Diabolik

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.

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.

The story take up in a precise and detailed way number 3 volume of Diabolik.

The actors are perfectly portrayed, the choice of the two main characters is right, even if Diabolik appears very detached, a little less so Ginko, his movements are right but a little too Roman accent.

Even if the story tells about the first meeting and the union of the protagonists, the film gives more importance to the figure of Eva and less to Diabolik.

Direction promoted only in the second part of the film, soundtrack no!

Questionable screenplay.

2 hours are too many and the first half hour is too slow.

Vote 6,5.

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.