Diabolik (2021)
Directed by Antonio Manetti
No — Diabolik is not woke, scoring 3 out of 100 on our wokeness meter.
The Manetti Brothers have adapted the long-running Italian comic Diabolik with the reverence of men restoring a fresco, and the result knows exactly what it is: a kitsch-soaked heist picture about a master thief with a fondness for rubber masks.
Consciousness Markers
Eva Kant is a self-possessed femme fatale who becomes Diabolik's equal partner and discards the diamond to shed her past, but this is classic noir archetype rather than a modern feminist thesis.
Diabolik robs wealthy heiresses and banks, but the theft is pure genre spectacle with no class-conscious 'eat the rich' messaging.
The cast is entirely Italian, which is the natural default for an Italian production rather than a deliberate diversity initiative. No conscious representation casting is evident.
No LGBTQ+ characters, relationships, or themes appear anywhere in the heist plot.
The film contains no engagement with race, racism, or racial identity; the story is a period European crime caper.
No environmental or climate themes are present.
No body positivity themes or messaging appear in the film.
No neurodivergent characters or themes are depicted.
The film is a faithful adaptation of a 1960s comic and makes no attempt to revise or reinterpret historical events.
The film is a stylish, sensual noir entertainment with no didactic or preachy messaging directed at the audience.
Why it received this score
The Manetti Brothers have adapted the long-running Italian comic Diabolik with the reverence of men restoring a fresco, and the result knows exactly what it is: a kitsch-soaked heist picture about a master thief with a fondness for rubber masks. Luca Marinelli plays the title character as a man of few words and fewer scruples, gliding through a 1960s Clerville of nightclubs, hotel suites, and bank vaults. The plot concerns a pink diamond, a blackmail file, and a guillotine, which is more than most capers bother to offer.
Miriam Leone's Eva Kant is the most interesting presence here. She is a self-possessed femme fatale who sells the diamond before Diabolik can steal it, becomes his equal partner, and finally throws the jewel into the sea to shed her past. This is the classic noir arrangement, a woman with a history and a talent for deception, and the film treats it as exactly that. Any reading of it as a thesis on female agency would be generous. The cast is entirely Italian, as an Italian production about Italian comic characters would naturally be, and the film has no interest in drawing attention to the fact.
The film does have style, and plenty of it. Theft is presented as craft, not politics, and the wealthy targets exist to be robbed because that is what wealthy targets are for in this genre. No sermon waits at the end. There is no lesson about greed, no lesson about the planet, no inventory of the many ways we fail one another. It is a sensual, faintly ridiculous entertainment, and it would be insulted to be told otherwise. We score it accordingly, with the sober gratitude of a sommelier presented a vintage that turns out to be perfectly drinkable and nothing more.
A note on classification: this is the first entry in a trilogy, adapted from a comic series, and it is neither a remake of the 1968 Bava film nor a sequel to anything. It simply is, which is its own modest achievement.
Analysis generated by our Consciousness Algorithm
Synopsis
1960s, the city of Clerville. The forthcoming visit of heiress Eva Kant, who'll be bringing a famous pink diamond with her, catches the attention of Diabolik, the infallible and elusive thief whose real identity is unknown: while trying to steal the jewel, he finds himself bewitched by Eva's charm, a feeling she may be reciprocating. But the police, led by relentless Inspector Ginko, is rapidly closing in on him...
Questions about Diabolik
Is Diabolik woke?
No — Diabolik is not woke, scoring 3 out of 100 on our wokeness meter. That earns it a verdict of Ultra Based.
Does Diabolik have any woke elements?
Very few. None of the 10 markers reaches 30, the level where a marker counts as present; the highest is Feminist Agenda at 12.
How does Diabolik compare to other 2021 movies?
It ranks #229 of the 242 films from 2021 we've scored; their average is 23. The wokest is The Forever Purge (83).
How is the Woke Score calculated?
An AI-assisted process researches the film and its reception, scores it 0–100 on ten markers, then combines those into one 0–100 Woke Score. It measures a specific set of 2020s cultural themes, not film quality.