Here’s my The Kingdom review which is set for release December 25, 2024 as part of this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival. The film is directed by Michael Tuviera and stars Vic Sotto, Piolo Pascual, Sue Ramirez, Cristine Reyes and Sid Lucero from MQuest Ventures Inc, M-ZET TV Productions, and APT Entertainment Inc.
Check out the trailer below:
The Kingdom has a very interesting premise and setup. It’s set in a Philippines that has never been conquered by the Spanish, the Americans and probably the Japanese. It gives us a fictional Philippines where we have established ourselves as the master of the seas and maritime trade and we have grown significantly stronger. In the middle of it all is the ruling leader, the Lakan, Lakan Makisig played by Bossing Vic Sotto, who is looking towards retiring and passing the throne to one of three children namely Bagwis (Lucero), Matimyas (Reyes) and Lualhati (Ramirez). The public have different levels of acceptance for the three royal children but the general consensus is it would either be Bagwis or Matimyas. Lualhati on the otherhand is set to be married off to the prince of Thailand. Things go on the wayside when violence erupts and two characters, Piolo Pascual’s Sulo crosses paths with Dayang Lualhati. Through their adventure, we see the internal and external politics for the nation.
I really don’t want to go to spoiler territory here and I believe I can put down my thoughts without revealing any big plot so here goes.
This 2-hour plus film was, for me, an excellent take on alternate Filipino history, the fictional history, a big “What If” like Marvel Studios’ and it’s given more flesh and given legs to stand on and hopefully walk. I love the idea of a alternate Philippines so this was a big “yes” for me for the plot alone.
Perennial box office king and MMFF darling Vic Sotto is here in a movie that doesn’t play on his comedic skills and experience. Rather this film utilizes’ Bossing’s acting ability; yes he has that and if you watch the Eat Bulaga classic Holy Week specials, you’ll know what I’m talking about. As Lakan Makisig, he did bring some air of royalty and authority in his performance. Bossing also got some added bonus through the interesting lines he delivered in the film like there’s this one scene where he calmly threatens his enemy after a surprising twist in the film’s second act. Delivering a solid threat like that in a calm tone is scarier than him shouting at the top of his lungs.
Piolo Pascual shares top-billing with Vic Sotto here and while it’s good, his whole redemption arc is a little too short for me. As Sulo, he is a man consumed by his thirst for revenge against the man who killed his father and it’s well-acted and well-written. The pairing with Sue Ramirez’s Dayang Lualhati is pretty OK and I’m getting that same vibe between the two as when Papa P was sharing the screen with Shaina Magdayao in “On The Job” years ago. It’s just this vibe. His intensity is also intact and even the action scenes where he’s involved in was also neatly choreographed.
The three siblings all have their strengths and weaknesses but suffice to say Sid Lucero, Cristine Reyes and Sue Ramirez were all fit for their roles. Lucero, who also did a great job in Netflix’s Outside, plays the cocky prince and next in line for the throne. Do we even have to breakdown how good he is as an actor? Right. Cristine Reyes as Matimyas is perfect for the role. She channels this liberated and intelligent woman who lost her father’s good grace and we’ve already seen also how good she can be with her past kontrabida roles. Finally I loved Sue Ramirez’s character here as the Dayang Lualhati. She’s this naive character who grows through the movie and even finds a potential partner in Sulo.
The premise was a beautiful concept and the idea was great but for me, we could have spent a few more minutes on expanding the lore or showing us MORE of this history. A short scene with a battle between the rajas and the invaders or even something from World War II could be sufficient enough to create a spinoff story with the same family. But given the film’s time constraints, that’s totally understandable.
The cinematography was also good here with sweeping cameras, light and dark shots, some neat lens flares here and there. It’s something film buffs have seen and are pretty used to but for the average moviegoing Pinoys, this might be fresh (not new). I also have to commend the musical scoring they did here. Not a fan of the song that they chose to encapsulate the film, but at least they did come up with something new and not those trashy cover songs. Tipping my hat to that.
But “The Kingdom” is not without its fault. For one, the film had some HUGE plot holes and there were also some pretty dumb moments in the film that should have been addressed somewhere during the production. Like there’s this scene involving the royal family and an attack. And it would have been OK, problem is, its so absurd to have such a small number of guards protecting the royal family. Like this should have seen hundreds of soldiers lined up in the streets so why can we count like less than 10? Another gripe I have was how formulaic it becomes towards the middle of the film like there’s a whole checklist of tropes that it follows to the letter like I’ve seen some of the direction of the plot from other movies both Hollywood and local as well.
Those problematic stuff aside, “The Kingdom” was an enjoyable movie running on an interesting premise.
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