We’re hoping this question will finally be answered by this controversial version where the director, Tikoy Aguiluz, ordered that his name be deleted from the credits. A good biopic will hopefully shed light on the life and times of its lead character and tell us why this criminal was driven to a life of crime and how he gained legendary notoriety. Is he inherently evil? Is he a victim of society? Is he a product of the era of post-war Manila who’s just pursuing his own dreams and fighting for survival and his own place in the sun after the devastating world war that demolished the city?
Sadly, the film fails to answer any of these vital questions and also fails to present Asiong with any depth of character. We’re shown his fall but not his rise (not even through dialogue) as a gangster. It’s said he’s like Robin Hood who robs the rich to help the poor, but it’s also not shown here. What is established is that he’s just an extortionist who offers protection to small businesses in his territory against other kingpins.
It opens with Asiong (Jeorge “ER” Ejercito) being tortured by an opponent, Viray (Roi Vinzon). In the next scene, he leads his own men (Yul Servo, Baron Geisler, Dennis Padilla, Ping Medina, Amay Bisaya etc., most of them in non-speaking roles) in attacking Viray and his men in their own lair. The movie then becomes a series of action set pieces and gunfights between opposing gangs and other kingpins like John Regala, Joko Diaz, Archie Adamos, etc. The ending that happens during Asiong’s funeral is a fairly well staged bloodbath. It’s apparent that the priority is to come up with a slambang action gangster flick, not an in-depth character study.
Asiong has God-fearing parents (Robert Arevalo and Perla Bautista) and an older brother who’s a cop (Phillip Salvador), but how and why he went astray, we aren’t even given a clue. In a past article, Philip Salvador is sore at this film.
When the movie starts, he’s already a gangster, so maybe we should just accept it as such. He marries Fidela (Carla Abellana) but still finds time to bed other girls like Valerie Concepcion and Jaycee Parker. He is captured by the law, goes to jail, escapes, recaptured, then is freed on parole after he acts as assassin for a politician. Eventually, he’s betrayed by one of his own men, Baron as Erning Toothpick.
The best thing in the movie is the vivid black and white cinematography that blows you away with its nostalgic feel. The well crafted look makes the movie engaging viewing, reminding us of Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” with Johnny Depp. Other technical aspects are above average, expect for the period production design which is uneven. Costumes and re-created sets are often fine but other details are not as accurate. Asiong is shown as fond of movie-going to a theatre called Tivoli. We remember the most well known moviehouses in Tondo then were Katubusan in Moriones and Gloria in Pritil.
They also mention a famous 50s comedian in the movie as Togo. His funeral was shown as an added feature in the local film that Asiong watched with Fidela. The correct name is Tugo as he’s the other half in his comic tandem with Pugo, whose career continued to flourish at LVN Pictures with Bentot after Tugo died. As an aside, let us mention that the very first movie we saw as a child was “Dalawang Sundalong Kanin” starring Pugo and Tugo. We’re also surprised with the inclusion of a Tears for Fears number in a 50s movie. To further give the music a contemporary feel, the theme song is a rap number, “Hari ng Tundo”, by Gloc 9.
Acting wise, it’s John Regala as Totoy Golem, Asiong’s foremost rival, who stands out and nearly runs away with the movie. And it’s because he gives such a cool relaxed portrayal, never going over the top the way he did before, but his mere presence still oozing with malevolence. As for Jeorge Ejercito, we really wish his Asiong was better written. There’s some attempt to give him a great fiery acting moment as he languished wounded and bloodied in his cell after his one-on-one stabbing sequence with Ronnie Lazaro. This would have worked well had the character been better defined and more firmly grounded as a three-dimensional persona.
As it is, the movie ends with Asiong still an enigma, with us wondering what really motivated him as a rouge. Why the Cinema Evaluation Board gave it an A rating despite the slipshod scripting will also remain a mystery to us. Granted that it is in good parts, alas, it does not all add up to a tightly constructed whole.
