26. Ang Panday; movie review

ANG PANDAY
Cert 12A
128 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, threat

Sunday afternoon found Mrs W and I in Vue Cinema, Shepherd's Bush, one of only three venues nationwide to be showing Filipino fantasy drama Ang Panday.
Yes, this is the everyfilm challenge at its most enthusiastic and, if we are honest, both of us were trying to stave off the zzzs during Coco Martin's directorial debut.
Our problem with Ang Panday wasn't its good versus evil premise, it was its number of bizarre and unnecessary tangents.
Actually Martin is an engaging and likeable lead as the movie's hero, Flavio, the grandson of a blacksmith who had led the fight against evil.
However, there are a veritable shoal of red herrings and that rather threw Mrs W and me, dissipating both the comedy and drama.
Martin shows his talents at martial arts, comedy, signing and being an all round good egg.
Meanwhile, Jake Cuenca is Lizardo, his evil nemesis who wants to rule the world and, to this end, brings scores of half bats, half human flesh-eaters to the earth to do his dirty work.
Oh, and then there is a magic kingdom... and there is a land of little people which appears for about five minutes.... and there is a teenager (Awra Briguela) who comes out as gay and, and, and.....
Honestly, it was exhausting just trying to keep up with the various strands and then incredibly frustrating when half of them became irrelevant.
Filipino movies are often off-the-wall and I suspect those in the audience at Shepherd's Bush were expecting the unusual.
However, it was a cultural bridge too far for us and we struggled to maintain our attention for the two hours and eight minutes.
Indeed, the only real point which we would take away from Ang Panday is the levels of poverty, if accurately represented, in which Filipino people live in urban areas.
I will remember that for a long time. The rest of the story has almost seeped from my mind already.


Reasons to watch: Coco Martin fans will be in awe
Reasons to avoid: its storytelling is all over the place

Laughs: none from us and the sound was so loud that we couldn't tell if there were any from others in the audience
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 4.5/10

Director quote: Coco Martin: “I wanted this film to be in touch with present-day life even if it is commonly associated with fantasy. I worked closely with my writer and I felt the project is better off with that personal concept which is strictly my idea."

The big question: "How do three-inch tall people make their voices heard?"

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