The movie certainly is much better than the usual Filipino action film.
The pros: the production design was perfect; the fight scenes were thrilling and enjoyable because, except for some scenes being too long, were credibly executed (compared to other local action films whose fight scenes were lame and poorly executed); and Ann Curtis (surprise, surprise) and Brandon Vera owned their roles.
The cons: music scoring was abominable and at times totally inappropriate; the meandering through the slum's maze was confusing and could have been better presented; the interrogation scene at the opening was unnecessarily long; and Biggie Chen's lecture at the end of the film, while a crucial point of the film's overall message---that corruption in the police force and government goes up to the highest level---was a bit much.
Also, it would have been clearer to the audience had the pre-title sequence showed how Manigan's former squad was ambushed, instead of just being talked about later in the movie. This would have made Manigan's attitude and actions more understandable. Another element that should have been acted out, instead of just talked about, was how the daughter of the barangay elder died.
Despite these, and being made to recall the Indonesian film "Raid," we still enjoyed the movie, for being in a class above the usual Filipino shoot-them-up films, for the apparent effort of everyone involved in the production to have a good, enjoyable (never mind what others are saying about the politics of its director) and authentic action movie and, lastly, for being able to present in two hours and seven minutes the depth and gravity of the drug problem in our country.
The best line of the movie---Manigan, after shooting dead Alvarez and his cohorts inside the police van and responding to the query as to what happened, saying "Nanlaban ang suspect!"
That single line encapsulated what's happening in our country today.
The pros: the production design was perfect; the fight scenes were thrilling and enjoyable because, except for some scenes being too long, were credibly executed (compared to other local action films whose fight scenes were lame and poorly executed); and Ann Curtis (surprise, surprise) and Brandon Vera owned their roles.
The cons: music scoring was abominable and at times totally inappropriate; the meandering through the slum's maze was confusing and could have been better presented; the interrogation scene at the opening was unnecessarily long; and Biggie Chen's lecture at the end of the film, while a crucial point of the film's overall message---that corruption in the police force and government goes up to the highest level---was a bit much.
Also, it would have been clearer to the audience had the pre-title sequence showed how Manigan's former squad was ambushed, instead of just being talked about later in the movie. This would have made Manigan's attitude and actions more understandable. Another element that should have been acted out, instead of just talked about, was how the daughter of the barangay elder died.
Despite these, and being made to recall the Indonesian film "Raid," we still enjoyed the movie, for being in a class above the usual Filipino shoot-them-up films, for the apparent effort of everyone involved in the production to have a good, enjoyable (never mind what others are saying about the politics of its director) and authentic action movie and, lastly, for being able to present in two hours and seven minutes the depth and gravity of the drug problem in our country.
The best line of the movie---Manigan, after shooting dead Alvarez and his cohorts inside the police van and responding to the query as to what happened, saying "Nanlaban ang suspect!"
That single line encapsulated what's happening in our country today.