Diablo

Diablo is the latest collaboration from three dynamic martial arts, action genre craftsmen; Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, and, Director, Ernesto Díaz Espinoza. The synergy of these three artists has resulted in a martial arts action film that is significantly great than the sum of its parts. This is one of the best action films released in years.

The story involves a recently released prisoner, played by Adkins, looking to seek revenge against his former crime partner and reveal long kept secrets that have the power to upend that partner's privileged life. The mission is complicated by the tenacity and resistance of Adkins' teenage kidnap victim, his partner's daughter. The addition of El Corvo, played by Zaror, a psychotic and deadly killer places Adkins' mission, and everyone's lives in mortal danger.

Diablo does what all successful, sustaining action and martial arts films do; that is, it doesn't rely solely on the action and fight choreography to carry the film. Diablo is a solid film. The script is good and plays out in a well told and tightly edited way. The filmmakers start this 91 minute rollercoaster ride by jumping immediately into the story and the action; however, the artful execution never leaves the viewer confused about what is happening, or how we got here. This is good storytelling.

There are four (4) central characters in this film. They are all well played and all carry their weight in service of the story. The film's main character, Kris Chaney, is player by Scott Adkins. Adkins is not only a solid martial arts action star whose action film credits are plentiful; he is also an adept actor, stunt man, writer, Director, and fight choreographer. He plays the role of aggrieved man on a mission well in this film. His greatest strength is in not overplaying the role. That is a sign, to me, that he has come into his own as a screen actor that transcends the genre.

Mark Zaror's chilling portrayal of El Corvo is nothing short of masterful. He strikes the right balance between No Country For Old Men's Anton Chigurth and Enter the Dragon's Mr Han, in Diablo, for a truly memorable villain. While Zaror's acumen in screen fighting has always been well established, this film makes it clear that he is also a really good movie actor, as well. I think viewers will be truly haunted by his performance in Diablo. While Adkins is, perhaps, the most recognizable member of the cast to US audiences, it is Zaror's character for whom the film is named.

As for the two additional, central characters played by Alana De La Rossa and Lucho Velasquez, their performances evidence a thoughtfulness in casting. Both are adept actors that play their parts memorably, but, like Adkins, serve the ensemble. Weakness in portrayal of either of these roles could have jeopardized the final product. Fortunately, the opposite was true; they elevate the film entirely.

Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, the seasoned Chilean filmmaker, whose martial arts homage, Fist of the Condor (2023), brought him to the attention of wider American martial arts audiences, has masterfully woven the elements of this film together into one of the most exciting and watchable films I have seen in years. His long standing relationship with Marko Zaror, certainly, benefitted this production. It is also a testament to his skills as a filmmaker that he was able to get the most out of his collaboration with Adkins and Zaror, not just as actors, but as Producers, writers, and fight choreographers. Sometimes the outcome of too many talents in one film production is destructive; that is not the case in Diablo.

While this movie could have been told as an action film, or a drama, it is, at its core, a high level and riveting martial arts action film. The thoughtful fight choreography is well designed, well executed, well filmed, and well edited. While still telling a great story, the film packs considerable action and fighting into its tight run time. We start with a great martial arts scene and the fighting does not let up. There are no throwaway fights in Diablo; they are all exciting to watch. Adkins and Zaror, respectively, have long histories of fight scene filmographies, yet their approach to this one is bold and unique and highly watchable. They capture gritty combat without the use of the dreaded "shaky cam" and the audience feels every punch and every kick. This is what martial arts film fighting should look like, but rarely does.

The three (3) filmmakers here all have a great knowledge of martial arts film history. Adkins is encyclopediac in this regards. That love and knowledge of martial arts films is felt in this one. There is no way to watch these two and not harken back to the climactic fight scene between Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon (1972). This film's fight scenes will surely be rebroadcast of highlight reels for year's to come.

Diablo is the best action and martial arts film I have seen this year, and one of the best in a long time.

The film is violent and brutal in parts.

I highly recommend Diablo.

Not bad, not bad at all.

Scott has done a few clunkers lately, so I wasn't sure what to expect here.

While not as good as the Undisputed series or Avengement, it's on the higher tier just below them to me.

A welcome return to lots of martial arts without the comedic nonsense that he too often does lately.

The actor who played the bad guy, I'd never heard of, but he did a great job as a menacing, serious opponent to Scott, especially with his "enhancements". You'll find out what I mean when you see the movie.

If you are a Scott Adkins fan or enjoy martial arts movies, it's well worth watching.

Diablo, starring Scott Adkins, feels like one of those movies you stumble upon when you've run out of options - and honestly, that's when it's best watched. The storyline is thin and predictable, with little emotional depth or originality. It leans heavily on clichés, and the script doesn't do much to keep you engaged beyond the basics.

However, as expected from a Scott Adkins film, the fight choreography delivers some solid moments. A few well-executed action sequences stand out and showcase Adkins' martial arts skills, giving the film a bit of pulse. But even the action feels a bit underused, with pacing issues and underwhelming direction holding it back.

In short, Diablo is far from memorable, but if you're in the mood for some casual fight scenes and don't care much about story or dialogue, it might serve as a decent time-killer.

A "mythical killer" finally gets a chance at revenge, by putting his enemy's daughter in danger.

Unfortunately, this is a very straightforward and simplistic story with only a handful of solid fight sequences to hold it together. And while competently made, it feels like it never delivers more than the bare minimum.. resulting in a somewhat dull product. There's little tension or suspense, and no good lines or memorable moments.

I find particularly disappointing how it fails to sell the villain as a freakish, unstoppable force. That there's no emotional weight or payoff, and how it is just not engaging or fun to watch.

I quite enjoy Scott Adkins and usually enjoy his work, but this one falls flat and explodes dead on the floor.

The first time they fough it was in the very awesome Undisputed 3 and it gave us one of the best western martial art fight of its decade.

The second time it was in Savage Dog and altough not "terrible", it was very underwhelming.

This one really was great ! Very different than Undisputed due to not only the setting but Marko having a metal hand wich plays in the story. Its brutal and its not short !

And its not only Scott vs Marko but the movie as a whole as a lot of fights and they done pretty well. Yes some of them feel a bit like "hey we need a fight here, so lets put an excuse for one" but do you turn up for a Scott Adkins movie for great story telling or for action?

The story is both good and full of holes/under developed. The relationship between Scott/Kris and Elissa was fun to follow. I think they had good chemistry and i really enjoyed the performance from Alanna de la Rossa.

Marko Zaror balding look really is not flattering but work perfectly for the character he plays in this. He look very creepy and altough his character is written as very stoic, he manage to convince in his physical acting.

Now the biggest issue is if you look a little deeper in the story, there is really major holes and plot points issues, and lots of stuff is not flesh out. This is a simple story yes, but i do think it could had used an extra 20 to 30 minutes to be flesh out a bit.

But as i said if you tune in for a Scott Adkins movie (featuring Marko Zaror), you ain't doing it for a deep story or some amazing dialogues. You want a movie about butt kickings and this is exactly what you gonna get with this.

I gave many movies 7 out of 10 and they were just "fine", and they were movies i had no intend to watch again. I could totally see myself watch Diablo again, i had a lot of fun with the movie, so therefore its gonna be an 8.

Just keep in mind i review movies on the fun i had with them first and foremost (but can aknowledge a "good movie" that is simply not for me) and i am more lenient with direct to VOD lower budget movies, so its a subjective score.