When I saw the trailer, my impression was it was gonna be one of those movies where it's all about the hugot from start to finish regarding exes. And to someone who's seen all of Bela Padilla's recent movies, one might find that tiresome but to the casual moviegoer it's still fair game as long as it prevents us from going back to kabit-oriented movies (ah, the good old days.) If you have seen All Of You directed by Dan Villegas (same director), you might've noticed there's a lot of parallelism between both movies that's why I've decided to use my review for the latter to form my review for the former.
So what is it about? It's a heavy drama movie about two 30-somethings who meet in a bar and get to know each other via browsing each other's FB profile (highlight of the movie btw.) Then we get to see how their relationship progresses, then digresses. The difference is while AOY was presented in a linear manner, EB uses flashbacks and fastforwards which may confuse some viewers initially.
Who should watch it? Well, just about anyone who's been in a long-term relationship. You'll smile when you reminisce about the sweet nothings you and your partner said to each other when you started dating. You'll be stressed when you meet his ex (I mean is that an actual thing? Have you had your exes meet? If so, why? Help me understand.) You'll be worried when your first fight eventually turns to your hundredth. Then you'll ask yourself if you are staying in the relationship because you still love him or because you already invested too much of your time to it.
Was it worth your time? Again, if you've already seen AOY starring Derek Ramsey and Jennelyn Mercado you can skip this one but if you haven't, go ahead and watch it. At the very least they came up with a witty title instead of basing it off of a song. If Star Cinema starts producing content for streaming, in my opinion this would've fit more nicely as a multi-part episode instead of a movie.
Performances? Angelica Panganiban was great as per usual. Great comic timing, great in drama, great to look at and if anything she's the sole reason why you you'll watch. For the most part Carlo Aquino held his own, but it's undeniable he benefitted from their unequivocal chemistry. Supporting characters were well-casted, bannered by the actors chosen to play as their exes.
Final Verdict? If you can't find your copy of One More Chance after having seen it for the nth time, this can give you your temporary fix. Also each song on the soundtrack is worth listening to.
