RG
Roberto Giacomelli
•Dylan Dog once had the singular profession of "nightmare investigator," but a diplomatic incident with the forces of darkness and a serious romantic disappointment pushed him to reinvent himself as a simple private investigator, handling routine cases like marital infidelity. When Elizabeth contacts Dylan to handle the mysterious murder of her father, which she claims was committed by a monster, Dylan refuses, but the subsequent murder of his assistant Marcus, apparently ripped apart by a monstrous beast, convinces the investigator to look into Elizabeth's case, which now also involves him personally.
Eventually, Dylan Dog had to make it to the cinema; it was in the air for too long, and there had been too many failed attempts even in the pre-pre-production phases. "Dylan Dog," the best-selling comic in Italy, was supposed to be a TV series in the '90s, then a movie, first in Italy and then in America. In the end, the Americans won: the film rights were acquired by Platinum Studios, and after more than ten years of stagnation, here is the result. A satisfying result? Terrible? No, simply mediocre. "Dylan Dog – The Movie" is a movie made for American teenagers, who obviously don't know the source material and find themselves on screen with just a cool character who kills monsters. A popcorn product created specifically to support a rich merchandising, a sort of "Van Helsing" (yes, the one by Sommers) with less budget, less CGI, and a bit more on the side of the monsters.
So a "Dylan Dog – The Movie" that has little to do with the "Dylan Dog" comic, but we already knew that from the numerous leaks that preceded the film's release. In reality, however, the connections and references to the comic are far more numerous than we could have expected: Dylan has a galleon under construction on his desk, plays the clarinet, has a Scotland Yard mug, in a photo he is seen with a man dressed as Groucho Marx, he has the Maggiolone (though with inverted colors, otherwise Disney would claim its Herbie!), wears the classic black jacket/red shirt outfit, possesses a particular sex appeal for women, says he has a "fifth sense and a half," lives on Craven Road, and furthermore, in the Italian version, he also utters the proverbial "Giuda ballerino." It's all there, except for the London setting, and ... Dylan Dog! Because the one brought to the screen by Brandon Routh is not Dylan Dog, at least not the Dylan Dog that the Italian reader knows. The physical resemblance is there at times, although here we have a younger, more athletic, and cleaner Dylan—perhaps closer to the drawings of Giovanni Freghieri—but he lacks the charisma and personality that have always distinguished the Nightmare Investigator. Routh does not bring passion and personality to his character; he is a protagonist like many others, rather empty and unable to create empathy with the audience. Furthermore, some screenplay choices that also make him an action man clash greatly with the prototype (terrible is the scene where Dylan and Marcus burst into Vargas's villa armed to the teeth).
It is understood, therefore, that the comic fan will have a lot to say, and references like the names Sclavi and Bonelli given to two elderly vampires will not help to make the bitter pill go down. But taken as a standalone film, as a product for those unfamiliar with the cartoon Dylan, does this movie work? As anticipated, "Dylan Dog – The Movie," from a purely cinematic standpoint, is simply mediocre, a popcorn movie aimed at a teenage audience that is certainly watchable but fails to convey much in the long run. The story lacks spark; in its twists, it is even predictable. The characters are unremarkable, both on the human side and the monster side, with a particular note of demerit to the factions of vampires and werewolves, which shamelessly copy "Blade" and "Underworld" for interactive mechanics and iconic representation. Among the monsters that populate "Dylan Dog – The Movie," the zombies come out the best, who are undoubtedly superfluous for the narrative economy of the story but are represented in an original way. The living dead in this film are cowards who need recovery communities like Alcoholics Anonymous to accept their undead condition and stock up on anatomical spare parts in "body shops." The scenes with the zombies are perhaps the most Dylan Dog-like, sometimes surreal like some of the comic's historic finds.
A note of merit goes to the look and makeup of some monsters, especially the super zombie and the final demon, which are attractive and well-made.
The cast, on the other hand, is weak. Routh ("Superman Returns") has already been discussed, not very fitting for the character, but Taye Diggs ("Equilibrium"), who portrays the vampire Vargas in a lackluster way, and the factotum Peter Stormare ("Constantine"), who is the werewolf leader Gabriel, do not fare much better. Unconvincing is the athletic Anita Briem ("Journey to the Center of the Earth"), who plays Elizabeth, while Sam Huntington ("Fanboys"), who plays the zombified assistant Marcus, is likable, though sometimes overly grotesque. Directed by comic artist Kevin Munroe ("TMNT") and written by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer ("Conan the Barbarian").
Unconsciously, I would have preferred an outright terrible film about "Dylan Dog" rather than this anonymous horror/fantasy/action/comedy, a mishmash of monsters and genres made with mediocrity by people who don't know and aren't interested in knowing who "Dylan Dog" is and the phenomenon it has been.
Fans will rage, and everyone else will forget as soon as they leave the theater.
Never has a reboot been more necessary!
