Plot: PDEA officers fight to survive a night-time bust in the slums.
It’s impossible to argue with nearly 40 years of cinematic tradition. BuyBust is Filipino through and through. Described on the regular as, “Die Hard in the slums” this adrenaline-pumping two-hour actionfest might very well be as incendiary Kinji Fukasaku’s legendary swansong Battle Royale (2000). BuyBust packs more than enough punch, a lot of bang, and some very bloody kills. With an amiable lead, a likeable supporting cast, and impressively brutal action direction and choreography this might very well be the Filipino answer to The Raid (2011). Whatever the case, BuyBust is a modern classic, ensuring that the spirit of Cirio H. Santiago lives on.
The star here is Anne Curtis-Smith who debuted in TGIS (1995), apparently a veritable phenomenon on Filipino television. Since then she has remained a pillar of Filipino television as well as dramas and romances of every stripe. One such dramas was No Other Woman (2011) where she starred alongside Cristine Reyes. It’s interesting that both would eventually get their own no-holds-barred action epic. Much blood has been shed in these pages how we loved Reyes as the sexy retired assassin in Maria (2019). In the interest of honesty Curtis isn’t too shabby of an actress – or at least she’s able to acquit herself admirably in what is a pretty physical but unthankful role. Reyes had the benefit of a more developed character in Maria (2019) and Veronica Ngo had some rather excellent action choreography in Furie (2019). That’s not even mentioning Fernanda Urrejola in Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman (2012). Not only had she to juggle wafer-thin writing with a fantasy-fuel fetish constume, but even before her recurring role in Narcos: México (2018-2020) it was clear she was destined for international superstardom. Reyes and Curtis have yet to break through globally.
If Maria (2019) was about well-financed criminal empires with far-reaching political connections in the wealthier neighborhoods of Manila then BuyBust is about drug cartels driving the destitute and the poor into crime, about the slums and the political systems that create them, the widespread corruption of the police force and their associated government officials. Maria (2019) was all about shiny cars, beautiful women, and palatial villas. BuyBust offers a dissenting voice towards the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, the inherent futility of the Philippine Drug War and the promises of the restoration of social order through violence and superior firepower. BuyBust is about the lower classes, the forgotten, the ignored. More than anything it’s a polemic against poverty, of disenfranchisement, and a lack of upward social mobility. Maria (2019) looked and sounded impeccable, in BuyBust on the other hand you can smell the mud, the stale beer, the smog – the abject poverty in the slums is palatable, and so is the destitution of the people living there. BuyBust absolutely pulls no punches whatsoever and the picture it paints of the Philippines is not a pretty one, indeed.
The Philippine Drug War rages on. Detectives Rudy Dela Cruz (Lao Rodriguez) and Alvarez (Nonie Buencamino) have leaned on small-time drug dealer Teban (Alex Calleja) during interrogation convincing him that giving up the present whereabouts of elusive drug kingpin Biggie Chen (Arjo Atayde) is in his own best interest. Meanwhile disgraced police officer Nina Manigan (Anne Curtis-Smith, as Anne Curtis) has survived bootcamp and is selected by aspirant team leader Bernie Lacson (Victor Neri) to join his elite PDEA anti-narcotics squad. After an operation to lure Biggie Chen out of hiding at Rajah Sulayman in Rizal Park fails to produce the desired results Teban ensures them that he can be found at the barangay Gracia ni Maria, supposedly drug-free by Dela Cruz’ own admission, in Tondo, Manila. The squad splits into a Alpha and Bravo teams led by Lacson and Rico Yatco (Brandon Vera), respectively. As Teban meets with Chongki (Levi Ignacio) to get an audience with Biggie Chen Manigan deduces that the entire thing is a set-up but her words fall on deaf ears. When their indecisiveness leads to the senseless killing of village elder Elmer (Eddie Ngo) their inaction provokes the community, always in the crossfire of the drug war, not just into disobedience but into a veritable violent civil uprising. Now in the midst of an all-out war with both the cartel members from Biggie Chen as well as Gracia ni Maria’s civilian militias the only question is: will Manigan survive the night long enough to find the corrupted one in her ranks?
For the Die Hard (1988) comparison to work it BuyBust takes far, far, far too long to let Nina Manigan face off alone against hordes of enemies. Likewise, for the Battle Royale (2000) comparison to hold up none of the other PDEA officers (beyond Manigan and Rico Yatco, obviously) are defined and explored as characters enough. Instead of seperating them early on and having each “team” fight toward a common destination or objective, BuyBust is content to throw them into the meatgrinder and be done with it. It’s difficult to care about anybody when everybody looks, acts, and sounds the same. Had BuyBust focused on the Die Hard (1988) angle and left Manigan as the sole survivor of the raid about an hour in, then it could spent the next hour having her fighting the cartel. Apparently this what Matti was going for because towards the third act Manigan is finally taking on armed goons in her soaked dirt-covered, bloodstained tanktop. What an incredible opportunity was missed here. Chocolate (2008), Maria (2019), and Furie (2019) worked so well because we knew exactly who Zen, Maria, and Hai Phượng were, what drove them, and what the stakes were. In BuyBust it’s hard to care about anybody except Manigan and Ratco. Mostly because Manigan and Ratco are actual characters, and not cyphers or rough abstracts like the remainder of the PDEA team. For Manigan to have but 20 minutes of solo action borders on criminal. When, and if, there’s a sequel, it better focus on agent Nina Manigan, exclusively.
What really somewhat dampens BuyBust is its reliance on all the tricks of modern filmmaking. That is to say, frequently action scenes are not only marred, but nigh on impossible to follow, thanks to the rapid-fire editing, needlessly shaky camerawork (it doesn’t make it realistic, it makes it hard to follow), and terrible framing. What good is an action scene when you can’t see where everybody is, and how persons and objects relate to each other in space? Other times the camerawork is smooth and fluent almost making BuyBust look a video game playthrough. This is especially the case when the PDEA officers are scaling roofs and/or jumping from one wave of goons into the next. Fights break out but since we’re not familiar with the surroundings it’s hard to care. Literally dozens upon dozens of armed assailants are slaughtered over the course of two hours, but none feel as satisfying and earned as John McClane killing Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988) or Shuya finally gunning down Kitano in Battle Royale (2000). In both instances every kill feels earned and represents a milestone. Here the great majority feel just like flesh for the grinder, one that must constantly be fed. Neither are there any boss level fights or heavies that Manigan must defeat. Perhaps it could be sensory overload with so much happening at the same time. More likely it was just a case of wanting to do everything and cut nothing. Overkill, quite literally, in fact.
Anne Curtis-Smith is cast against type for once, and like Cristine Reyes and Fernanda Urrejola the beautiful girl makes a lean, mean killing machine. However she wouldn’t be nearly be as much of a blunt force weapon if it weren’t for the fluent action direction and stomping fight choreography from and by Sonny Sison. BuyBust was filmed in 56 days and prior to principal photography Curtis underwent rigorous training in knife fighting, close corner combat, and was instructed in the ways of Pekiti-Tirsia Kali at the Scout Ranger Training School. As a natural result of this, she elected to do most of her own stunts. BuyBust can pride itself on employing some 309 stuntmen and 1,278 extras during production. The special effects work by Guy and Pong Naelgas is deliciously old school and appear to be largely practical-based, which is always a plus. Obviously there are digital enhancements and post-production effects but they never are intrusive or distracting. Director of photography Neil Bion for the most part is able to hide the budgetary limitations and rarely does a shot look amateuristic or cheap. The music from Malek Lopez and Erwin Romulo is an exciting mix of indigenous Filipino music, pounding club music, and smoked out bluesy rock and metal.
Since BuyBust Matti has directed the supernatural horror Kuwaresma (2019) (released internationally as The Entity) and the comedy A Girl and A Guy (2021) and so far no BuyBust sequel seems imminent as of this writing. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. In times wherein any title must potentially launch a franchise BuyBust so far hasn’t been diluted by any sequel or the expectations of a potential franchise. For one thing it would be great to have Cristine Reyes, Anne Curtis, and Fernanda Urrejola heading up their own action blockbuster. Is there anything more Filipino than the female action hero? It's probably one of the country’s most enduring cinematic traditions alongside topless kickboxing – and completely insane martial arts movies. We’d love nothing more than for Anne Curtis than to take on these kinds of roles on a semi-regular basis and when the screenplay fits her. Maria (2019) and Furie (2019) were slick and brutally efficient in their minimalism BuyBust on the other hand goes big. A production like this is the perfect antidote against Hollywood tentpole action features. BuyBust is brooding, grim, and exciting – what more do you want?