March 11, 2022
Drug lord Papang Fernando Castillo (Ronnie Lazaro) and his wife Mamang Valeriana (Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino) had three trusted men whom he considered his sons: Pedro (Mark Anthony Fernandez), Diego (Diego Loyzaga) and Juan (JC Santos). However, hotheaded Pedro was getting ahead of himself, and was doing things behind Papang's back.
To get through tough times in their youth, good friends Fernando and Jose (Soliman Cruz) built up this drugs business which turned out to be their lifelong occupation. Now, for the sake of his wife Maria (Mickey Ferriols) and daughter Adriana (Colleen Garcia), Jose wanted out. What he planned to be his last job with the family was realized in the literal sense.
When Adriana boldly sought for payback for her father's rubout, Mamang sent out their three sons to find her. Whoever captures Adriana will replace Papang as head of the family. While all three boys all went their own ways to look for her. Adriana was not just hiding out teaching private singing lessons for rich girls, as she had violent plans for revenge of her own.
This was a major Vivamax project which gathered actors we have seen in various features throughout its various feature films in the past year. Fernandez, Loyzaga and Santos have headlined their own Vivamax films. Among the three sons, only Santos's Juan had any character development at all. With his perpetual scowl, Fernandez's Pedro was a predictable bad guy, while Loyzaga's Diego was only there for the sexy scenes, it seems.
As Adriana, Colleen Garcia went from sweet and loving to vengeful and angry. She actually went through that range in a single scene where had a long soliloquy shot in close-up where she was addressing her departed father. As this was a Vivamax film, it was not surprising that Garcia had a bed scene, as with Meg Imperial (as Juan's moll Jodie). Vivamax sirens Rob Guinto, Katrina Dovey and Aivy Rodriguez bared a lot more skin.
Aside from ever-reliable Lazaro and Cruz, there were several other veteran actors, like Jay Manalo (as Adriana's silent bodyguard Raul), Archie Adamos (as corrupt cop Lt. Col. Vera Cruz), Raul Morit (as a homeless beggar), and Dido dela Paz (as corrupt Cong. Cadhit). As Valeriana, Buencamino dominated the screen as she does the stage. Acey Aguilar (as the nervous Maryo) and Sheenly Gener (as the singer Claudia) stood out in smaller roles.
Director John Red took the story of "Ibong Adarna" out from the classical royal courts of Berbania and transported it to the world of a modern-day drug gang. It was an interesting concept to be sure, and his cast was impressive. However, despite that this film has been incubating in Red's mind for 15 years, focus seemed to have gone awry in the final execution, with one-dimensional characters, uneven pacing and unnecessary sexy detours. 6/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment