Amo

I didn't expect much from this series Amo, since it's made in Philippines, but was surprised how good it is. Its so good, I've binge watched the series. I hope there is a season2

Four stars were taken off because of the production value. Everything's pretty low budget.

If you don't know anything about the Philippines, this show is for you. If you kind of know about the Philippines, this show is for you. If you know about the inner workings of Philippine society, this isn't for you.

I honestly thought the series was pretty bad in the storytelling department since there was no main goal for the entire season, but after thinking about the series, I don't think the series is supposed to be about the characters. It's probably about the current state of the Philippines' streets and police force. Joseph, Bino, and Rod are just a vessel for viewers to understand what the Philippines has been going through ever since Ferdinand Marcos' rule. The cinematography, especially in the first episode, highlights this focus. We get glimpses of school life and squatter villages in several long and wide-angle shots. Small montages with rap music mostly highlight life of the people around the main characters while speaking about different affairs in Philippine society. I don't think we're supposed to care about the characters at all, but to learn about the state of the Philippines.

Compared to other Filipino shows (especially on TFC or GMA), Amo is Oscar-worthy, especially for its relative originality, but the production is still pretty low budget. The Philippines doesn't seem to want to invest into its own visual arts, so that's understandable.

If you care about the acting, everyone's much, much better in their native language. If you've ever been around a Tagalog-speaking family and their Tagalog-speaking friends, the main and secondary characters in Amo are pretty much the same as that. Everyone else ranges from absolutely terrible to decent.

This would be a good series showing an adaptation of Philippine's war on drugs. Never mind those who reviewed it with 1 or 2 stars, watch the series for yourselves.

This is a refreshing Filipino tv series to watch. I liked how it shows the other side of the Philippines and not just the province or the rich side as opposed to typical Filipino series. It shows a part of the Philippines that is often forgotten, the slums. As hard as it is to accept, it shows some of the realities of those living in the Philippines who sells their bodies and/or does drugs. I like how the series is realistic. The acting of the cast are also great! it's a breath of fresh air compared to the acting on mainstream tv. Drugs and poverty is in reality a big problem in the Philippines.

Forget about the quality, forget about the cinematography, forget about the acting skills. When you grew in one of poverty stricken slums in the Philippines and have watched this series, you will know how close the depiction was in real life. Even the moduses, the actuation, the "kalakarans" are shown in a perspective of educating people who are well-off enough. I personally grew up in a squatters area where drug trade is rampant, gang fights and street riots are part of our daily lives. I must say, this series is the truest depiction of the kind of life we wish our children won't have to grow up to. Probably the reason it became so controversial in the Philippines, having the so called "elites of society" even made a petition to take it down Netflix is because it destroys their narrative. The kind of narrative that puts all the blame to the current administration but turns a blind eye to the reality on the ground. Kudos to the cast, kudos to the director, kudos to the writers and researches who captured the reality on the ground.