Rewind Review – Dingdong Dantes, Marian Rivera
Rewind is finally on Netflix and here’s my Rewind Review. The film stars Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera. It’s directed by Mae Cruz Alviar
The film is the Pinoy version of “If Only” with some changes here and there. So if you’re already familiar with Groundhog Day and If Only you know that it’s a time loop thing with the potential to make you tear up with some tragic twist.
This Rewind Review has a ton of spoilers by the way so, SPOILER ALERT
The film revolves around John (Dingdong Dantes) and Mary (Marian Rivera) a well-to-do couple raising their son Austin. The problem is John’s too busy with work that it has become his life. When an accident befalls Mary, John is devastated but a chance encounter with God aka Lods (Pepe Herrera) gives him a second chance to relive the past day and save Mary’s life. John also agrees to take Mary’s place. Things do repeat and John can say goodbye and fix things before finally saying goodbye.
The film plays on faith and fate.
The good thing about this film is it caters to our Pinoy taste, especially with how certain things were portrayed and added in. We’re very family-oriented and deeply religious and that seeps into the story and screenplay. The film didn’t want us to forget that John and Mary are a family and ascribe to the idea that the women need to stay home and take care of the family all the while she’s sitting on her ass with the potential to become her own woman and have her own business and be somebody. The film tricks us into thinking that that is what Mary wants but by the time we pull up to the second act, that is clearly not the case. We also love our melodrama which is why Rewind is exceedingly dramatic. I mean I would probably throw a fit too if I was set up to believe that I would take over as the CEO of the company but I wouldn’t confront the boss even if we were close, he was my godfather at my wedding and he’s practically family.
The bad news here is that they were hampered by the screentime so they kind of rushed things here and there. Things that could have warranted a lot more development but the ending is half-baked. I can think of the subplot of John and his dad (Lito Pimentel) which could hold a lot of weight and was shown in a flashback. If they weren’t so pressed for time, that could have been a big moment. The dude was about to die and he’s already realized that he had to say goodbye. So what could a few more minutes be like to set that forgiveness scene? All that baggage got dumped offscreen? They were already going for the drama so why skip that?
Pepe Herrera as “Lods” was a treat. In the few scenes with him, he shows a different range of acting from the squirrelly guy we met in Probinsyano to the dramatic actor he is.
One of the strong points of Rewind also lies in the powerhouse couple of Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes. Those confrontation moments play normally and they bounce it like it already happened which is also normal for couples. So they take care of things rather easily. But they’re not phoning in their performance. You can certainly tell when Dingdong’s showing his skill as an actor or when Marian’s going soap opera mode on us and I am all for that.
I guess for this Rewind review, I set up a very very high expectation but it was mid. It was good but not soooo good as it was set up to be in December. I feel that a few things are lacking such as some integral scenes, more character moments, and more. That of course had to be sacrificed for the film’s big “kilig” moment. But this was still a good movie. Worth the watch but not super worth the hype.
VERDICT: 8/10
