BuyBust

People hope for a better life, at the very least a peaceful one. BuyBust is a film that deals with the anti-drug campaign of the government, but the core of such campaign is how will it impact on the lives of the every Filipino.

The film may be predictable from the start but was told in a different fashion. It was not the usual buy bust operation of the anti-drug authorities, the goal is to catch Biggie Chen- a high value target with Shabu laboratories.

What is entharalling is when PDEA operatives headed by Bernie Lacson (Victor Neri) with Nina Manigan-PDEA operative (Anne Curtis) and Detective Dela Cruz along with the Alpha and Bravo teams, were trapped in Baranggay Gracia ni Maria in the slums of Manila, a community that is fiction but an epitome of what Philippine society is.

Gracia ni Maria is maze-like compound with the texture of a shanty town that you could smell the stink and rot in every corner. A community and people forced to protect drug lords and live in fear and violence.

Characters are very real while the action scenes were obviously choreographed and the gun battle sequences are far better than the usual action films of the 90's. Director Erik Matti weaves the story with layers in the plot like Anne Curtis' character (Operative Manigan) who can't seem to forget her drug buy-bust operation in the past that killed all her team members. She became very cautious, uncertain and even doubtful of the Police team leading them. Another layer in the plot is how the people of Gracia ni Maria have suffered in the war against drugs, as they witness violence everyday of their lives.

Anne has certainly prepared for this film, showing her skills in hand to hand combat; even her movements, stance and reactions during gun battle appear to be realistic. Anne has rediscovered herself and maybe considered as the First True Female Action star of Philippine Cinema. Though BuyBust has not really deviated from the formula of action films in the Philippines where the action hero is being attacked by a mob and yet manages to defeat all of them.

Anne's co-actor Brandon Vera (Rico Yatco), muscled and Hulk type character that can defeat an army of enemies at one time, has played his role well as buddy of operative Manigan (Anne) who also believes in amulet to keep him safe. Joross Gamboa is also commendable in his role as Manok (Chicken) who seemed to be at his being state in most of the scenes.

Award-winning supporting actor Joel Saracho, portraying a shanty owner and out of fear, he casually declines to help PDEA Operative Manigan and Yatco on their way out of the compound. The scene typifies how fear has become a normal and casual state for the people. Music is not overwhelming but enough to heighten and build up the action scenes.

BuyBust is action in its real sense, with deafening gun battles, hand to hand combat fight scenes and unending chase sequences around the compound. Manigan (Anne) being the action heroine, as usual, is the last PDEA operative standing.

Manigan and Biggie Chen mano-o mano fight scene is also very real though it is the typical protagonist and antagonist face to face showdown with great reveals as to who are the protectors and snitch within the Police Organization.

One essential element in the film is the people in the community. People have taken arms and have resolved to act; seized to believe that the Government will truly solve the illegal drugs problem. Innocent civilians as always are caught in the cross-fire between the Government and the Drug Lords or even in any war that the government launches. Illegal drugs will not proliferate without the nod of a high-ranking government official. What else is new??-it is a common perception. And the innocent civilians are the victims.

In many of the sequences, community people were also attacking the PDEA and Police Teams, furious and raging like zombies who are ready to eat their preys alive. But in the end, the fury and rage of the people are the bi-product of frustrations and hopelessness from the Government to resolve the social ills of our society.

The film is not only an eye opener about the sincerity of Government on its anti-drug campaign but also a call to action for the people to stand and participate in issues of our Nation, people should become part of the solution and hope is the only thing we should hold onto.

Over-all, Kudos to Director Erik Matti! Setting a new trend in action films and riveting story telling.

This movie has a lot of action. I enjoyed watching it. I recommend watching this movie.

Imitating the basic storyline of "The Raid" does not give you a good movie and this is the best example of that.

First let's have a look at the good aspects of it: 1. Pictures, Scenes, Camera are well done. Especially the 3 min one-shot action scene almost at the end is a highlight. 2. Brandon Vera did a good job, not only in martial art (he has MMA background), but also the best acting in the cast. 3. Gore scenes are splendidly done

Bad (everything else): 1. The build-up of the movie takes far too long, 30 min+ for introduction, walking talking non-essential. 2. The whole movie feels like it wants to waste time in general where the director did not know how to squeeze more time out of it. Chase, wait, walking scenes take too long. 3. The main cast (Anne Curtis) has not prepared enough for this flick. Her character is a drug agent with gun skills, yet she chooses to use hand-combat (which looks staged) against muscled up men. Holds a gun in front of enemies so close you can already punch it away. She ties her hair only half into the movie, just to look cool in the first half. Her acting is wooden (expressionless face), has no charisma and general non-leading behavior. Is able to unrealistically beat a whole mob with hand to hand combat and escapes miraculously. She steps up when needed, but thats about it. I would have preferred Brandon Vera being the lead and she is the sidekick. 4. Story: look, when you make a movie, the story should not be explainable within 3 sentences. There happens to be a twist but its not really that hard of a shocker. 5. Civilians: Since when are civilians running towards gun and like to get slaugthered. Since when are civilians fighting the police? This is just nonsense and made up to have more gunfood. Mindless contribution.

The whole movie is essentially just a gore-heavy flick with a lot of waiting and chasing (especially in the beginning). Nobody has any special skills except Brandon Vera, so this movie has nothing how it can separate itself from other movies. I don't recommend watching this movie as it is like a senseless slaughter and little to no-fun lines. Non-memorable

Excellent little low budget action flick out of SEA that's heavy on the octane and light on the social commentary. Obvious digitization of effects and several choreographed fight sequences that are improperly filmed (angles reveal punches not landing and lack of actual strength going into strikes, so some of the melee shots look more like limp noodle fights lol) amid a script that has its fair share of hackneyed dialogue is ultimately the straw that breaks BuyBust's back and prevents it from standing tall against the more well-known genre greats. Despite the film's obvious budgetary constraints and seemingly novice continuity errors, it's still a fantastic piece of low budget cinema that is definitely worth watching for fans of foreign crime/action drama.

Maniga is one attractive pinay with an athletic build and a fiery temperament--the result of an angst-riddled mindset molded by previous career-related trauma--that fits the character of her lead role perfectly. Supporting cast is largely forgettable aside from a very select few figures, like the Dwayne Johnson/Dave Bautista pinoy clone with the bottlecap charm that plays her main partner throughout a majority of the movie. Apart from the cast, the insanely claustrophic corridors of the Gracia favela that BuyBust takes place in helps immensely with ratcheting up the movie's tension and is partially reminiscent of the famous elevator/hallway scene from 2003's "Oldboy." The hordes of pissed off civilians killing both gangster and cop alike also add to Maniga's predicament and helps keep the movie's primary nemesis (Biggie Chen) from getting too stale or annoying to tolerate. It's a fresh rotating marquee of danger from all angles for Maniga and her squad and it helps the audience commiserate with the sense of helplessness that permeates the length of the movie as night turns to day in Maniga's odyssey into a drug-fueled inferno as she fights tooth and nail to stay alive.

If you like Korean action flicks like Man From Nowhere or Indonesian action flicks like The Night Comes For Us or better yet, Vietnam's "Furie," you will definitely get a kick or two out of BuyBust and should watch it on Netflix at least once.

A solid 6/10!

My favourite Action Movie of This year. Fantastic action and fighting sequences. It's up with the raid films. I must watch. 7/10