Rating: B
Dir: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza
Star: Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Alana De La Rossa, Lucho Velasco
I’d been looking forward to this one for some time. It reunites Adkins and Zaror, who both had supporting roles in John Wick: Chapter 4, though did not meet on-screen. Their partnership goes back to Undisputed III: Redemption in 2010, so teaming them up, under the director of Zaror’s Mandrill, had a good deal of promise. I’m pleased to report, it largely delivers, with both in fine form, duelling over Elisa (De La Rossa), the teenage daughter of a Colombian gangster, Vincente (Velasquez). Each has prior history with Vincente, and good reason to want payback for his treatment of them.
Kris Chaney (Adkins) used to be Vincente’s criminal partner, before spending 15 years in jail. El Corvo (Zaror) did some work for Vincente, and was also betrayed, in an incident which left El Corvo with an artificial hand and a grudge. Now, each wants Eliza, for radically different purposes. I’ll say no more about that, though Chris did figure out her near-namesake’s motivation before the movie revealed it. Kris gets there initially, triggering carnage in Colombia, as first Vincente’s men, then El Corvo, seek to take her off his hands. This all ends up in a three-way confrontation at a derelict industrial facility. Well, almost derelict. The F-size shredder – the kind seen in Facebook videos, disposing of bicycles, etc. – still works real good.
Needless to say, this is at its best when both men are in action. Some other scenes are slightly hampered by them being in Spanish. I turned the subs on and got… “[Man speaking Spanish]” and occasionally, “[Man continues speaking Spanish]” Fortunately, a wife who speaks the language was sitting three feet to my right, for translation purposes. That said, the scene introducing El Corvo is great. It involves his artificial hand, an unfortunate waitress and cake. He’s a creepy looking mo-fo to begin with: the worst haircut on a psychopath since Anton Chigurh. It sets the stage very well, and I think casting Zaror as the villain was a sensible decision. Similarly, Atkins works better as a heroic type for me, than as a bad guy e.g. Ip Man 4.
We are, naturally, here for the violence, and this works nicely. The finale is well-shot and makes good use of the environment. It ends up teasing a possible sequel, and I’d definitely be down for that. However, I think my favorite sequence took place earlier, with El Corvo chewing his way through a slew of minions to get to Eliza. It’s brutal, hard-hitting and bloody – that’s before Kris shows up. I was not surprised by Adkins showing up and doing work for this. But on the basis of this, I’ve a feeling I may have to check out more of Zaror’s work. Mind you, I said exactly the same thing after Mandrill. Just the seventeen years of his filmography between that and this to watch. Now, if someone can just explain why it’s called “Diablo,” a word never used in the movie…
This review is part of Project Adkins, covering the movies of Scott Adkins.