KTX: Review of ILOCANO DEFENDERS: WAR ON KIDNAPPING: Crusading Congressmen

February 6, 2022

A valiant family of congressmen (father Michael Say and his two sons Solomon and Morgan) calling themselves the Ilocano Defenders, have made it their mission to help and provide protection to the weak and downtrodden. When there was a rash of kidnappings of children going on in Northern Luzon, the Defenders were in the forefront of the fight even as the syndicate expanded their operations to other regions of the country.

These three incredibly noble representatives of the Ilocano Defenders Partylist were portrayed to be the pinnacle of political perfection. They were fearless (defeating the bad guys with only their martial arts skills), generous (giving up their own salaries to help the poor), principled (refusing a bribe of three million pesos a month) and very receptive to the needs of their constituents (shouldering their funeral and hospital expenses). 

There were no professional actors in this film, so the whole thing had a stilted, self-conscious vibe going on. The three Says can deliver their idealistic lines (their advocacy on VAT on basic goods and vocational requirement in public schools) well, but were still very camera-conscious. The villains were especially over-the-top and hammy, so they were unintentionally funny, especially Gov. Armand Guzman Jr. (Reynaldo Samaco), his personal aide Roel (Narciso Dizon), the kidnapper Mr. M (played by director Marvin Leyson himself) and his affect-less assistant Jesser (Jayzer Abao). 

There were several scenes emphasizing how dangerous their line of work was, not only from their enemies, but also from the women, like Morgan's secretary Myrna (Ana Mariz Terrejos) and Rochelle (Rutchelle Borbajo) and Solo's girlfriend (?) Casey (Grace). Therefore, the Says also had repeated scenes telling each other to take special care of themselves. They also stated that they were willing to face any issues thrown at them, be it misusing public funds or accusations of sexual misconduct.

The production seemed to have gone all out with their location shoots, going to Cebu, Baguio, Vigan, Ifugao, Paoay, General Santos City, and Jolo. However, the overall pace was too slow, the editing was lackadaisical and the direction was unfocused. The three Says may be blackbelts in taekwondo in real life, but the choreography of their fight scenes lacked excitement, which may work against their aim to revive martial arts in Filipino films.