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.

No doubt, this movie is very bad, much worse than predecessor, even worse than the worst comic-book episode. Plot is naïve with lot of illogical points. One has to invest a lot of suspension of disbelief if wants to endure it. But... If you do not take it seriously, you can relax and enjoy it. So bad that it is good, great guilty pleasure, genuine camp. By the way, reconstruction of 1960s is nice, with great accessories and, of course, Italian cars and Italian cities (with my favorite Trieste).

Ms. Bellucci's acting was so bad that I think she was self-ironical and intentionally making fun of the movie. I prefer Mr. Marinelli from the first movie as Diabolik. Better actor with charisma and better looks for main character. Mr. Gianniotti luckily does not have a lot of screen time what is kind of ironic too. Ms. Leone is gorgeous as always.

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.

As a real fan of Diabolik (I still hold the first 690 original set of comics books), I can say that I preferred the first movie, this second episodes ok has the same noir/comic slow action which is good, it brings a new actor as Diabolik (vote: 8) and I say he is perfect, cute guy like in the comic books and the eyes and the face reminds the original character, Miriam Leone again as a perfect Eva Kant (vote:8) .. but what is missing: ... the refuge is the same as in the 1st movie, too many shots are on Ginko (we have to digest actor Mastandrea with his Roman accent.. vote 5.... and Ginko was a cute man in the comics!), then a catastrofing acting by Monica Bellucci (vote 3 for me ... the actress is the anthitesis of the high class of Altea...). The overall rating is just as flat as a six.

I'm not a big fan of the character, but I like the dark and mature universe of the comic. The adaptation seems to me quite faithful to what I have read.

The costumes, the location, the actors, the script, all the ingredients were there to make a descent movie.

The only problem is the lack of talent of the directors (although two). The acting is not very coherent. There are a lot of weird and uninspired shots and the cutting reminds me of Sam Raimi's early work.

It's less mature and violent than the previous one, it has lost some of the toxic mood there was with it's psychopath hero and most murders are off-screen. The actor has been replaced by another with a more pleasant physique, but without the nuances of his predecessor.

Monica Bellucci doesn't bring much to the film, Miriam Leone (the hero's girlfriend) and Valerio Mastandrea (the inspector) do a good job.