O Grande Diabolik

"Diabolik" is nowhere as bad as people make it out to be: it's certainly flawed (mostly from pacing issues) but it's solid, well-directed and acted, and fairly respectful of the source material. Is this a masterpiece? No. Is this the "rebirth of Italian genre movies"? No, but it's fun and entertaining to watch if you don't expect to go see Citizen Kane.

A note: obviously, Italian press reviews are hating on this movie only because they tried to make something different from the otherwise monotonous theathrical panorama: it's beyond me why every single time someone tries to make a genre movie in Italy, press is always demolishing the effort, there's no surprise the film catalogue isn't evolving much as it should.

As a lover of the original comics (I still have the first 690 numbers), I would say that this is a nice movie. The scenography, the locations, the actors, all have a good "noir" style. Whoever is expecting a more fast rhytm of the action and more special effects doesn't understand that this is an entire recostruction of a paper comics, of the 60s, and it seems that the movie itself has been filmed and produced in those years... We realize this when we see the plastic door of the refuge of Diabolik, the masks, and other details which seem rough and simple, when cinematography didn't have yet the CGI or advanced special effects. Then with a slow rhytm action our attention is more focused on the particulars of the scenes, the characters, the single details, as well as we do when we see the designs on paper. Genious. Ginko character vote 3 (actor Mastandrea is not as pretty as the paper character and has a wrong Roman accent..), Diabolik Marinelli vote 7 (just ok, and with the same eyes and height of the original character :), Eva Kant 10 perfect! (The beauty and the charm by Miriam Leone). Ok to find some defects in the movie, but the lovers of the comics will enjoy watching it.

Amoral thief Diabolik is planning to steal a pink diamond from the wealthy Lady Eva Kant. An expanded adaptation of the third issue of the comic (L'arresto di Diabolik, 1963), where Kant's character is introduced.

The movie, set in "the late 1960s" in the fictional Clerville, is crafted like an Italian giallo of the time. Aside from the attention to scenography and costumes this stylistic choice is clear in cinematography, the use of editing, and the screenplay. The pace is much slower that what you would be used to in an action movie or thriller today, giving more of a vague vintage 'mystery' vibe, and sometimes relying too much on exposition. None of the camp of Mario Bava's "Danger: Diabolik", however: this is still a movie that takes itself seriously.

The main actors have good chemistry, with Eva Kant emerging as the real protagonist of the movie, but the cold and detached portrayal of the title character isn't inspiring and the actors beyond the main trio are forgettable.

Overall a charming and well-made work, although the style may not go well with all audiences.

It is an entertaining movie.

The soundtrack is beautiful.

It is clear that they put a lot of effort to crete the 60s vibe with a lot of liminal spaces.

You have all the tropes in it: the sensual woman, the attractive and skilled villain and the determined detective.

I think that the masks part was an inspiration from "Fantômas".

I had mixed fellings about how should I feel about a movie that glorifies crooks and killers but now I'm sure, I hate it because even if some of people killed haven't been clean they haven't been dirty enough to justify a killing and most of them have been regular people anyway.

This is a '60 movie for the "modern" audiences where the bad must be presented as good.

As a huge fan of the character, and having felt let down by the 1968 cartoonish effort to bring Diabolik to screen, I was really pumped to learn that this film was being made and had great expectations for it.

Well...

Truth is that I sat in horror during the entire first act as I could not believe the absolutely incompetent direction, writing and acting displayed on screen. The Manetti brothers should stick to TV films and soap operas as they are clearly not cut for this genre.

But hey what do I know? They are already working on the second and third installments lol.

I want to mention that when Claudia Gerini entered the screen, for a moment I forgot that I was watching a mediocre school play. I wish she was in for more. I also really felt that Marinelli, although he did a decent job, was wrongly cast as Diabolik as he does not have the phisique du role. Same for Leone, which beauty and hair pulled up are not enough to make her a believable Eva Kent. Music score was generic and did not help propel the story.

Although I was hoping for the contrary, Diabolik 2022 doesn't stand a chance against the many international titles out there in the same genre, and as a first installment of what it appears to become a trilogy, unfortunately it is not really promising.