MMFF Review: 'Si Agimat, Si Enteng at Si Ako' - Tired

A couple of writer friends told me that "platform" is very important in being published. A platform is basically the writer's credibility and his potential market and that of the book that he is writing. If a writer has good platform, then his book would be published in no time. 

This is the case in Vic Sotto's Enteng Kabisote movies. Sotto, an unquestioned blockbuster figure, sells nearly all of his movies to his particularly large audience. But the series, challenged by time, begins to run out of ideas and eventually appear very tiring and redundant. Same goes for Bong Revilla's Agimat, (which dates back decades ago) a remake series that offers little or no new things to the franchise. The resolution is to do a crossover; compound what ideas they had and what they have left. It then happened in 2010. A serviceable attempt. This is now their third crossover (including Enteng ng Ina Mo last year), and the formula, inevitably begins to weary. 

The plot is pretty clumsy and ludicrous. It follows Agimat (Revilla) as he proposes and marries Samara (Sam Pinto). The couple decides that they want to spend the honeymoon phase on the human world so they seek aid from their friend Enteng (Sotto). Agimat and Enteng soon meets an environmentalist named Angelina (played by Judy Ann Santos). When an alien race (yes, there are aliens in this movie) threatens humankind and Agimat's fellow people, the trio join forces to eradicate the threat.

There will always be commercial flicks in any movie industry and Si Agimat, Si Enteng at Si Ako is one of ours. Because of this, the movie lacked inspiration to better filmmaking. The movie needs little or no effort to sell to the market, so why bother? Makes sense?

One point in the narrative supports this fact. A whole scene is made completely dedicated to one product. Product placements often receive dislike thus it came as no surprise to me that in this frankly unnecessary movie, it did. This is cheap filmmaking, really. It lacks passion for the craft and inspiration in making it.

If Tony Reyes's Si Agimat, Si Enteng at Si Ako stood for one purpose, it is to sell tickets.

VERDICT: D