Review of the movie "Diabolik," an old-fashioned adaptation of the popular Italian comic book
An elusive masked thief tries to steal a pink diamond and meets love.
In the fictional town of Clairville, the elusive thief Devil (Luca Marinelli) evades police chases again and again. The criminal's main adversary, Inspector Ginko (Valerio Mastandrea), is furious. The devil rides around in a fancy car, and his hidden lair is full of clever gadgets. He is always one step ahead of the law enforcement agencies. It seems that often Devillik robs banks and the rich not for the money, but out of a sporting interest. Each new case - a challange. No one knows what the thief looks like - he always wears tight black tights and a mask. Newly widowed Eva Kant (Miriam Leone), a classic "Bond girl," arrives in town. She is in possession of the famous pink diamond. Inspector Ginko is convinced that there is no way the Devilman could pass by such a jewel. The policeman wants to use Cant as bait and set traps beforehand. One thing the inspector does not take into account is the possible affair between the Devil and Lady Cantt. And no one can stop the two of them anymore.
The Devil Man as a character has a rich literary and cinematic history. He first appeared on the pages of an Italian comic book of the same name in 1962. He was invented by the sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani, who were inspired by the looks of actor Robert Taylor and the image of Fantomas. At home, comics about the Devilman continue to be released today, with over 800 volumes already out. In addition, about a popular hero made an animated series and even a radio show. And in 1968, Mario Bava, one of the chief directors of the genre, made the first film about the adventures of a talented thief.
There is no doubt that for Italian culture the Devil is an iconic character. In the rest of the world, including Russia, this robber has not acquired such popular fame. Perhaps the new adaptation will help the hero go beyond the status of a local phenomenon. Creators paintings, apparently, are convinced of success, because in the production are already in the second and third parts of the adventures of Devolik.
Before the comic book, directors Antonio and Marco Mainetti made crime films about modern Italy. They have never worked with a big budget (and Devil's Helper has 11 million euros, a solid sum for a European movie) before.
The devil man is a character from the 1960s. This is also the time when the action of the film unfolds. The filmmakers carefully recreate the era, paying special attention to the central character. He rushes around in a stylish Jaguar, hides from the police in underground shelters, his costume looks old-school - there's something to it. Lady Cant manages to try on a dozen dresses, while Inspector Ginko doesn't change his attire. Nostalgic viewers might think they've entered the world of "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg."
"The Devil" inherited from the 1960s and the leisurely rhythm of the narrative. In the film, the owners of the safes tell at length and in detail how the cunning design of the next masterpiece of the steel industry is arranged so that the elusive thief can break into it in a few moves. The thief's main trick (in addition to the modern technical equipment) is the ability to take the form of any person, he is a chameleon. The criminal makes a mask of a hotel employee or even a deputy minister of interest, and no one is able to tell which is the original and which is a quality fake. By the middle of the film, the same repetitive maneuvering gets tiresome. And when the Devilman looks like actor Luca Marinelli (the lead actor in Pietro Marcello's drama Martin Eden), there is nothing outstanding about him. Even though he is always dressed to perfection, there is no reasonable explanation as to why women hang on him. It's just that the old-fashioned protagonist is supposed to be like that. The devil man is not charismatic, he has no zest of his own. The great outlaw walks around with an impenetrable face for most of the screen time, making the surrounding characters and the audience wonder what it all means. It looks very mysterious! And the scenes with Lady Kant and the seductive thief are reminiscent of advertisements for expensive perfume or luxury brand clothes: the characters embrace and kiss on a yacht in the middle of the sky-blue sea, and the camera reluctantly and unhurriedly rises, delaying the moment of parting with such a beautiful couple.
The Devilman as a character has absorbed the traits of more famous heroes: these are the already mentioned Fantomas, James Bond, Batman, and Inspector Gadget. He seems to have nothing of his own. Or you have to read 800 volumes of adventures beforehand for the originality of the character to show up in any way. The Devil is an ordinary man, he has no superpowers: the only thing he inherited from "The Avengers" is an impressive timing - well, no self-respecting comic book movie can last less than two and a penny. And the Mainetti brothers couldn't help themselves.
The Italian film lacks not only the speed of events, but also self-irony. The film is completely devoid of humor. All the characters are involved in an old-school spy action film with very serious faces, nobody is going to play "Agents A.N.K.L.". "The Devil" still looks like a parody of everything and at once, but if the picture had been primarily a comedy, it would have looked more advantageous.
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