'Super' entertainment value

There is a Filipino word that doubles as film lingo in the vernacular: Malinis.

This best describes the over-all quality of Regal Films’ Super Inday and the Golden Bibe.

It doesn’t come as a surprise anymore because the very first movie project of the director, Mike Tuviera, was immediately graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) only a few years back. This was the horror-suspense Txt that was produced by APT Films, which is owned by his father, Tony Tuviera.

Today, Mike makes films for other movie companies and producer Lily Monteverde was never one to pass up a good talent. In the 36th annual Metro Manila Film Festival that begins today, Mike’s Super Inday is up against, among others, Si Agimat at si Enteng, which his father co-produces with other movie companies (one of them is GMA Films). Si Agimat at si Enteng is directed by Tony Reyes.

Mother Lily should be very happy with the extremely polished Super Inday that was turned over to him by Mike. Technically, it is excellently crafted and the visual effects are superior.

More importantly, Mike is able to whip up a movie that is logical and without the usual loopholes that are always present in most local films. Super Inday is a remake — with Maricel Soriano as the original star — and truthfully it is not a classic material. But Mike manages to turn it into a very decent and riveting enough film project that should appeal to all types of audiences.

I didn’t get to see the first Super Inday and was, in fact, never aware of it. But this new version casts Marian Rivera as a barrio lass, who finally discovers the truth about where she came from: She is the daughter of a servant impregnated while working in a mansion in Manila. In time, her biological mother abandons her and it is another housemaid, Irma Adlawan, who raises her in the province. While breathing her last, Irma tells Marian to look for her real parents in the city and her journey begins.

While her story continues to unfold, two elementals — a tiyanak and one that can sometimes take the form of a duck (John Lapuz) — are put to a test: They can only get to heaven if they are able to find a person who deserves to be given superpowers to quash evil in this world. But first, the chosen one has to possess certain qualities — everything that Marian is.

On the bus, the two elementals, disguised as mother and child, manage to make her drink while she is asleep with her mouth open liquid from a golden duck egg that gives her superpowers. She is unaware of what is happening to her and is surprised that she is stronger and faster.

Her life continues and changes in Manila. First, she works as a help in the mansion, but later becomes a vegetable vendor in the wet market where she finally discovers the truth about her origins.

Meanwhile, she completely accepts the superpowers given to her and teams up with another superhero, Jake Cuenca, who, of course, becomes her main squeeze. Together, they save the world from evil invaders.

Super Inday and the Golden Bibe succeeds manifold as a fantasy/suspense/action/ comedy mainly due to the performances of the cast members: Jake, Mylene Dizon and the very funny Pokwang. John is also effective in his different impersonations that he creates all throughout the film.

But it is Marian who is the key element — the very reason why Super Inday brims with so much fun and energy.

In a previous episode of Shake, Rattle & Roll — Nieves, where she is an evil slayer — I already saw for myself what a fine actress she had become. That she gives so much life to her lead character in this film is already expected of her after having portrayed various roles in all her very successful television series on GMA 7. She is so versatile. This film sums up what Marian is as a performer: Natural.

With Mike’s almost seamless direction and Marian’s very inspired and all-out performance, the film becomes truly engaging despite its lightweight material.

Super Inday and the Golden Bibe may not be the film that would usher in another golden age in Philippine cinema, but if you rate it for its entertainment value, it is super.