Danger: DiabolikAt the same time I like and dislike European comics. How is that, you ask? Well, the best comic book writers are Europeans. Period. Or to be more precise – the Brits. Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Mark Millar, etc. are all from the UK, but became famous writing comics in the USA – “The Preacher”, “The Punisher”, “Wanted”, various “X-Men” arcs, “Watchmen” , “The Boys”, “Transmetropolitan” are all “made in Europe”.
On the other hand, there are more traditional EU comics, and when I say that I mean Italian – Dylan Dog, Zagor, Nathan Never, Martin Mystere, Tex Willer, Alan Ford, etc. While all of them are considered classics, but truth to be told - they cannot hold a candle to the works of Ennis, Moore or any of the mentioned authors. Ennis and Moore are probably my favorite comic writers, their works are full of real character development (sometimes a little too much, even), filled with thrills, emotions. You’d be surprised how deep and complex can be a character of a crazed vigilante, i.e. The Punisher, when in hands of a brilliant writer such as Ennis. And compared to that, every EU comic is over simplistic, kiddy-like in its storylines and writing style, hence my dislike for them.
Among all of these, I liked one character though – Diabolik. Maybe because he is different than most comic heroes, or rather, he is not a hero, but an anti-hero.
Like the famous Arsene Lupin, Diabolik is an international master thief. Cunning, intelligent and a master of disguise, he can sneak anywhere and steal everything. Diabolik is aided by Eva Kant, his beautiful lover and partner in crime. Following their footsteps is insp. Ginko.
This is the only live action adaptation of the comic, filmed in 1968, directed by the Italian director Mario Bava. “Diabolik” feels like James Bond, but without the budget. Mario Bava did some pretty good things with it, implementing some elements in his filming style that were a little ahead of its time, but I wouldn’t call them visionary, though. They tried to keep the comic book feel with the wide range of colors everpresent on the screen. The musical score is also great, composed by the famous Ennio Morricone.
But… the film as a whole did not satisfy me. The story is, in my opinion, very poor. One could almost say it doesn’t exist, it doesn’t really “suck you in”. It starts with Diabolik stealing something. Insp. Ginko devises a plot to capture him – he’ll force the mafia to do it for him by using various schemes. This ultimately fails. Then Ginko has to transport a huge-ass gold bullion. Diabolik steals it. The end. There is no tension, nothing that will keep you really interested in what’s going on because it's that kind of film where thing just sort of happen, without some real motives that drives the characters to do what they do. When someone asks you: “What’s this film about?” the most accurate answers would be: “Diabolik steals stuff.” Why? Well, because he does. Oh, OK then.
The other thing is the acting. OK, maybe it was meant to be like that, but I’ve seen porn actors/actresses deliver better lines. The acting is unbelievably campy most of the time, especially from Marissa Mell who plays Eva Kant. Although, this campiness has some certain charm about it.
All in all, I can see Mario Bava had something going here, but in the end it seems it passed me by somehow. In my opinion, “Danger: Diabolik” is nothing more than a mediocre adapt a story of a character that deserves better.
Rating: 6/10
- review by Ventilation Shaft
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