Review of Showdown in Manila

I liked watching this film. The casting was normal as would be found among people on the good side and people on the bad side as to be found in a somewhat still 3rd world country. I rented the film hoping to see some of modern manila; most was market places and industrial buildings; so, although colorful, this didn't provide much of a travel-log set of scenes. But there was good variety of the faces on the screen and the dialog plus humor was all natural and appreciated. Hollywood has pretty weird plots nowadays, and this film was not too heavy handed. Good guys die all at once initially, and from then on, the toll taken is strictly on the criminals. It was advertised as disclosing terrorist activity; however, that aspect never was brought up. There seemed to be no religious themes at all in the movie. The film did not have night scenes which I think are much too much overdone in most action films currently made. Music was good with the film and I can't remember being offended by any profanity. Although the chief criminal -- whose name never could be clearly heard in the dialogue (Wrath) -- was a drug producer, there was no overt scene showing drug use. I also welcome this. The sidekick investigator had good lines and he complemented the most-often stone-faced lead male player. They seemed always working together so the "happy medium" of the good guys always seemed personable. The ending was a bit of a shock, but if someone is going to pay one hundred thousand dollars to have this "Wrath" criminal captured, I guess there should be a little allowance for overkill, so to speak. Jungle scenes were colorful, scenic, and not frightening. The writer and director did more than adequate job and performing, only the police force actors actually over-acted a bit and tension being built seemed somewhat far-fetched. The young female informant did a cute job and her lines added to a bit of confidence that movie was headed towards a good resolution. The girlfriend of the Russian star has a somewhat European face and I enjoyed fitting all her features, voice, teeth, nose together to total up to a girl this strong star would desire and kiss on screen. I liked the film. I'll watch it a second time tomorrow.