Transmutators (2007)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Simply A Masterpiece

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This Filipino Sci-Fi blockbuster uses the template set out by Hollywood. It's great to see so many elements employed in later films such as Avatar/District 9, used here on a small budget, but NOT small scale. The film is entertaining and had me gripped for the most part. It would seem that flawed CGI with a lot of effort is more interesting than flawless CGI. We get giant robot/mech-suit battles, aliens, and even a bicycle chase. That bicycle chase was more exciting that flying alien-raptor- birds. It mixes a bit of comedy/romance/emotion and is pretty successful. Sure, the dialogue and effects are at the same level as Power Ranger episodes, but if you like cheap and campy sci-fi, then Resiklo ain't too shoddy.

Pros: The CG is quite decent and very good for Philippine movie standards. The designs are good and production value is quite high (again, going by Philippine movie standards). Although, the anime-style (exagerrated form over function) costume for the humans looks too tacky and doesn't work very well on the big screen. The robot fight scene was fun and looked great.Cons: EXPOSITION, EXPOSITION, EXPOSITION. The director is a horrible storyteller and everything is done through exposition. The dialogue and acting will make you roll your eyes and cringe multiple times throughout. Poor character development, in fact a lot of the characters are unnecessary. Motivations for most characters aren't even expressed at all. Inconsistent tone. Comic relief scenes are scattered everywhere, all of them very corny.

Resiklo or Recycle. Resiklo is "BASICALLY" an Alien Invasion were there is one standing to unite and fight the aliens. Crisval (Ramon Revilla Jr), a military who lost his wife and daughter during AI(Alien Invasion), his character is not so convincing since there are plenty of flaws that are so obvious though his fight scenes near the end of the story are quite amusing seeing the Leader of the Mutanos and him brawling ,at what I see a large Pole, because I began to see Jackie Chan in his RH3.Angelo (Dingdong Dantes), son of the mayor of the last city of Philippines "Paraiso" and a member of some errand men together with Crisval. some of his fighting scenes are...... lame.... especially the last fight against AInvaders wherein he is on his (originally Crisval's Resiklo Robot) robot and he says "....Pull Out!", if a military man heard this command what do you think they would do? Obviously pull out which in layman's term is "Move Back" or "Retreat" but in the movie they move forward (-wtf) and reality check, who would even think to get out of his armored recycle robot just to fight a "mutanos" (Mutant human with supposed to be had an enormous strength or whatsoever).and Bianca (Jennylyn Mercado), What the heck is she doing in that movie, i can't feel her presence and i don't know why. there is this one funny thing i could never forget about her (the scene with Crisval near the end of the movie)wherein she asked Crisval "..Sino si Patricio?" (There is no Patricio involve in that film it was supposed to be Patricia, the daughter of Crisval who died during AI) and Crisval answered her it was his daughter. I just laughed but silently.I will move to the whole movie, CGI are great I cannot believe that there someone who can creates those things but still it was so so, Bong should stop dreaming when he SHouted out loud that it was on a Level of Hollywood film (Maybe during 80's Starwars era) the Robots seemed lightweights that they don't leave any footprints on the sands (What IS Up!), the fighting scenes are ALL LAMES stop using your children BONG, they don't even help, at least Dd Dantes carry them over. Please Don't rush out the film (for the sequel) it will be one of the movie we could be proud of (But i cannot)let it be polished first before showing because only children would love not US (CGI-Film/Animation artist). and Lastly the story is ................. very fast phased can't you not make it at least 2plus hours so that you don't have to quicken every scenes make it more crispier.For the folks who wish to watch the film on big Screen, don't waste your money instead wait for the pirated version >:) because for us this movie cost only 40 php but if you still wanna peek the movie just be an idiot once the film start so that you can enjoy the film.

"Resiklo" (literally, "Recycle") certainly wouldn't be the worst film this side of the planet you'd see this time of the year. But any hope that this mega-budgeted movie (at least by Philippine standards) would enthrall will depend on how high you place your expectations as much as where you place them. This Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry offers a grand production design and decent CGI although the robots are only fun in small doses. Keep your expectations at bay and that may suffice to vindicate P120 off your pocket. But it's still a sad shadow of what could have been a terrifically tense Filipino sci-fi.In 2021, the Earth is invaded by alien beings (Balangs) who then engage humankind into a worldwide war, destroying all the planet's natural resources in the process. In a post-apocalyptic Philippines, a band of survivors live in an undisclosed place they call "Paraiso," an underground society so hidden everyone else thinks it's a myth. Nevertheless, the people of this place fend themselves through their sheer ingenuity, using recycled scraps they regularly scavenge from the outside world for their basic necessities.But eventually their hideout is located by the Mutanos, a group of beings who were once humans, but were converted by the Balangs into a superior mutated sentient. A chance encounter between Crisval (Bong Revilla), one of the residents of "Paraiso," and the son of the leader of the Mutanos leads to the death of the latter, and ignites the wrath of the Mutanos and wages a war against the humans.The concept is actually fun but the perfunctory and predictable script, plus the embarrassingly wooden acting from Revilla limp this film right out of the door. Written and directed by Mark Reyes, "Resiklo" was supposedly pitched as an idea for a television series, but eventually landed onto the big screen courtesy of Senator Bong Revilla, who stars and co-produces. Reyes has a comparatively more coherent hold of the narrative this time than in "Mulawin: The Movie" two years back, but the rush to cover the expansive mythology shows through this anecdotal sort of a movie, following a number of characters from plot point to plot point but not offering a whole lot on the way of a sensible story. And the dialogues are written in dreadfully serious manners, it's hard not to force a groan when Revilla utters lines like "Overstaying na kayo, dapat na kayong i-deport (You should be deported for overstaying)!" This leads to the film's biggest problem: it's boring. There's action scenes to be sure, but most of the film involves people walking around looking for scraps and faux-politicians talking about what they intend to do next to survive. The bland dramatic scenes then are punctuated by action scenes that are awkwardly edited and painfully lacking in the sort of visual detail that really makes them adrenaline-pumping. The movie's selling point of robots battling each other occur so short and so fast, and the rendering of the animation is at times so inorganic it's distracting. Personally, only one fight scene stands out and surprisingly it's that of Empress Schuck, where her blind character fights off Mutanos soldiers with her walking cane. Sexy.Which makes you wish that the girl gets more butt-kicking screen time. Or maybe instead of playing a doctor (which takes a lot of time buying into), Michelle Madrigal were cast in the lead role wearing skimpy outfits, gunning the enemies out, ala Milla Jovovich. It wouldn't make the movie anymore logical, but it certainly would make it more interesting.