10 Things to Expect from GOYO

This kembular na review is 5 days late. Got the privilege to see GOYO in its premiere night last August 30 through an invitation from a friend in RainOrShine, the paint brand that provided paint (malamang) to the film. And while you may have the possibility to compare Goyo with its prequel Heneral Luna, these expectations may guide you to appreciate Goyo as a justifiable sequel.

1.  Heneral Luna is not Goyo. Aggressive si Heneral Luna, while Goyo is more intimate. Heneral Luna struggles externally, while Goyo is more of self-struggle and inner conflict. This is the major factor why the other expectations must be set.
2. Phasing is slower. Dahil more emote si Goyo sa kanyang pansariling pakikibaka, noticeable na malumanay ang takbo ng istorya. Hindi nagmamadali. Hindi sumisigaw. Bihira ang pagmumura.
3.  Mga 70% ng storyline is about the internal battle ni pakboi Goyo (more of that later). Bale kase dalawa ang conflict, isang patriotic historical war at isang internal war na pinagdadaanan ni Goyo. Yes, kids. May internal struggle na tinatawag. Kung ano yung pinagkaka-abalahan ni Goyo na ie-emote sa kwento, its for you to find out. Ang tawag dyan is meticulous character development. Unfortunately, hindi uso ang character development sa maraming pelikula at palabas sa TV ng Pilipinas.
4.  Imagine Goyo with Tinder. He became a General at the age of 23. So expect him to be flirty and swiping left & right with girls around. There’s even a scene when (if Goyo is a millennial) one of the characters is nagbasa ng Messenger app niya. LOL. Hanapin niyo yun. Kung may pakboi na sa mga lessons natin sa History, for sure perfect case study ng historical fuccboiness si del pilar.
5.  Orgasmic sound. Yeah. The sound team nailed it. And musical scoring is just perfect. Sorry mga bagets, walang cover ni Moira dito. At walang scene kung saan nagkaka-developan si Goyo at Remedios (Gwen) habang nakabackground ang theme song. Walang ganun. Direct Jerold Tarog on one of his tweets, even gave an advice to watch Goyo where there is Dolby Atmos. Saan may dolby atmos? Gateway and Boni High Street.
6. Laging nakaupo si Mabini. Ewan ko nalang kung mag viral pa yan kung bakit siya lagi nakaupo.
7.  The Battle of Tirad Pass is as pure as it gets. Minimal na explosions. More on tactics. At may konting mashup ng comedy. Paglalaruan ang feelings mo between tragedy and comic relief. Pero kahit nagbabakbakan na, Goyo continues to struggle. To the point na iisipin mong, ang lamya mo namang heneral dude! Which only emphasizes his heroic flaws. Nevertheless, the scenes are immersive with bonggang bullet sounds flying everywhere.
8.  And by the way, the battle of Tirad Pass alone took 3 months to shoot. Which normally the whole shooting period of a usual Star Cinema romcom.
9.  Expect Carlo Aquino in a war zone, bago siya pumapel na cute ex ni Angelica sa Exess Baggage. OMG, hart hart. And Perla Bautista, fresh from Cinemalaya’s Best Picture Kung Paano Hinihintay ang Dapit Hapon, makes a quick but glorious cameo as Dona Trinidad. Yes, between Perla & Kris Aquino, Perla did cameo-ing better.
10. Goyo is a film of critical thinking. But sadly, the Filipino audience in general, is not a critical-thinking audience. Hindi ako judgemental (pero sige judge me), pero this is a reality kaya mailap ang box office success among good, quality and decent films. With Goyo’s theme and phasing, I don’t have high hopes na mapapantayan nito ang success ng Heneral Luna. Pero sige, lets see.

Go see it b*tches!

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