's mayem, and it show in this miserable production.