Diabolik: From the Comics to the New Movie Trilogy

4 December 2023 Redazione Lifestyle, News

Words Marco Mancino

Over half a century, 53 years to be precise. This is the time we have been waiting for someone to realize that at the moment the only movie adaptation dedicated to the “Diabolik” comics needed a refresh. Of course, the ’68 one was entertaining and quite well made, especially taking into account the limits and standards of the era, but it didn’t fully do justice to a hero, or rather anti-hero as multifaceted as the crime king. Diabolik, the man of a thousand faces, the sleek black silhouette always flanked by the faithful and beautiful Eva Kant, the one who will escape any trap, most likely because he is behind the wheel of his unstoppable black Jaguar E-Type.

In the space of just three years (2021-2022 and 2023) Manetti Bros decide to dust off the creation of the Giussani sisters and bring it to the big screen with an all-Italian production that promises to respect a comic that has always gone against the rules, showing that the secret of longevity are fresh ideas and a setting that hasn’t moved since those ’60s (sometimes even ’70s) that so fascinate. And it is precisely with a cross-section of the city of Clerville, a night interrupted by sirens in pursuit of the very ugly replica of the E-Type that the first of the three chapters by Manetti Bros begins. Action and suspense that often blinks at trash, but do so in a deliberate manner, almost as if to recall that hint of naivety that characterized those years so different and distant from ours.

After the first hectic minutes in which we would have preferred a much more similar replica to the beloved Jaguar – or a better direction of the chase scenes – the film introduces the various characters, among which the good performance of Miriam Leone in the role of Eva Kant and the excellent Valerio Mastandrea, Inspector Ginko in the eternal hunt for Diabolik stand out above the others. Since we are not a cinema place, we won’t dwell on plots, direction and other details, but it seems only right to praise the excellent photography and a direction that all in all – through ups and downs – offers a worthy portrait of a comic that deserved the great screen and that finally had it. Among the merits of the Manetti Bros franchise we have scenography and dialogues that respect the comic and the style itself, with dialogues sometimes reduced to a minimum, deliberately slow situations bordering on the grotesque, without however ever ending up comical. The defects, apart from the choice to use a terrible replica for a couple of scenes, are the performances of a handful of secondary characters, which risk ruining the final result due to an overly theatrical school.

Despite the significant lengths, Diabolik (and this applies to the three volumes) manages to intrigue and excite, especially if you get in tune with the style desired by the directors and which I consider particularly apt, because it is capable of not distorting the comic or its characters. Note of merit also for the cars fleet (ok, always ignoring the obscene replica and some subtle errors regarding repeated license plates, instrument panel off with car on the move and discontinuity between tunnel entrance and exit). In addition to the Jaguar E-Type we have an exponential parade of sixties cars, all in perfect (perhaps too much to seem real) condition and often neatly parked on the roadside. Even if you look closely you won’t find any intruders, rest assured. The work has been done well and it’s a shame that many attack the franchise by pointing the finger at those few defects – however negligible – of a trilogy that we didn’t think we wanted, but which manages the difficult task of turning the clock back to when we were grasping the new issue of Diabolik, eager to find out how he would pull off yet another seemingly impossible robbery. As far as we’re concerned, the Manetti Bros have demonstrated that they know how to do much more than just music videos. Damn, I have an incredible desire for comics again and luckily the final chapter of the trilogy is in theaters these days.