Maria

I had low expectations. I don't give movie reviews, ever. But reading all the other bad reviews, I just lost it. So here goes. First, most of the fight scenes are amazing and I have NEVER SEEN before in a Filipino action film. Most of them, at least. Some were flawless, some were just too choreographed. The acting, well, thanks to Ronnie Lazaro and Freddie Webb, it wasn't all that bad. I wish Christine Reyes just didn't speak English at all. But her facial expressions and overall acting, fight scenes, and stunts were incredible compared to her previous roles. The gunfights were great and to those saying they were bad, oh please, it's because you're comparing it to Hollywood movies. Stop. This isn't a Hollywood caliber one but it was entertaining. A few more polishes, a more in-depth storyline and screenplay and better acting would've made it much, much better. Kudos. This is tge start, please keep it up.

This film begins with an assassin named "Maria" (Christine Reyes) stealthily sneaking onto the inner courtyard of a heavily-guarded mansion. Not long afterward a fierce gun battle breaks out and she ends up killing all of her intended targets. The scene then shifts to seven years later where that same woman now has a husband by the name of "Bert" (Buji Lorenzana) and a young daughter named "Min-Min" (Johanna Rish Tongcua) and is quite content with her new life. Unfortunately, this changes when her former boss named "Kaleb" (Germaine De Leon) happens to see her and it's then disclosed that he has a score to settle with her which complicates things for all involved. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this turned out to be a pretty good action film all things considered. I especially liked the confrontation between Maria and her replacement "Miru" (Jennifer Lee) which I thought was well played. Admittedly, while not in the same class as any of the "John Wick" films, this one managed to hold its own and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

"Maria" is a typical revenge film, full of clichés, but highly entertaining. The language is a complete mess, probably because Cristine Reyes does not speak English. But she is gorgeous and sexy, with great choreography of martial arts and remembers Uma Thurman in "Kill Bill". In the end, "Maria" is a good entertainment for fans of the genre. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Vingança de Maria" ("The Revenge of Maria")

As a reviewer old enough to remember when these films were made only one place on the planet -- Hong Kong -- I consider this a solid effort with above average fight scenes. The problem could be that, in an effort to make English viewers feel more comfortable, the actors had to read some of their lines in English as if they were slang phrases -- something common in Japanese movies but which seemed awkward and stilted here. So ignore that. And the obligatory husband and child both seemed whiny and annoying so it was almost a relief when they were removed from the story. The rest of the movie is fine.

The cinematography was great. The writing was the worst thing about this movie. Try's way too hard to beAmerican cliche but ruins the whole move. The 'boss' is totally ridiculous and in no way to be taken serious or threatening. I know fight scenes are never realistic but we watch them anyway for fun, but this, totally ridiculous even though the choreography was done well. The special effects were very poor and way to much blood spray in every scene. This effect has been way over used in many films and does not look realistic at all. I felt nothing for the main character as i should have but there was no character development except for when they kill her family. Even then, it was too rushed. Had high hopes for this but it failed. I would recommend Buy Bust with Ann Curtis for a better movie all together.