Director: Erik Matti
Cast: Anne Curtis, Brandon Vera, Victor Neri
Rated MA
Score 5/6
When a drugbust goes wrong, anti-narcotics agent Nina Manigan (Anne Curtis) and her team find themselves trapped in Manila‘s most dangerous slum. Caught between a brutal drug gang and hordes of bloodthirsty citizens, the only way out is to fight. (Classified MA15+ for strong violence.)
From memory I don’t think that that I have reviewed a movie from the Philippines, so I was glad to get the opportunity to review Buybust. While watching Buybust I was immediately struck with the similarities of the plot of Buybust with that of Gareth Evans’ 2011 movie The Raid. For some reason my brain also drew connections with José Padilha’s 2007 movie Elite Squad. But sitting here writing my review several hours latter I’m pretty sure that the connection to Padilha’s movie was probably only to do with the nature of the police work portrayed on the screen. I am glad to see that this movie escaped the lazy filmmaking techniques that I guess be referred to as the three Rs (Reboot, Remake and Reimagination). I loved the music in this movie, it seemed to bring a wild west quality to the slums. Though the music played as the credits rolled seemed to have a PSA quality to it. I thought it was kind of interesting that movie switched between the need for subtitles and English throughout the movie.
I am completely unfamiliar with director Erik Matti’s work and for that matter all of the actors that where cast in the movie. Both Anne Curtis and Brandon Vera. This was Vera’s first feature film, given his appearance and martial arts background it’s only a matter of time before he establishes himself as an action star. Its pretty clear that Anne Curtis has the making of a badass action star. However, after looking at her filmography its pretty clear that she is a well-rounded actress. Curtis made her character Nina Manigan something more then just one-dimensional fists of fury.
With a runtime of around two hours Buybust could be considered as having a slower pace compared to other action movies but Matti has delivered something that has stunningly creative (sometimes edging on the side of brutal) action sequences and has something important to say about drugs and the impact they have on society.
I’m really interested to see if this gets a sequel.
Director: Erik Matti
Cast: Anne Curtis, Brandon Vera, Victor Neri
Rated MA
Score 5/6
When a drugbust goes wrong, anti-narcotics agent Nina Manigan and her team find themselves trapped in Manila‘s most dangerous slum. Caught between a brutal drug gang and hordes of bloodthirsty citizens, the only way out is to fight.
From memory I don’t think that that I have reviewed a movie from the Philippines, so I was glad to get the opportunity to review Buybust. While watching Buybust I was immediately struck with the similarities of the plot of Buybust with that of Gareth Evans’ 2011 movie The Raid. For some reason my brain also drew connections with José Padilha’s 2007 movie Elite Squad. But sitting here writing my review several hours latter I’m pretty sure that the connection to Padilha’s movie was probably only to do with the nature of the police work portrayed on the screen. I am glad to see that this movie escaped the lazy filmmaking techniques that I guess be referred to as the three Rs (Reboot, Remake and Reimagination). I loved the music in this movie, it seemed to bring a wild west quality to the slums. Though the music played as the credits rolled seemed to have a PSA quality to it. I thought it was kind of interesting that movie switched between the need for subtitles and English throughout the movie.
I am completely unfamiliar with director Erik Matti’s work and for that matter all of the actors that where cast in the movie. Both Anne Curtis and Brandon Vera. This was Vera’s first feature film, given his appearance and martial arts background it’s only a matter of time before he establishes himself as an action star. Its pretty clear that Anne Curtis has the making of a badass action star. However, after looking at her filmography its pretty clear that she is a well-rounded actress. Curtis made her character Nina Manigan something more then just one-dimensional fists of fury.
With a runtime of around two hours Buybust could be considered as having a slower pace compared to other action movies but Matti has delivered something that has stunningly creative (sometimes edging on the side of brutal) action sequences and has something important to say about drugs and the impact they have on society.
I’m really interested to see if this gets a sequel.