Diabolik

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.

I know about "Diabolik" as a character from a comic book, though I actually never read it. So as I sat down to watch this 2021 Italian movie from directors Antonio Manetti and Marco Manetti, I didn't really know what to expect.

Writers Antonio Manetti, Marco Manetti, Michelangelo La Neve and Mario Gomboli put together an entertaining storyline and script for the movie. Sure, it was a pretty straight forward crime heist mystery, but there was still something that worked about it. Perhaps it was a mixture of the storyline and character gallery.

With my very limited exposure to the Italian cinema, then I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble at all. But they definitely had some good talents on the cast list, especially the leading actors Luca Marinelli (playing Diabolik) and Valerio Mastandrea (playing Ginko), as well as leading actress Miriam Leone (playing Lady Kant).

There is a good amount of mystery, action and character development throughout the course of the 133 minutes that the movie ran for. And I will say that I didn't find a single dull moment throughout the runtime of the movie. So thumbs up to directors Antonio Manetti and Marco Manetti on that accomplishment.

Visually then "Diabolik" was good. It wasn't a movie that made use of a whole lot of CGI. But the effects in the movie worked well in favor of the overall movie. And the wardrobe department definitely also did a good jobs.

If you haven't seen "Diabolik" yet, and enjoy a heist movie laced with mystery elements, then give this 2021 Italian movie a chance.

My rating of "Diabolik" lands on a six out of ten stars.

To say I had a great Hype for "DIABOLIK" would be an understatement. Truth to be told, it was one of my most expected movies of the year.

Based on the premises, from the directors to the cast, from the settings to the various elements, I was pretty much sure to give my full trust to the whole project.

And I can say that my expectations were satisfied for the most part.

I sincerely can't understand what all those people who bailed this picture as a total failure, both professional critics and general audience, did actually watched.

This movie is veeeeery far from the disaster many declared (seriously, some folks almost put this on the same level as VENOM, what gives?!)

Of course, we're not talking about a perfect movie, but still a pretty decent one, and THAT should not make you think it's worthless.

As an avid reader of the original comic, I can say that for the most part its atmosphere was totally respected. Maybe a bit more, because one problem many will have is about the style.

The directors voluntarily reproduced the narrative and technical style of a '60s movie, and this won't suit well with modern audiences. But is it really a major flaw? I don't think so.

To prove my point, I'll say that I watched the movie with a friend who doesn't know ANYTHING about the original comics, or about those kind of movies ... and yet, he was never bored and truly enjoyed the picture.

There are several benefits, starting with the two protagonists, an always diligent Luca Marinelli as the dark thief, and a simply stunning Miriam Leone that shows both the incredible beauty and the solid competence of Eva Kant, way more than a mere "femme fatale".

And the technical side, from the cinematography to the production design, serves perfectly to put the audience in that period.

But still, there are some big flaws, like the way certain plot points are solved, and the most important, at least for me: Valerio Mastandrea is just not credible as Ginko, or as a policeman in general, like my friend said. Luckily he appears for the right time, without resulting too invasive in the plot, but still plays a very important role that he can't just give enough justice (quite ironically XD)

But all in all, THIS IS NOT A DISATER, but a pretty decent experiment that deserves a chance, and maybe a bit more of mental opening from audiences. Really, I assure you that it won't be a waste of time.

Long Live Giussani Sisters, and long live Diabolik!

Surely we are faced with a film with several defects, especially in the final part where the script goes too far and the photography is perhaps too like a TV movie, but the film is still fun and entertaining and has a nice retro 60's taste, the cast good expecially beautiful and talented Miriam Leone as Eva Kant, also excellent Mastandrea as Ginkgo, Marinelli, who was very good in They call me Jeeg, in this film he struggles a bit but still gives an appreciable performance as Diabolik. In conclusion a nice film but nothing more. My rating is 6/10.

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.