MANILA, Philippines - Although Cesar Montano started in show business as an action star, the local audience’s waning interest in the genre has kept him from doing an action film for more than five years until the idea for Hitman came along.
Written, produced and directed by Cesar himself, the movie has all the ingredients found in blockbuster action films that Hollywood has continued to churn out. High-production value, tight editing, multi-faceted characters with interesting back stories, action scenes that hit viscerally and memorable punchlines make Hitman as contemporary and stylized as, say, Collateral and Unknown.
“Nowadays, Filipino moviegoers measure the value of local films against those made abroad. And I see the point: Bakit nga naman ako magbabayad ng same amount to watch a local film kung mas maganda ang offer ng Hollywood? So, Filipino filmmakers must think in those lines in order to be viable and that is what I tried to do in Hitman,” Cesar said.
While admitting that Filipino films can’t compete with the production value of most Hollywood films (“di hamak na mas malaki ang budget nila kesa sa atin”), Cesar points out that there are other elements that can make local films as effective and entertaining.
“Bigyan mo ng puso at bagong twist ang istorya, hanapin mo ang tamang combination pagdating sa cast, alagaan mo ang bawat eksena, experiment with the shots…” he said.
Hitman tells the story of Ben (played by Cesar), a man seeking revenge for the brutal death of his family committed by the very people who hired him to kill people. Along the way, he meets Gina (Sam Pinto) which compounds the situation and brings Ben to a crossroad. The story happens in just 48 hours with one scene vital to the next that viewers can’t afford to miss out on any one.
“Pero hindi ito hard-action lang. May pagka-comedy at love story din siya,” Cesar said.
The trailer of Hitman has had people predicting that Cesar’s film could very well set a new trend as far as local action films go. He is proud of his product and even mulls fielding Hitman to international film festivals.
But more than prestige, Cesar is happy to come home to a genre that’s close to his heart; hopeful that long-time action fans would come out of the woodwork and rally behind Hitman.
“Handa na ang publiko ulit for action films. Meron ng pananabik ulit,” Cesar said.
Also in the movie are Phillip Salvador, Ricky Davao, Mark Herras, Joko Diaz, Diego Montano, Rommel Montano, Jeffrey Tam, Sunshine Garcia, Onchie dela Cruz, Alexis Navarro and Sam as Cesar’s leading lady.
Hitman is produced by CM Productions and distributed by Viva Films. It will open Feb. 22 in theaters nationwide preceded by several promotional mall shows and a premiere night.