Being a Scott Adkins diehard comes with the caveat that you kind of expect most of the 500 movies he makes in a year to range from “that was fine” to “holy fuck, this is terrible.” Every once in awhile though, you’ll get an Avengement or UniSol: Day of Reckoning or One Shot or Undisputed III. Diablo is one of those gems that immediately ranks among his best work.

I’ve been a fan of Espinoza’s for awhile, I love Fist of the Condor and Mandrill, but here, he synthesizes his refreshingly weirdo tendencies into a pretty great, emotional story. It’s not often that you can come away from a DTV-heater feeling the weight of the carnage all around you, but damn, this one got me a bit!

I was sent an unfinished cut of this and haven’t seen it in a few months so I don’t know how much has been changed, I’ve heard the score is little different, but fuck, it’s stayed with me. The fights are tremendous, some of the best of Adkins and Zaror’s career. And jesus christ, ZAROR. Easily his best performance. He’s on some truly unhinged shit here. Forever obsessed with a guy as handsome, jacked and tall as him is so willing to be bald and freaky on screen. It rocks.

Loved this. Best action film of 2025.