♫ I’m sure they’d think again if
they had a friend like Red ♫
Nowadays, the first expectation for local action films is that it has
to be as action-packed as On The Job where there has to be shoot-outs, chase
scenes and loosely-based on true story characters. Malupet din ito… pero hindi
ito putang inang OTJ.
The film is unconventional to a fault. The narrator explicitly said when
the story started but I felt that it really started nearly half of the film.
Intro was almost for an hour but it didn’t matter because it was interesting.
However, once the real story started, the film lost its swag. It became too
emotional and too convoluted. It introduced a lot of interesting
side-characters and subplots but only few of them were fully-utilized. Inconsistencies
and filter scenes were more noticeable. For example, there was a hitman but the
main dude is still hanging-out at his bar without feeling terror or guilt.
There was a long and very emotional scene on an underpass without a passer-by
in the background.
“May pera ako, Mai. Andami kong
Loperamide.”
- Misheard line from the underpass scene
Despite my complaints, this shit was entertaining. It’s visually and
audibly striking. The musical scores are fantastic and the Araw’t Gabi song in the
end credits is the killer. Jericho Rosales (Red) improved a lot with his acting
but Nico Antonio (Milton) knocked it off the park. The two carried this rental
type of film and made it slightly buyable. Mercedes Cabral (Mai) and Mylene
Dizon (Bianca) were good for their small parts. JM Rodriguez (Art) is probably
friends with the Hindi Sila Tatanda pips because he’s so burgis. I’ve mentioned
a lot of flaws in the previous paragraph but the movie found a way to cheat
them. I was about to give this a lower rating but the epilogue surprised me.
Kudos for that. From the tracksuit to the t-shirt to the nunchucks, Jay Abello
is obviously a fan of Bruce Lee.
Red fixes its way out of the inconsistencies and silliness with the help of its charismatic leads and gift of narration.
I give this a RED HOT TASTY BURGER 3/5!
No offense to the Ilonggos but I always
remember this funny shit every time I notice Echo and Nico’s accents. LINE 1! LINE 1! MAY CALLER SA LINE 1!
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if you enjoy the review. Thanks for reading! J
