I used to have a cousin who was into drugs. He even tried to put a hole in my rib side and failed. I do support the vision of making this nation drug-free. However, I oppose the extra-judicial killing (EJK) also known as extrajudicial execution. That’s what the film Kontra-Adiksyon is trying to discuss.
Clearly, in the opening scene, it’s obviously an anti-drug war propaganda of the current administration.
In an ongoing conflict between the government and the opposition on the anti-drug war campaign, the writer-director Njel de Mesa utilizes a fall guy in his story.
Alexis Borlaza (Jake Cuenca), a human rights activist gets ‘framed’ for the murder of his family. As he tries to find justice for his family, he becomes an informant and an asset to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). Unknown to his PDEA directors Yvonne Acosta (Katrina Halili) and Paul Fuentes (Arnold Reyes), Borlaza opts to put matters into his hands. He investigates and turns into a vigilante to solve the murder case of his family and eradicate the drug problem on his own.
In the course of his investigation, he encounters Jessica Puyat (Kris Bernal) a call-center agent who moonlights as a drug peddler. She (somehow) leads Borlaza to the mastermind behind all the mess.
Here are things that made me wonder.
Given that the meth-addicts planned to break into and threaten the Borlazas, was the main door too convenient to fall apart? Was it the screenwriter’s intention to make it grand and cinematic?
Oh well, if that’s how he wants to drive a point. Fine. It succeeded in executing some suggestive gory scenes like the massacre that occurred in Borlaza’s residence.
Also, Jessica’s predicament is questionable. In my understanding, she peddled illegal drugs due to her ailing mother, who had to undergo dialysis as well as sending her daughter to school as a single mom.
It’s too flimsy to use it as an alibi.
Jessica’s mom is under dialysis. To look the part, she has to be a bit blue around the gills. To convince me with her controlled dramas, it should be believable enough. It just didn’t work at all. Crafting the character of the mom poses inconsistencies in principles.
As a screenwriter and director of the film, it can be a double-edged sword. It can either be an advantage and a disadvantage. In this case, it’s the latter.
Editing was bad. Really bad.
I can go on and on, but I choose not to engage any further. Even Reyes’s character as a PDEA director became a hero reflective that of the now senator, Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa.
Lou Veloso, Odette Khan, and Jong Cuenco made impressive performances in this film. They fit their respective roles.
Identified DDS who had cameos in the film were unnecessary. Even the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chair Liza Diño-Seguerra‘s appearance did not help move the story forward. She was there quickly and left without making any mark as Borlaza’s attorney.
Since it’s a Cuenca film, to have a sex scene with Bernal was also included. I felt it’s a desperate act to lure the audience to come and see the film. Its conclusion is even reminiscent of a Korean epidemic film.
As a whole, the attempt to make the film an action-thriller with political issues presented was too weak. Bloody and gory scenes were shocking, but it’s too far from the Respeto film that de Mesa co-wrote for Cinemalya in 2017.
