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] Date Posted:21:31:13 12/30/03 Tue Author Host/IP: 73-184-adsl.dial-pool.digitelone.com/202.138.184.73
THE LATE MARS Ravelo’s komiks superhero, “Captain Barbell”, has been filmed three times before. The past versions starring Bob Soler, Dolphy and Edu Manzano definitely pale in comparison to his latest incarnation as Bong Revilla, that may be considered as the best so far. Director Mac Alejandre succeeds in making use of the advances in state-of-the-art technology effectively in the various scenes involving computer special effects. He and screenwriter RJ Nuevas also update the story and give it some new twists.
Just like in the previous adaptations, the story centers on Enteng (Ogie Alcasid), a kind-hearted janitor oppressed by various bullies. He’s secretly in love with Cielo (Regine Velasquez), the teacher of his younger sister (Sarah Geronimo.) At the gym where he works, they’re holding a contest for bodybuilders named after Captain Barbell. When Enteng picks up a rusty old barbell, he is transformed into Captain Barbell (Bong Revilla.)
Captain Barbell licks a number of minor criminals as a crimebuster, but he has three main adversaries. The most well delineated role is that of Dagampatay (Jeffrey Quizon), a half-wit vagrant. He tries to save a child from being hit by a car but bystanders thought he wanted to hurt the boy so they maul him. He returns to his home under a bridge to nurse his bleeding wounds. The rats there are kinder to him. A mysterious meteorite then mutates him into a half-man, half-rat whose deadly venom can cause a man to melt down.
Another villain is Freezy (Rufa Mae Quinto), a clerk in an ice plant raped by her boss (Emilio Garcia) who then puts her inside a block of ice. Another mysterious meteorite brings her back to life. How she is transformed to her Freezy getup is not at all explained.
The final villain is Lagablab (Albert Martinez), who starts as Arnaldo, a fire-eater in a carnival oppressed by his boss (Menggie Cobarrubias.) He kills his boss then a bolt of lightning hits him, transforming him into Lagablab who has the power to fly and wreak havoc by throwing balls of fire and causing explosions.
The special effects used in showing the powers of these three characters are all first-rate, like the victims of Dagampatay melting down when he spits at them. Another amazing scene shows Freezy slowly turning her rapist into ice after she breathes into his arm. Also convincing are the special effects showing Lagablab throwing balls of fire on cars that then explode and turn turtle.
The flying scenes are also quite polished compared to past local films involving superheroes, particularly Bong Revilla’s take offs and touchdowns. The scene where he gets Regine from the balcony of her home and they fly together amidst the stars is both romantic and thrilling. The climactic showdown of Bong and Albert in Lagablab’s lair is also executed well, ending with Bong taking Albert into outer space while they’re rapidly spinning together to get rid of him.
For an added attraction, Regine has a dream sequence showing her as Darna where she battles some aliens led by Blakdyak along with Captain Barbell and Lastikman (PJ Malonzo).
But there is a plot element that is not properly explained in the movie. Enteng’s mother, Belen (Snooky Serna), was abandoned by her husband, who turns out to be Arnaldo. So that means that when Arnaldo became Lagablab, Enteng was still a baby. So what did he do in the meantime as Lagablab while Enteng was growing up and how come he only made his presence fully felt when he has already acquired his superpowers as Captain Barbell? Something is obviously wrong somewhere.
They could argue that the movie is aimed primarily for the kids during the Christmas holidays (and it succeeds well in that aspect) so we should not look anymore for logic in the storyline. But still, the movie would have turn out better if they were able to iron out this loophole in the narrative.
The movie is also meant for the fans of Regine Velasquez. When we saw it on its premiere night, we realized it’s now the era of Regine because everytime she appears on screen, her fans cheer wildly, even during her kissing scenes with both Ogie and Bong. Without her Darna dream sequence, she plays a largely decorative role in the movie as the female love interest.
Ogie provides the comic scenes as Enteng while Bong Revilla certainly looks dashing and virile on screen in his bodyhugging Captain Barbell outfit.
Another plus factor in the movie is the love song Ogie composed Cielo and Captain Barbell, “Sa Piling Mo”, set into beautiful music by scorer Gerdie Francisco. As a whole, Romy Vitug’s cinematography is likewise topnotch, although we notice that in the printing, the color in some scenes suddenly change and comes out uneven on screen. The film can also stand a bit more editing to quicken the pacing, particularly during the scenes where the characters chat a lot, bogging the film down.
Captain Barbell Review!