Manila Kingpin lived up to the hype.
As an 80's kid, I had a pretty good share of Filipino action films. Campy and formulaic as they were, they had their own niche that no one else could touch. But then production decreased little by little, and then there were none. Manila Kingpin's trailers promised us an all new film. Perhaps something we haven't seen in commercial Filipino film before. It did not disappoint.
Being a libertine take on the real-life Asiong Salonga, that myth of a man, the film was very much classic Filipino Action formula, but I would not go so far as to say it is formulaic. It had all the campy dialogue, the grandstanding, the womanizing- but a modernized camerawork, solid storytelling and beautiful monochromatic visuals upped the ante.
George Estergan Jr. had the right mix of gentleness and self-professed toughness to deliver the role of Asiong Salonga. He and his crew (Pen Medina, Ketchup Eusebio, Amay Bisaya, Dennis Padilla among others) had the vigilante charm that this kind of period noir needed, whether they held switchblades, guns, or bouquets of flowers.
One of the interesting quirks of the film was its use of low saturation scenes as flashbacks while 'current' scenes are grayed out- a reverse of the usual. It lets you believe that the universe of the film IS the monochrome and tells a much more dramatic story for it. Adding to the picture is the choice of music. The score is well-placed and has a subtle effect on each scene. It was especially effective in the 'rain scene' and in the finale where 'Mad World' in violin is overlaid in the gunfight.
Manila Kingpin is one of those powerful films that brings back hope for the supposedly dying film industry. Perhaps it is the return of action films to greatness.
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento