2012's Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles looked like an experiment of today's visual effects, but that surprisingly becomes the least memorable part of the movie since it already provides a lot of witty humor and excitement within its characters and direction. This sequel is a little less straightforward but tackles the same merits as it fools around with its monstrous mythology and shifts either from silly to awesome. The film may not offer beyond than having random set pieces in its own story, but this is already a rich and amusing world that not even the little problems of the plot matter. Kubot: The Aswang Chronicles 2 just lets the creativity and ridiculousness flow throughout the experience.
Kubot is a little less gritty than the first one. The effects were also kind of moderated in comparison, but the movie shines better when it's all about the characters dealing with their own situations in a rather comical way. Following the plot doesn't exactly matter in this edition; how the film constructed each scenario, including the ones that introduces its characters, brings total intrigue. The real deal of this journey is just having fun with its weird universe, the kind of imagination that is rarely available in today's Filipino cinema. And there we take a look on a factory that grinds human parts into hotdogs, and then we watch most of its characters not taking their monstrous threat seriously and sometimes make a priceless gag about it, and finally the Hollywood wannabe action scenes that finds creative ways of pulling off each set piece. This is just a perfect combination of twisted, hilarious, and fun. What more could you ask for?
Some might ask for a little more depth into the story's drama, but that is easily resolved in the end where it also plays with a crueler gag. In spite of not having a definite plot, it still provides rich details in its surroundings. The craft is still solid, bringing real aesthetic flavor to this larger-than-life adventure. The action scenes are cool enough to pose as a big blockbuster, though my only complain that anyone else may not agree with is some of the slow-mos. This is probably just a me thing, but as much as tries to look awesome, it rather slows down the momentum, but then it's never a big deal if the movie is already this entertaining. It's best if it's all choreography. The acting is pretty much the same and it's a great thing. Dingdong Dantes continues to be an appealing hero to this franchise, which also hints humor in his character's swagger. Joey Marquez and new to the cast, Lotlot de Leon, bring a perfect chemistry for the movie's best comic relief.
Kubot: The Aswang Chronicles 2 is perfectly entertaining. Some might seek for more than being funny and cool, but they might be missing the real fun. The film still has some little flaws, but they are easy to ignore anyway. The franchise just continues to expand this mythology and it gets even more interesting. It's just totally adventurous and silly, hardly comparable to other local fantasy films getting released in a while. These Aswang Chronicles movies have its own personality and that what makes them special.
