I thought Richard Gutierrez's "Chuck Norris" brand of bad acting was going to be the only thing bad about this movie. But it was the whole package in its entirety that was oozing in what appears to be a perfect disappointment.
The SPECIAL EFFECTS & MUSIC: One of the major flaws of this movie is that it suffers from its miserable special effects. The special effect of flying alone takes a good amount of rendering, not only in terms of tools and technology, but in terms of handling the special effects that should be uniformed with an actor's interpretation of a flying scene. In the long run, it's best not to venture into such a scene than to force yourself into making one that will only look utterly ridiculous.
The music in this movie certainly sounds like the same synthesizer-generated sounds of the typical Regal Films action-adventure flops that have stank the local movie industry for decades now.
The SET DESIGNS, COSTUMES & MAKE-UP: Everything looks too polished-up clean and ultra-colorful, that everything looks like it was fresh off the factory. I have loved the Encantadia set in the television series. It may be the same set used in this movie but this time, the set looks intentionally "floralled-up" and made to look three times as colorful as it usually is. Instead of making the set a bit monochromatic as to make the sets look genuine, the set of this movie just explodes with vibrant colors that you know everything is fake. The walls that may have made to look real, now looks like it was plywood that glistens with the paint it hides in.
EGAD! One Hathor (villain/orclike) warrior was wearing a striped white and purple shirt underneath his Hathor helmet and upper armor. And it was obvious! I guess they have boutiques in Encantadia! There was also another scene in the climax where I see another Hathor warrior wear the typical white shirt underneath the Hathor armor!
Richard Gutierrez had THICKER make-up than Angel Locsin. That was just plain stupid. You've just been to battle, and you have lipstick and make-up?
The ACTING: Every time Richard is made to act like he is staring with love in his eyes, it's a cheesy long stare that reminds you of Shampoo commercials, and he does it with a ridiculous smile and long pause as if waiting for the director's cue to tell him when to stop. This movie only proves that Richard Gutierrez doesn't know how to improv.
His father Eddie Gutierrez seems stoned in his role as Dakila. Always seemingly oblivious and very un-reactive to the scenes and the pace of the storyline. And despite his being a main character in the series, his participation in this movie makes him look like less of an extra. Completely unoriginal and lame, Michael De Mesa as the villain has a performance the same way most villains in typical (overrated) Tagalog movies do: they just recite their lines and laugh & sneer in a cliché villain-like manner.
The storyline and DIRECTION: The storyline of the movie is not completely faithful to the continuity of the Mulawin and Encantadia series. But at the same time, it draws upon many instances wherein the storyline requires one to have been familiar with what has transpired in the TV series. In one (supposedly suspenseful revelation) scene, Pirena reveals that she was able to know the secrets of the heroes using Imaw's tungkod (staff) but the movie doesn't even care to explain who Imaw is and what the staff can do.
There is even no character development as we are just thrusted into scenes where we find out that everybody knew all along that Aguiluz and Ravenum are father and son. The pointlessness goes on. There's one scene where Ybarro (a character from Encantadia, played by Dingdong Dantes) just appears out of nowhere fighting alongside the Mulawins. There is no progression or proper introduction of characters.
Bad direction also refers to things that are opposite from common sense. The swords of heroes like Ybarro and Aguiluz have obviously killed not less than five villains, but after that we still see their swords glistening in cleanliness. As the climactic battle ensues, Pirena just disappears without even leaving a note. Did she intentionally flee from battle? Did she need to go to the bathroom? She's the second main villain and we just assume her absence in the end? In the main battle in the beginning of the story, the fighting never makes sense. The Hathors pause their fighting to give way for a dialogue between Pirena and her sisters. Because this is a motion picture, I would assume that the fighting sequences would improve from the television standards. It did not. It was even diminished, thanks to the improperly ambitious move of making special effects shots out of the sword duels. Those shots were clumsily fast, technically obvious, and cinematically awkward that the scene ends up as pointless garbage. The shots were too close to the actors that we never really see them have a duel, and whose fighting-face acting is unconvincing.
I dread upon the conclusion that MULAWIN the movie only destroys the reputation of the Encantadia series. And gives a damning demerit to GMA's track record in making seriously fantasy TV series. GMA Films was presented with the grand opportunity to change the face of Philippine cinema in terms of action-adventure fantasy movies. They failed it by resorting to the old standards. MULAWIN the Movie is a Disappointment and a Failure.
The SPECIAL EFFECTS & MUSIC: One of the major flaws of this movie is that it suffers from its miserable special effects. The special effect of flying alone takes a good amount of rendering, not only in terms of tools and technology, but in terms of handling the special effects that should be uniformed with an actor's interpretation of a flying scene. In the long run, it's best not to venture into such a scene than to force yourself into making one that will only look utterly ridiculous.
The music in this movie certainly sounds like the same synthesizer-generated sounds of the typical Regal Films action-adventure flops that have stank the local movie industry for decades now.
The SET DESIGNS, COSTUMES & MAKE-UP: Everything looks too polished-up clean and ultra-colorful, that everything looks like it was fresh off the factory. I have loved the Encantadia set in the television series. It may be the same set used in this movie but this time, the set looks intentionally "floralled-up" and made to look three times as colorful as it usually is. Instead of making the set a bit monochromatic as to make the sets look genuine, the set of this movie just explodes with vibrant colors that you know everything is fake. The walls that may have made to look real, now looks like it was plywood that glistens with the paint it hides in.
EGAD! One Hathor (villain/orclike) warrior was wearing a striped white and purple shirt underneath his Hathor helmet and upper armor. And it was obvious! I guess they have boutiques in Encantadia! There was also another scene in the climax where I see another Hathor warrior wear the typical white shirt underneath the Hathor armor!
Richard Gutierrez had THICKER make-up than Angel Locsin. That was just plain stupid. You've just been to battle, and you have lipstick and make-up?
The ACTING: Every time Richard is made to act like he is staring with love in his eyes, it's a cheesy long stare that reminds you of Shampoo commercials, and he does it with a ridiculous smile and long pause as if waiting for the director's cue to tell him when to stop. This movie only proves that Richard Gutierrez doesn't know how to improv.
His father Eddie Gutierrez seems stoned in his role as Dakila. Always seemingly oblivious and very un-reactive to the scenes and the pace of the storyline. And despite his being a main character in the series, his participation in this movie makes him look like less of an extra. Completely unoriginal and lame, Michael De Mesa as the villain has a performance the same way most villains in typical (overrated) Tagalog movies do: they just recite their lines and laugh & sneer in a cliché villain-like manner.
The storyline and DIRECTION: The storyline of the movie is not completely faithful to the continuity of the Mulawin and Encantadia series. But at the same time, it draws upon many instances wherein the storyline requires one to have been familiar with what has transpired in the TV series. In one (supposedly suspenseful revelation) scene, Pirena reveals that she was able to know the secrets of the heroes using Imaw's tungkod (staff) but the movie doesn't even care to explain who Imaw is and what the staff can do.
There is even no character development as we are just thrusted into scenes where we find out that everybody knew all along that Aguiluz and Ravenum are father and son. The pointlessness goes on. There's one scene where Ybarro (a character from Encantadia, played by Dingdong Dantes) just appears out of nowhere fighting alongside the Mulawins. There is no progression or proper introduction of characters.
Bad direction also refers to things that are opposite from common sense. The swords of heroes like Ybarro and Aguiluz have obviously killed not less than five villains, but after that we still see their swords glistening in cleanliness. As the climactic battle ensues, Pirena just disappears without even leaving a note. Did she intentionally flee from battle? Did she need to go to the bathroom? She's the second main villain and we just assume her absence in the end? In the main battle in the beginning of the story, the fighting never makes sense. The Hathors pause their fighting to give way for a dialogue between Pirena and her sisters. Because this is a motion picture, I would assume that the fighting sequences would improve from the television standards. It did not. It was even diminished, thanks to the improperly ambitious move of making special effects shots out of the sword duels. Those shots were clumsily fast, technically obvious, and cinematically awkward that the scene ends up as pointless garbage. The shots were too close to the actors that we never really see them have a duel, and whose fighting-face acting is unconvincing.
I dread upon the conclusion that MULAWIN the movie only destroys the reputation of the Encantadia series. And gives a damning demerit to GMA's track record in making seriously fantasy TV series. GMA Films was presented with the grand opportunity to change the face of Philippine cinema in terms of action-adventure fantasy movies. They failed it by resorting to the old standards. MULAWIN the Movie is a Disappointment and a Failure.