Explosive
Summary
Diablo is Scott Adkins and Marko Zaror at their best giving us plenty of awesome fight scenes and proving that both are still at the top of their game. It’s well-paced with some heartfelt moments and is one of the year’s best fight flicks.
Plot: After his release from prison, one man makes it his mission to right a terrible wrong by revealing a secret that could end his life. Scott Adkins stars as Kris Chaney, a warrior who seizes the daughter of a Colombian gangster to fulfill a noble promise to the young girl’s mother. When her father enlists both the criminal underworld and the terrifying psychotic killer El Corvo (Marko Zaror) to exact his revenge, Kris will need to draw upon everything he has ever learned — in and out of lockup — to stay alive and keep his word.
Review: Diablo has been one of my most anticipated action movies of the year as the pairing of Scott Adkins and Marko Zaror never disappoints. I’m pleased to say that this exceeds all expectations and delivers the action goods.
Scott Adkins plays Kris Chaney, a recently released convict who kidnaps a young girl called Elisa for reasons I will not go into here. He incurs the wrath of her father Vicente (Lucho Velasco) and a psychotic killer known as El Corvo (Marko Zaror) is hot on their trail.
A lot of times these days we complain that a film’s villain was weak and forgettable, but thankfully Marko Zaror changes that with El Corvo who is one of the best antagonists I’ve seen for some time. His metal hand which conceals a knife is action movie gold and his introduction is quietly sinister, but haunting at the same time. Eating some cake has never felt more threatening…
The performances are all strong with Kris demonstrating a lot more patience with Elisa than I would have. She is headstrong, but Alanna De La Rossa feels believable in the role considering the environment the character grew up in.
Where Diablo shines are the fight scenes which happen every few minutes, so the pacing never lets up. We’re here to see Adkins vs. Zaror and it’s worth the wait; they face off against each other a couple of times and Scott really takes a beating here. He once again proves he is one of the best action stars in the business today as does Marko. Both can still move well and I think I sprained my ankle 3 times just watching this movie.
At 90 minutes, there isn’t a wasted second giving us time to get to know the characters while also giving us all the beatdowns we could ask for.
I think director Ernesto Díaz Espinoza is an underappreciated talent as I also loved Redeemer and Fist of the Condor which he helmed. He knows how to get the best from Marko Zaror and when the two of them pair up we are promised plenty of bone crunching action.
Overall, Diablo is Scott Adkins and Marko Zaror at their absolute best with plenty of awesome fight scenes and solid performances from all involved. Marko Zaror shines as one of the best villains of the year and seeing him throwdown with Scott Adkins is everything an action fan could want.