Maria (2019)

I'll start out with a content warning... this is an action movie and shows lots of blood and torture. A lot of times it's super fake (wait where did that blood come from), but it could be very disturbing for some.
There is a also a shower scene with the main character that really doesn't hide much and lots of swearing (in English mostly).

Story (6.0):
Okay, the story is pretty simple. Girl was assassin, girl retires (pretends she's dead). Gang boss's son sees her and messes with her family. Girl goes on revenge spree to kill the son.
That's all it is and I'm not saying that's bad. In fact, if any of you have seen John Wick, you can tell from the way I worded it that the basic plot is a lot like that story. It could even be argued that the plot for Maria has a better emotional pull than the plot for John Wick.
However, where John Wick shines is clearly the action sequences and this film can't hold a candle to it. I'm not saying the action sequences are bad, and they have some good use of Filipino Martial Arts, but they're obviously staged and don't feel real compared to the brutal quality and obvious training from John Wick (all of the John Wick series).

Acting/Cast (7.0):
The acting is fairly good, mostly from the main character. A lot of the rest had pretty cheesy lines they had to deliver and I was impressed with how well they pulled off those cheesy lines. Still, cheesy is cheesy lol.

Music (7.0):
There were a lot of epic songs played in this, but I didn't think they did a good job of going with one as a highlight for an awesome sequence. It felt like the music faded out too quickly. But the tracks weren't bad.

Rewatch Value (7.0):
I honestly probably won't rewatch this anytime soon because I know much better action movies (e.g. John Wick, The Villainess), but this is one of the most watchable Filipino movies I've seen and I think has a new level of quality I've never seen in them before.

Overall (6.5):
For me personally, the hilarity of random blood squirts (e.g. bat to the upper back, neck explodes) and a bit of woodenness in the otherwise pretty well choreographed fight sequences combined with some cheesy dialog kept throwing me out of the story and reduced the amount of fun I had. But it's still a pretty good action movie and if you think you can turn your brain off, I recommend it.

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Revenge is best served in blood

This is a violent movie. Cristine Reyes is very good actress, the supporting were ok, but they could have gotten better actors. The music is good but it would have made impact if it was Louder and some rap music would have toned it up.

She was an assassin going out with another assassin but she cannot kill the family of her last target so she saved them and left the life of crime.

She was able to hide and later married and had a daughter. She was recognized by her exbf and was marked to be killed along with her family. Her daughter and husband was killed and she sought her ex and killed him. I think there is supposed to be a part 2, but did not happen

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"You are death!"

Maria tread over familiar revenge movie ground, not adding anything particularly innovative. For those who watch action and martial arts films such as Kill Bill, The Villainous, or La Femme Nikita you'll be able to call out what will happen next with little difficulty. Still, I did find this film entertaining even if it didn't offer anything new to the genre.

Lily/Maria had been a trained assassin working for Kaleb and the De La Vegas crime family. After she refused to kill two innocents, she faked her death and "retired". A few years later she's enjoying her life with a husband and daughter. Kaleb discovers she's still alive when he's tasked to kill an incorruptible governor. He's in a Cain and Abel relationship with another killer working for the family who wants his spot in the hierarchy. A standard revenge trope later and Maria is on a rampage. I truly wish writers would be more innovative when writing for women assassins, most of these movies are incredibly similar and use the same tired paradigm set decades ago.

The movie utilized Filipino martial arts and knife fighting as well as plenty of gun action. The fights were well choreographed but not extraordinary. What I liked about the various confrontations was that there were few extended fights with any rival, Maria competently took out the bad guys in a precise and efficient manner.

For those who are squeamish, there were several gruesome torture scenes and plenty of blood spurting with the fights. Despite the provocative poster there was no nudity only one shower scene where no bits and parts were on display.

Christine Reyes was credible as both the happy homemaker making sure everyone ate a healthy breakfast and the cool, calculating assassin. The rest of the cast were capable, but not memorable. For the most part, Maria wore sensible rampage clothes. Often directors dress female assassins provocatively to lure or appease male viewers. There was a club scene where she wore a sexy dress and ridiculously high heels. The actress seemed to have trouble walking on the thin heels, I would have broken an ankle. I was pleased that she went back to pants and sensible shoes for kicking and chasing down her enemies. The crime family's female assassins were more scantily clothed. Win some, lose some. Lastly, the score was properly edgy for all the death and mayhem.

I've watched several Filipino films, and Maria had the best production values of the lot. There was a nice use of color and light. The fight scenes didn't seem to have a high budget, but it didn't appear cheaply made either.

While the movie was predictable, Maria was a worthy assassin to add to the female cadre of action "heroes". Also, it was nice to see a Filipino film embracing the world of badass female leads. Next time maybe they can be the one to break the mold that most countries are content to use repeatedly.

4/15/23

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a girl can fight too

This movie is superb, full packed with action scenes. This Filipino action revenge movie is one of a kind. I am amazed by Christina Reyes who plays Lily/Maria she really trained so much in this film, you can see how well she did in her fight scenes, that she delivered it well.
The story is common but they give justice on the film came across that touches our hearts. We can feel Maria's pain when she loss her family that is why she is eager to give them revenge that they deserve.
I am not that satisfied with its ending I feel like there's a part two. Filipino action movies are improving. I can say that its the female version of John Wick.

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