Did they really save the best for last in "Mystery Science Theater 3000"? Was this movie the least awful that was ever featured in the series? Well, it certainly got close. It was pretty weird to see such a well mediocre movie featured on the show and I am still happy to see this either way. This movie features a secret agent or vigilante named Diabolik fighting a villain named Valmont. Valmont is a pretty nice villain. While the story doesn't make much sense, you have to admit that it does have pretty impressive action scenes and it fits the style of the James Bond movies at the times. Unlike so many bad imitators, this does manage to have a distinctive style of its own.The sets are probably what make the film. They even have a pretty interesting plot about stealing gold and some interesting scenes where gold is frozen. I actually do like the ending. It gives off a really nice mysterious vibe and doesn't take the easy way out. Still, it does come off as too silly sometimes. It's a great way to end the series and probably the closest I'd come to recommending a film on its own that was featured on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". **1/2

Ah, Italian cinema from the late 60's. With tongue firmly planted in cheek, Mario Bava brings the world an adaptation of the comic Diabolik. Complete with cheesy set pieces, laughable heists, and over-the-top sexuality, this film may not be quite bad enough to be good, but it isn't enough to be bad either. A lot is fun here and that must count for something. Feel free to check your brain at the door, (or perhaps you shouldn't even wake up that morning with it), because once you start questioning how emeralds can be shot out of a gun without gunpowder, the charm will be missed. There are enough sci-fi aspects to bring it out of the reality we think of, so when craziness occurs, please just go with the flow. It will be a better experience as a result and our villain's, (or is he the hero?), winks at the audience will bring a smile rather than an eye roll as you press the stop button on your remote control.I couldn't help but think about one of my favorite films CQ while watching this. From the camera-work of the car chase scenes, to the conveniently placed circles on the shower doors, to the bed romp with money, Roman Coppola's film borrowed a lot. However, what his film had was a dramatic storyline about the director of the cheesy sci-fi film being created rather than just be about that overblown story itself. Diabolik is its own tale without any meta-narrative aspects, so the fun factor did leave the building after the first couple heists. Once you steal 10 million dollars and then a priceless emerald necklace, does the theft of a gigantic bar of gold really hold any interest? Not really for me because it becomes the same recycled plot line over and over again with incompetent government police on his tail. For a 100-minute film, it did drag a lot for me, more for the repetition than anything else. Everyone is having a grand ol' time so it is definitely fun to enjoy the ride, a little variety would have been nice though.There are moments that did definitely work. Diabolik scaling a tower wall with suction cup gadgets and spying the catapult on top is great fun; his girlfriend Eva's sex appeal getting a truck driver to abandon his car is obvious yet well done; and the new Financial Minister's plea to the public to pay what they believe they owe in taxes is priceless. Without any real plot other than the police trying to catch a master criminal and his girl while they get away with all the goods, it is definitely the parts more than the whole that you should focus on. I wouldn't be surprised if the adaptation is from multiple comics in the series, strung together here as a cohesive whole when they may have been solitary books. The fact that our mob boss Ralph Valmont is dispatched so early on helps me believe this because is surely felt as though that would end the film, but no, it keeps on going to the next great caper.With hammy acting and some down right horrid actors, there is no way a movie like this wouldn't have a cult following, even if not directed by a schlock master like Bava. Marisa Mell is femme fatale to the fullest, never allowed to show she is anything more than an accomplice for the love of her man; Adolfo Celi is campy in all the right ways as Valmont, a brazen crime boss who thinks he's one step ahead but always two steps behind; and Michel Piccoli tries his best to be the straight man amongst the eccentrics as Inspector Ginko, the man who has made it his life work to catch Diabolik. However, the entire film hinges on the great facial expressions and calm coolness of our lead played by John Phillip Law. His stone-faced serious delivery of lines like, "don't worry, I could walk on the sun with this suit," are just plain top-notch. The painted on tight rubber wardrobe allow for his eyes to take center stage as they attempt to frighten us with their diabolic nature and the sly smile of success is great whenever he outsmarts the authorities. Law takes the role so seriously that the absurdity works even more as he thwarts the advances by those looking to capture him. This is Diabolik, the greatest criminal of our time, not even liquid gold can keep him down.

MASTER PLAN: steal everything. Based on the Italian fumetti/comic strip, this was director Bava's follow-up to "Dr.Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs" and, at first glance, would seem merely a slight upgrade from that earlier unfortunate campy fiasco. But, with the availability of a decent DVD version, the picture's strengths become more readily apparent. Bava's ability with design and color enables a fairly successful transposition from comic books to movie screens. Many might point to "Dick Tracy"(90) as another such heartfelt attempt to capture comic strip ambiance on the screen, but that one was far more blatant & apparent. Bava's creativity due to a lack of a huge budget resulted in a more subtle interpretation of comic book action, as incongruous as that sounds when talking about an adaptation of a comic strip. Some of the images here, whether large buildings or close-ups, are startling - something seems a little off in the image but you're not sure what it is. When you think about it or view it again, you realize it's a comic book come to life. Bava was also fond of filming a frame within the frame, resulting in some intriguing compositions. This also invites comparisons to "Barbarella," released a little later. But, Barbarella's images are awfully static when compared to all the movement we see here - everything and everyone moves here - whether on foot, in a sports car or on motorcycles.Since this was the sixties, one also can't help but think of the James Bond craze of this period. The obvious difference between this and the Bond imitators is that the central character is a villain, not some agent-hero. Diabolik (Law) specializes in outrageous acts of thievery; at the point the film begins, the establishment (government & police) are well aware of him, to the point that they resort to unusual methods of transporting valuables in an attempt to avoid him; of course, they fail. Diabolik wears a weird comic book-styled suit, with a mask that covers the lower half of his face; yet, you can still see the outline of his mouth. He also has a weird, sinister laugh, though this is not over-indulged. He operates from a fantastic underground hideout, an expansion of the Batcave from the "Batman" TV show. Of course, he does not work with the authorities but against them, a rather subversive message in those pre-Watergate times, where-in the audience is placed in the position of rooting for this, at best, anti-hero; but, remember, this is from Italy (see Sergio Leone's 'Man-With-no-Name' western trilogy). Also, rather than hanging out with a younger version of himself, as Batman did, this guy gets it on with a cool chick; ah, yes, the villains do have all the fun. Keep in mind, though, his violence does extend to killing cops, so it's not just a laughing matter.There's no 'main' plot line; the authorities make a deal with a local bigshot gangster (Celi, the villain from "Thunderball") to capture or eliminate Diabolik, but this plot is wrapped up way before the conclusion. The story switches to an attack by Diabolik on all the economic bastions of power, a rather direct act of terrorism (though there are no realistic repercussions, such as showing fatalities) and then there's some climactic action involving all the gold on a moving train. It's as if the filmmakers took several disparate plots from the comic strip and welded them together in one film; but, it holds together pretty well, against expectations. The ending is a little on the eerie side. Since this is, overall, an amusing and even silly take on the super-hero/super-villain genre, it may be why "Mystery Science Theater 3000" chose it as one of the films they made fun of, an honor they saved for the most silly movies out there. But, this has enough esoteric style and panache to place it above those clunkers and MSTK3 should have saved their efforts for some other truly dumb film. Anti-Hero:6 Villain:6 Femme Fatales:6 Henchmen:5 Fights:5 Stunts/Chases:7 Gadgets:6 Auto:7 Locations:6 Pace:6 overall:6

If there's a failing of most filmmakers when it comes to bringing a comic book to the big screen, it's a fundamental misunderstanding of the term "comic book." It goes all the way back to the origin of the comic book in this country, when "comics" were primarily humorous. These "funny strips," which appeared originally in newspapers, were eventually cobbled up into collections and sold as "comic books." Hence, the label. Like an albatross, that label was draped around the neck of one of the darkest characters to ever grace the pages of a comic book- BATMAN- when television producer William Dozier brought The Dark Knight to the small screen in the 1960s. Campy and as in-the-closet funny as the law would allow, it became a huge success. When Mario Bava decided to bring the fumetti DIABOLIK to the screen, he took his cue from the BATMAN TV series. The sometimes psychedelic 60s silliness (characters passing around "whacky tobaccy") was a perfect blend for the telestupidness of the series. One can't help but groan, remembering Batman's anti-shark repellent, when Diabolik, prior to unleashing laughing gas on an unsuspecting audience, takes his anti-laughing gas pills. Terry Thomas's prissy performance, the whirling images come-a-whirling straight out of the TV series, and John Law's exaggerated posturing all help make DANGER: DIABOLIK forgettable. Nor does the plodding snail's pace help.