Heneral Luna (2015)

One of my all time favorites.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

My Personal Rating 5.8/10 - I do agree that this film is overrated it is a average film but for filipino standards this is a good step up because most of our films produced on our country are trash. but if i compare this in other film. it's not really that great. i liked this film but i don't think it's rating right now is fair. 7.8? nope. don't be fooled by critics it's being overrated. other than that it's an watchable film, with some cheesy scene that you won't like. especially that ending scene that is so exaggerated. if you are interested on Heneral Luna's Story you can choose. watch this film or read his story instead. i guess if i'm you i would watch this film but i will just try to ignore the cheesy parts.

After hearing enough of the buzz and fuss of this movie, "HENERAL LUNA", I finally gave in and joined in towing the line of late screeners for this intriguing flick. The question I want answered as I crept inside the theater is this: "IS THE MOVIE TRULY DESERVING OF ALL THE PRAISES RECEIVED? I soon found out.I am no history buff but there's no point anyway if we dwell on arguments on the film's accuracy in depicting the life and exploits of this revolutionary army since the flick opens with introductory disclaiming line, saying "It's A Work Of A Fiction Inspired By Facts…", therefore, that being implied, it is only but right to set aside debate on its historical precision.This movie offers a lot of promise, I should say. It has its telling, inspiring, and yes, visually jaw-dropping moments that one could even wonder if this is indeed a Pinoy-made film, well, at least technically speaking. The narrative is likewise quite impressive, though at some point the simulation on some movies of the same theme is somehow evident, if not dead obvious. To sum it all up, this is a movie of one's bravery, his courageous exploits in spearheading the struggle for independence and freedom for his homeland, his unfaltering principle, the corruption in politics, the grand conspiracy, the ensuing betrayal, the ultimate sacrifice of death, and the eventual "Pontius Pilate" demeanor of the red-handed characters who were being alluded to of having the brains of his gruesome demise.At its surface, and as bolstered by the hype this movie gets, it really sounds promising and intriguing. Or is it not? I say not quite.While admittedly I was literally enthralled and wowed by the cinematographical innovation, visual flares, and passable portrayals (except for Buencamino, and few handfuls who have really done great) of the characters on selected scenes, I simply find this movie being just "OK" and "far" near from being spectacular, as others described it to be. Yes, the flashback sequence where Luna closes his eyes and recalls the past with interchanging events in one sequence, and, that final act of repulsion and denial of the surviving important characters during interviews with beautiful score being played on the background, until the digitally-enhanced (CGI) burning of the Philippine flag that was hanged on the wall as credit started to roll, are so damn perfectly executed that it was a no surprise when I heard applauses in quite a number from some overly-satisfied viewers at my back.Unfortunately, while I tried hard to be in concurrence and joined the bandwagon of chanters who glorify this film, my distastes on some non-trivial scenes and horrendous depictions simply prevail over my sheer admiration specially that this movie, if i heard it right, has been selected as our entry for the upcoming Oscar Awards. Why i said so? Take for instance those scenes where Luna, under the heavy gun battle with bullets flying all over his (or their) direction, mainly stood there in the field like a bold lion directing his docking men (where some were already fatally shot), while occasionally returning aimless fires, and yet he was spared from even a single bullet?! Oh-ha!There's more (and many more,actually). The final act showed Luna being shot multifariously at the center of an "encircling" shooters who were just about four meters away from each other with rifles (and bolos)! Seriously, ha? And one can't assume excuses on lack of strategy of soldiers during that time, since shooting a lone adversary while fatally endangering yourselves of an inevitable crossfire while surrounding him at such a distance, is not only foolish at the highest level but downright stupid. And yes, as if that was not enough of a ridicule, our main actor refused to fall down and die) that easily despite sustaining several shots, stabs and hacks (and shot again, and stabbed again, and hacked again) that I can't help but ask myself if the makers of this film are in fact implying a cryptic message that Luna was into heavy drugs just like Tony Montana (played by Al Pacino) in that climactic scene in "Scarface" (pun intended).Don't get me wrong here for just like you, I can easily suspend disbelief and let trivial errors slip just that, but not on this one which I really considered as an idiotically-made blunder. How come the director and writers paid less, or no, attention at all to such important details and compromised, to that effect, a movie which has so much potential to be good, or even best, unless otherwise they were just sarcastically insulting the viewers' wit.Finally, I earnestly thought the vast amount of comedy and humor injected on some serious scenes as outlandish and uncalled for, as most of them were cheesy and distracting at times or in some point, instead of drawing the desired comic relief.Should you watch this movie (assuming that you haven't done that yet)? It's up to you, really, but you've been warned.Just my two cents.

If you are unable to watch this movie in cinemas the best thing you can do is to purchase an original copy of the movie.The movie, character, plot, setting, climax are perfect. The movie is not trying hard and it is very entertaining to watch.There isn't much effects and most of the shots are done manually with a little aid of cgi, their characters are balanced and performed well throughout the movie. It shows the humane side of Heneral Luna (Gen.Luna) how his passion and love for the country evolved during his time.I have nothing much to say as this is indeed a great movie to watch and very regretful to miss.

Better late than never...Heneral Luna opens claiming that this is a fictionalized biopic of one of Philippine's most important historical figures, Antonio Luna, for the sake of getting the modern audience into the history's bigger picture. In spite of being more intense and surprisingly humorous, the movie stays loyal to what this figure truly stands for. The war is brutal, over-the-top to bring up for visual flare, and their serious situations being often treated as sincere satires. How the film executed these ideas are just brilliant, it gets larger-than-life without feeling outlandish, towards the heart of defending the nation worth fighting for.The film is all about justifying their quote about the real enemy of this war is themselves. Although we see warfare with both the Philippine and American army attacking each other, this battle is basically the secondary concern here. The real detail of this war is how many soldiers chickening out from the battlefield and some officials wanted to work with the Americans. But of course, their real goal is independence; the movie makes a punchline out of those who aren't helping out, those who are just running away and those who are just isn't fond of Luna's aggressiveness. The film doesn't glamorize the character of Luna, either. Though his intentions are right, his rage could get out of hand which puts most of them off. But that also indicate that winning this revolution deserves more discipline than what they got.Back to the fact that this is taken a lot out of creative liberties, the movie fills this history with vast amount of sense of humor and violent panache. The violence is, again, over-the-top. At times it gets pretty symbolical, specifically the climax. The humor is clearly just satirizing to those characters who aren't being helpful and those who are afraid of facing Luna's rage once more. And when it's not trying to pull off any sense of levity, we just get to see the story flesh itself out more in the sidelines of its history and other characters.The filmmaking is stunning, slick and stylish. The production looks pretty neat. The movie is paced nicely even at times it's layered to different events, but puts itself together consistently. The acting is beyond impressive; specifically John Arcilla as Antonio Luna. He brings a genuine humanity, and at the same time, a really compelling sense of madness, which terrifically lives up to the complexity of its subject. The supporting also lends real gravity and even delight on screen, but it's Arcilla's show and that's more than enough of a worth seeing performance through out.Maybe some quibbles I could point out; maybe how the enemies are portrayed felt like they're written to be campy villains and maybe just one punchline in the film that felt like it belongs to a comedy skit. But again, these are quibbles and they can be debunked, even by myself. The former can be forgiven since they're technically not the main villains of this ordeal, while the latter is just a single scene and obviously designed to keep shaming the cowards at the battlefield. Anything else, there is so much to love in Heneral Luna. It's great, not only because it's humorous and visually interesting, but it's also a two-sided argument towards its history, not based on praising, but actually by criticism. Yes, this is a war movie that gets brutal, but the movie focuses on a meatier and more challenging side of the ordeal. And it pokes fun at some unwise decisions the people behind this war make, but what matters is the intention of its subject unable to die while he's still standing. Otherwise, it's just an ultimately entertaining film that exceeds expectations. Truly recommended.