It doesn’t take long to get to the action in Diablo. By the end of the first scene, we’ve been treated to a well-staged fight where direct-to-video action legend Scott Adkins beats the crap out of two guys who try to extort him for more money after smuggling him into Columbia. It only takes 40 minutes to get to the first of several “main event” movie throwdowns between Adkins and Chilean martial artist Marko Zaror, who’s also become a notable name to action aficionados in recent years. Both were recently rewarded for their small-screen genre success with significant big-screen roles in John Wick: Chapter 4, and apparently, they conceived this movie while on the Wick set together. For those who only care about the fights, there is good news to be had here. Diablo brings the goods in that department, with director Ernesto Díaz Espinoza and cinematographer Niccolo De La Fere letting their stars cook while a handheld camera swings around them in a way that’s kinetic without ever devolving into a muddled “shaky cam” experience. Zaror and Espinoza have collaborated on a series of Chilean action films, and Zaror’s first English-speaking role was in Adkins’ Undisputed III: Redemption in 2010. So there’s a lot of history here, and it seems clear everyone had good intentions in delivering some bone-crunching spectacle in Diablo. Mission accomplished on that front. Taking a larger view, though, this is a movie that makes some odd choices and takes some dark turns, which makes it a bit tougher to recommend to anyone past the most hardcore of action enthusiasts.
What Is ‘Diablo’ About?

Image via Lionsgate

In Diablo, Adkins plays Kris Chaney, a drifter who shows up in Columbia with plans to kidnap Elisa (Alana De La Rossa), the teenage daughter of a local crime boss named Vicente (Lucho Velasquez). Once he absconds with her, the full might of Vicente’s private army is unleashed upon the two, as well as a horde of bounty hunters and hitmen, none more threatening than Zaror’s “El Corvo,” a psychopathic killer with a metallic hand whose motivations seem to be his own. Trying to stay alive is tough enough, but Kris is also tasked with convincing Elisa that this is what her dead mother wanted for her and that her family history is more complicated than she might assume. It’s all pretty standard stuff, but as the skeleton frame of a story meant to hang a series of increasingly brutal fight scenes on, it works well enough. Where problems start to occur is with Zaror’s character, who is very much not a standard action-film baddie and sometimes feels beamed in from a different genre entirely. If it works, that’s great, but it’s hard for me to say it works in Diablo. Neatly bald on top with plastic-framed glasses sitting crookedly on his face, the relentless and seemingly unstoppable El Corvo is very clearly a mix of No Country for Old Men’s Anton Chigurh and the Terminator. Zaror even gets a scene where he stitches himself up without displaying a hint of emotion that would make Arnold Schwarzenegger proud. The problem is that the character is so reprehensible and misogynistic that it throws the tone of the movie out of balance. You might now be saying, “But he’s the villain, right?” And you’d be correct. Depiction does not equal endorsement, and these are not necessarily problems in and of themselves.

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But Anton Chigurh and the Terminator work because they’re interesting characters, compelling to watch despite their evil deeds. Zaror’s El Corvo never feels like a complete enough character to justify watching him slide the knife that he keeps hidden under his detachable hand into the mouth of a pastry-shop worker, who he murders soon after (This has nothing to do with the plot, by the way, it’s just character set-up). Later, in a giant club brawl, I almost wanted to commend the movie for making as many women as men part of the endless wave of combatants, but it does get uncomfortably noticeable when El Corvo starts taking extra pleasure while tearing through the ladies, including one who’s clearly an innocent bartender. Later on in the movie, he lets some men who get in his way live. No such luck if you’re female.
‘Diablo’ Tackles Darker Material Than It Can Handle

And, look, I’m not being a prude here! There are obviously movies out there where unchecked misogyny and how women are more likely to be the victims of violence are legitimate issues to explore through their characters (the original Terminator does this really well). But is a meat-and-potatoes, Scott Adkins-led actioner really a strong choice to be one of those movies? I would posit that it’s not … or, at least, that Diablo isn’t a strong enough film overall to successfully make a case for it. And that’s because El Corvo’s obvious hatred of women isn’t at all what the movie is about; it’s just a thing that happens (and keeps happening). So, instead of supporting some kind of overarching theme, it ends up being an uncomfortable distraction in a movie that’s otherwise not that kind of thriller. And this remains the case even if Adkins and Zaror, who both have “story by” credits on the film, had none of this on their minds and were just trying to craft a villain who’s memorable because he does some messed-up shit. You could argue they succeeded, but it also makes the movie less fun to watch. Okay, I’m off my soapbox now. If none of the above sounds like a turnoff to you, then by all means feel free to take pleasure in Diablo’s simple action joys. At one point, Adkins throws a beer bottle at Zaror, who punches it in midair with his metal hand, exploding it into a thousand pieces. The film was actually shot in Colombia and looks pretty great, especially considering its limited budget. And there’s no doubt that Adkins, who’s about to turn 49 years old, can still bring it. Every roundhouse kick packs the force of an action star still at the top of his game, and while I’d love to see him hitting the highs of the Ninja series again, there’s always a baseline of fun to be had watching him become a one-man wrecking crew against an endless series of human punching bags. Diablo easily reaches that baseline. Its surprisingly dark undertones stop it from rising much above it. Diablo comes to select theaters and VOD services on June 13.

Diablo

‘Diablo’ brings the action, but the movie gets tripped up by a villain who doesn’t quite fit the story.

Release Date

June 13, 2025

Runtime

100 minutes

Director

Ernesto Díaz Espinoza

Writers

Mat Sansom

Pros & Cons

Fans of Scott Adkins and Marko Zaror will get the top-shelf action they’re expecting here.
The Columbia setting makes for an interesting backdrop.

‘Diablo’ Has some dark, misogynistic undertones that stand out in a way that don’t really serve the film.
Plotting is extremely basic, even by VOD action-movie standards.