Diablo

Every Thursday my mother Lena watch the Swedish TV morning show Nyhetsmorgon on TV4 to listen to Swedish film critics talk about the cinema premiere´s of the week. After the TV morning show she always send me a text message about what films that were reviewed plus the ratings of each film. This tradition my mother started several years ago and she continues to do this. Why you might ask? Since her son is a independent film critic plus i read a lot of movie reviews, she became interested in all of this as well. So we will continue this tradition for many years ahead, while i give movie recommendations to her as well. One thing i have noticed when it comes to British film critics is how positive most of them are while they review films of action star Scott Adkins. For example if you listen to British film critic Screen Stars review of the 2018 action film The Debt Collector, you will clearly hear how much he enjoyed this film in his YouTube review. If you want to read a very positive American review of The Debt Collector i highly recommend visiting The Action Elite´s web review of this film. Have i personally seen this title? Yes i have, i actually bought a physical copy of this film from Great Britain. The plot of this film is basically focused on two characters French ( Scott Adkins ) and Sue ( Louis Mandyor ) as debt collectors travelling across America to get paid back money that people borrowed. This is actually a charming film, especially because of how good chemistry Scott Adkins and Louis Mandyor have on screen and the action scenes deliver a good time as well. Director Jesse V. Johnson ( who have directed several of Scott Adkins films in the past ) manage to combine both action and comedy in a way that reminds me of films in this genre from the 90´s. Definetely worth a watch if you just want to be entertained for a moment. Speaking of Scott Adkins one of the films he released this year called Diablo ( directed by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, the director of the 2014 action film Redeemer ) is out on VOD on different platforms, so i just had to rent this film since i am a fan of his work. Is this an action film that proves once more that Scott Adkins is the future of action films, or is Diablo not as good as you might have hoped for?

Kris Chaney ( Scott Adkins ), a recently released ex-convict embarks on a perilous mission. He kidnaps Elsa ( Alanna De La Rossa ), daughter of Vicente ( Lucho Velasco ), a very powerful gangster leader in Colombia. This also causes more problems when Vicente´s hitman El Corvo ( Marko Zaror ) goes looking for them both. 

How many of you remember the 1973 action film Live And Let Die, the very first time legendary actor Roger Moore played British spy James Bond? All of you? I must admit i am impressed. In this classic film you have a Bond villain known as Tee Hee Johnson ( played by legendary actor Juius Harris from the 1972 blaxploitation crime drama film Super Fly ). This villain have a pincer-tipped prosphetic arm that has a claw instead of a hand. In the film Diablo you have an assassin known as El Corvo ( played by actor Marko Zaror who i recognized from the Scott Adkins film Undisputed III: Redemption ), who have a prosphetic arm with a knife, covered with a fake hand that he can remove. This character is one of the highlights of this film. He have no sympathy for anyone and communicate in brutal ways to deal with anyone standing in his way. Scott Adkins does exactly what you would expect him to do, delivering cool martial arts scenes mixed with classic VHS video violence from the past. Scott´s character Kris Chaney reminded me of John Rambo in the 5th Rambo film known as Rambo: Last Blood. In that film John travels to Mexico to rescue his daugher from trafficking, while in this film Diablo we find out hes the faher of a young woman named Elisa ( Alanna De La Rossa ) living in Colombia, trying to save her from a future filled with criminal activities. The chemistry between father and daughter characters works well and when they argue it feels natural. There are a couple of dialogue scenes between them that i enoyed as well, being a little bit more serious. Diablo is not original perhaps but if you want a really violent action movie, filled with really good looking fight scenes then you will definetely have a good time with this one. This is the kind of film that knows exactly what audience it was made for and i honestly had a good time watching Diablo. Bring out some snacks, have some cold beer ( whiskey is welcome as well ) and rent Diablo on VOD. I promise you will not be disappointed if you do.

Rating: DDD