Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story

Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story wants to recapture the old style of filmmaking. At first glance, I thought it looks pretentious because of the black and white color. But it turns out to be a beautiful aspect to the film. The only thing that stumbles here is the storytelling. It paces to quick and the editing is kinda choppy. Although it has some solid performances and the action is pretty entertaining. Manila Kingpin is still watchable. The cinematography just made it better.

Manila Kingpin is suppose to be a relic. Wants to bring back the old filmmaking. Some parts gives its tone but mostly it doesn't. The storytelling has its missteps. It paces too quick and skips some events. The directing is kind of impressive though. Scenes are nicely shot and every sequence was well played. The acting, Jorge Estregan was fairly good in this film. It's not quite a nuance though but he really nails it when he's holding the guns. Phillip Salvador does his thing but what's fascinating is he looks great in black and white. The rest of the cast also did good and gave some personality to their roles.

The drama can be great for some reason although it tells the story in a sort of messy way but the action never fails to be enjoyable. It's well directed. Though, the editing may jumble some of its sequence and the action doesn't run that long. The kalesa gunfight scene is going to be remembered to the Philippine Cinema. The best thing here is the cinematography. It doesn't only made the picture black and white but it also gives great effect to the aspect. For example: Phillip Salvador's face. These elements made this more than an action drama.

Manila Kingpin is sort of messed up in some parts but it's mostly a satisfying picture to see in MMFF this year. We don't get to see Filipino films like this anymore. Since the Filipino cinema is now plodded with romance, boring horror films, drama cookie-cutter, and comedies played by drag. Manila Kingpin is strongly recommended. It's good to see a Filipino film like this. They say there will be a Director's Cut DVD of this film. I will be looking forward to that soon.

When I first heard about this film, the first film which came to my mind was The Godfather (1972) and I got excited that I wanted the holidays to end so I could finally watch it. "Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story" is a really good film, though I hate to admit that it wasn't quite as satisfying as I thought it would be considering that they depicted the life of Asiong Salonga- the famous gang leader of Tondo back in the old days.

The director, and everyone behind the film, probably wanted to capture how it feels and what it looks like living back in the late 40's and early 50's, that's why they chose to make the film black and white. I have to commend the brains behind that idea because they were able to relive what I call "The Old Days". Watching the actors shoot their guns and drive those vintage cars just blew me away and it was like almost as if I was actually in that place where it happened!

I believe that without good actors, there can never be a great film. But there are always exception to the general rule. Looking at Jorge Estregan's acting skill, I think it was a mistake casting him as Asiong Salonga. Yes, we all know that he portrayed several antagonist characters in the past, but his experience, I'm afraid to say, just wasn't enough to make him fit for the role, thus, making him face humiliation from the audience. I also felt that his moves were stiff and the way he delivered his lines was not powerful enough to make everyone believe that he is Asiong Salonga. I was moved by Baron Geisler's performance, though. As an actor who portrayed famous antagonist characters on films and TV series as well, you can rest assured that he will never fail to deliver what is expected of him. Joko Diaz was good portraying a bad ass gang member, though there were times when I said to myself that: "He's just not as good as his father was". John Regala will always be John Regala- you'll hate him the moment you see him. That's just how good he is as an actor.

The action scenes were almost perfect had it not been for Jorge's lousy acting. I found some scenes funny rather than exciting, moving, astonishing, and worthy of my praise. The scene that made a mark to me was the battle scene in the rain (you saw it in the trailer). It was so good I had to stop breathing for a second to savor that epic moment. Overall, the movie "Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story", though a bit short with good actors, is worth watching.

"Manila Kingpin" is a very good-looking movie. The remarkable black and white photography is very sharp and striking. The camera angles were very well-placed and dramatic in composition. The period costumes and set design were meticulously planned and paid attention to. All the supporting characters, from Asiong's policeman elder brother Doming (Phillip Salvador), his wife (Carla Abellana), his gang mates (Baron Geisler, Yul Servo, Dennis Padilla, Ketchup Eusebio and Amay Bisaya) to his arch rival Totoy Golem (John Regala), everyone looks and feels right for their respective parts. The action sequences, be they gun battles or fist fights, were quite well-choreographed and executed.

However, the main problem about this film is the lead actor himself, Jeorge 'ER' Ejercito. He did not have the right look nor charisma to pull off this lead character. He tries his best, but there seemed to be difficulty to fit. He did not project well in his scenes with Salvador, Regala, as well as those with Jay Manalo, who played his protector in prison, all of whom can dominate the screen better than Estregan. His scenes with Abellana had an unfortunate DOM ("dirty old man") feel to them, instead of sincere marital love. These problems can be explained when it was revealed at the end that the real Asiong died at the young age of 27! Ejercito must be twice that age already by now, hence the very tight fit.

Overall though, the hard work and sincere efforts for excellence can be felt while watching the film. Director Tikoy Aguiluz certainly seemed to have nothing to be ashamed of with this final print we saw in the theaters, so I am also very curious what these controversial re-shot and re-edited scenes were that caused him to want his name stricken off the project. My one suspicion would be the final gun battle-royale in the rain, which was very well shot, but was curiously scored with the slow version of "Mad World" of Tears for Fears. I felt this score was inappropriate and awkward to the time period and to the culture. An original Filipino sad melody would have been better. Anyway, that is only a minor quibbling observation. This film is worth watching especially for fans who miss traditional Filipino action films. It deserved all the awards given to it during the recent awards night -- Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Production Design, Editing, Sound, and Theme Song.

My first impression of this movie was not good but on a second viewing, I realized that I was too harsh with my critique. It's actually a very entertaining film if we just simply enjoy it and not get hung up or nitpick the film's minor shortcomings.

On a technical level, Tikoy Agiluz's Manila Kingpin is quite impressive. The production, cinematography, lighting, sound and music are top notch for a local film and could rival the quality of foreign entries to Canne and Sundance. The script is also commendable as it didn't drag and did not waste time on superfluous melodrama or other elements that ruin a movie's pacing. Kudos to the cast as they all turned out excellent performances, from Ronnie Lazaro (who was great as the thug Boy Zapanta), Ketchup Eusebio (who's scene in the epic gunfight finale is undoubtedly "cool" and badass) and even Amay Bisaya was highly believable and competent in his role. The late Roldan Aquino makes an appearance as a corrupt police chief and he also once played the character of Totoy Golem in Leonardo Garcia's Canary Brothers Ng Tondo. This version's Golem is gleefully acted by John Regala who easily dominates every scene he's in. Jay Manalo plays a convict and like Aquino, he once essayed the role of a Tondo gangster, and also as Asiong Salonga in that unfortunately stupid film by quack director Dante Pangilinan. Baron Geisler won a much deserved best supporting actor award because his Erning Toothpick is the best version of the character.

Asiong is played here by Jorge Estregan and I think I was too judgmental about the guy on my first viewing of the movie. I now believe that he turned out a fantastic performance as the classic uber mafioso of Tondo. There are some stuff here though that he recycled from his past films, notably his scene of angst in the isolation cell is lifted from Mr. Pangilinan's Sigue Sigue Vs. Oxo. There are some who whine about E. R. Ejercito's lack of athleticism and physical fitness in playing a 27 year old dude since the politician and actor is visibly thick on the sides but it's not really detrimental to one's enjoyment of the film. Just think that this Asiong Salonga and the events that take place here are from an alternate universe where 27 year old gang leaders look like Droopy.

Tikoy Agiluz's handling of the material is excellent; you could actually feel that this is post World War II Tondo in how every scene is meticulously shot and staged, to recreate the fifties era look. There are a few sequences that were better in Ejercito's other Asiong movie, Hari Ng Tondo, for example the fight scene in the prison infirmary is superior whereas in Agiluz's film, it was removed and replaced by a knife fight. Agiluz wanted to delete his name from the film credits because of a few restaged sequences which is somewhat understandable. The inclusion of John Woo style pistol firing is obviously one of these reshoots which made a few of the gunfights less realistic. The fight between Totoy and Asiong looked pathetic because it felt like tired, middle aged men having a fisticuff. The knife fight though between Asiong and Zapanta was actually good but the "samurai" method in which Asiong dispatches the latter is a bit on the corny side.

All in all, this is a masterful work. Too bad, it didn't usher a revival of the Filipino action genre as was hoped.

If you don't know who's Asiong yet and don't want to read his biography on the web, I won't spoil you. Just know that this movie is only based on him and not 100% real.

First of all, I really feel bad for the Philippine Movie Industry. This film has won major movie awards locally and praised for all the wrong reasons. If you're really a fan of Hollywood blockbusters, you'll be disappointed

First off: "Best in Cinematography". I'm 50/50 on this. There were good camera angles. But since it's in B&W, there were some scenes where I just would like to scream "Turn on the lights!" or "Open some windows!".

"Best Editing". Nope. There was one scene where Asiong was crying while reading a letter. And then it cut to a love scene. And then back to him weeping. Editing of the Year, huh?

"Best Director". There were a lot of talented actors in this film like John Regala, Baron Geisler, Ronnie Lazaro, Yul Servo, hell, even Ketchup Eusebio. But if you can't help the main character in his acting skills, you don't deserve to win this award. Which brings me to the next one...

"Best Actor". I tried. I really tried. At first I was giving him a free pass because maybe it's just because the fight choreography sucked. But then I heard him speak/whisper. And ear excruciating dialog delivery. This man is a half older than the man he tries to portray. He looked like a 50 year old couch potato who tries to look for a 5 minute exercise on the shadow boxing scene. And in terms of facial expressions, he's the male Kristen Stewart of the Philippines. Note to producers: "Just because he portrayed Asiong 21 years ago, doesn't mean he should be him again".

"Best Production Designer". The set was nostalgic. So maybe it really deserves this award. One thing that was funny though was that wooden tables became barricades in gun fights. Whoops!

"Movie Musical Scorer of the Year". Nnnnnope. A lot of melodramatic music in the film even in parts where it doesn't need to be there. Totoy Golem playing pool had sad then terrifying music. He was trying to make a corner pocket dammit!

"Best Supporting Actor". I say yes. And I do feel Baron Geisler deserves his own lead actor role in a Film Festival movie. I just feel bad for Ping Medina and Yul Servo. Wasted actors given ridiculous lines in the movie. My favorite worst few lines by a good actor: "Domeng.... Si Asiong... Si Totoy Golem... Si Erning..... Si Asiong."

Did I mention that the direction/fight choreography was awful? Knife battles had a dramatic Samurai Battle ending. In one of the gun fights, Asiong blasts through a door in front of 5-10 armed men shooting at him and he just struts for a good 3 seconds before shooting somebody. During the stand off with Pepeng Hapon, about 10 shots were fired by each men and none hit. They were literally a few meters from each other. Near the end, a man gets shot in the arm and looked almost dying while Domeng gets shot in the shoulder and shrugs it off.

All in all, you can't take this movie seriously. If you've reached all the way through this paragraph then you have been warned. Take a laugh every once in a while (especially on the bicycle drive by scene) while watching this and maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

5/10