Heneral Luna a.k.a General Luna is a historical biographical film about General Antonio Luna,a military leader of the army of Filipino Revolutionary Army during the last years of the 19th century during the Philippine-American War.He served in the First Philippine Republic under President Emilio Aguinaldo.It stars the talented John Arcilla in the title role.

General Antonio Luna is one of the brilliant military man of the Filipinos as they fights for independence against the Americans after Spain,their former colonist,has ceded the Philippines to them.We witness Filipinos fight despite for their freedom despite many obstacles facing them such as the being not at par with the conquerors in terms of fire arms and armaments as well as a disunity among them with some Filipinos wanting the Americans in their home land and the others wanting them out. Aside from that,it also presents the issues of Philippine controversy behind the assassination of Luna,who was killed not by colonists but by his fellow Filipino soldiers loyal to President Aguinaldo and whether the president was part of the conspiracy or not.

Director Jerrold Tarrog provides us an interesting screenplay that he co-wrote with Henry Francia and E.A. Rocha as he tries to paint a fair and accurate portrait of General Luna.He presents him as someone who has his good qualities like a freedom-loving Filipino and a military expert as well as his bad qualities as well such as being well-known arrogance and violent temper that he displays especially to those who never agrees with him.Personally,I enjoyed the biopic provided a lot of entertainment as it was a mixture of action,drama and comedy.The filmmakers did a wonderful job of combining those elements into the screenplay.

And what about the controversial death of Luna?The scenes of the assassination was definitely well-captured.The violent scenes were something to behold.The Filipino soldiers really exerted a lot of effort to kill him to say the least.Luna really fought with them despite being outnumbered.Wounded and being near death,he still continued to fight till his last breath.It is a testament of great physical strength.His will to live and determination to fight are what made him a great military commander as well.

Aside from that,the film never makes any attempt to escape controversy.It presented Aguinaldo as someone who conspired with Filipino soldiers whom Luna has irked to put him to death.Although the Filipino president has never admitted to it,it has shown that he felt that the presence of Luna has become a distraction to the revolutionaries as many have been turned off with his arrogance and his attitude towards them.Too bad that they did not resort to work things out instead.It also displayed the Filipinos' regionalism and lack of unity as a nation which unfortunately remains true today.

No question,viewers will really get a better appreciation of Filipino hero after watching this film.

Going into this movie, I knew nothing of General Antonio Luna, but what they did for this legendary figure in Philippine history was extraordinary.

Luna was a man's man who was the ultimate patriot, willing to fight and die for his country. As he fought a revolution against those trying to colonize his country, he showed them he was not afraid, which made his enemies, even those more powerful than him, nervous. While his men followed him with pride, he made some enemies from within from those who did not share his same ideals of patriotism.

It was a well acted portrayal of Luna right up there with war epics like Patton.

An overall good war drama.

"Heneral Luna" tells us a more detailed account of the life of one of the revolutionary heroes we learn about in school, yet know practically nothing about -- Gen. Antonio Luna. Practically all we know about him is that he had a very bad temper which gained him a lot of enemies, eventually leading to his assassination. Aside from telling us specific situations where this legendary temper flared up, we also get to meet him more intimately as a leader, a soldier, as a son and as a man.

Even from his intense penetrating gaze and formidable mustache in the poster alone, you already know John Arcilla will be excellent in this film. His comic timing was impeccable. It was a most vibrant performance of a most vivid man, making him really loom larger than life. He was over-the-top in his explosiveness, just the way Tarog wanted him to be. The way he was built up, we were ready for that climactic assassination scene, however outrageous the savagery.

Mon Confiado was a picture of ironic calm as President Emilio Aguinaldo. The more movies we watch about the revolution certainly brings up more and more questions about the controversial Aguinaldo. Nonie Buencamino was so slimy as his treacherous surname-sake Felipe Buencamino. That nonchalant look on Lorenz Martinez face was so hateful as he essayed the role of the equally haughty Gen. Tomas Mascardo.

It was also such a casting risk and surprise to put known comedians in such key roles, like Epy Quizon as Apolinario Mabini, Leo Martinez as Pedro Paterno and Ketchup Eusebio as the vengeful Capt. Pedro Janolino. I must admit their presence can be distracting in certain dramatic moments, particularly Eusebio. Or maybe that was their purpose -- to balance out the severe seriousness of those scenes.

You immediately upfront that the filmmakers were aiming high for this film. The initial introductory texts were written in English, signifying intentions for this film to make the rounds of foreign film festivals. (I read that there were even certain reels with English subtitles shown in some more upscale cinemas.) The presence of disclaimers stating that this is a work of fiction inspired by fact could somehow raise an uneasy question as to how much fiction was in there mixed among the facts.

This film will also grab you with its gorgeous cinematography. The images on the big screen had such vivid colors and innovative camera angles. The period production design and the costume design were meticulous in detail. During a beautifully-edited flashback sequence, there was a stylized scene about Rizal's execution that was so uniquely and hauntingly rendered. There are most gruesome and graphic special effects showing the violent brutality of warfare which will shock you.

The historical storytelling was very clear, exciting and engaging from beginning to end, with a fresh graphic novel feel to it. Humor was such an unexpected yet integral element of the script, from those crisp off- color expletives of Luna to those sarcastic side comments of Lt. Rusca (Archie Alemania) and many more in between of different shades. The patriotic sentiments were very poetically-written, but the way they were delivered here felt sincere. They did not sound preachy or cheesy, like when such lines were mouthed by Robin Padilla in "Bonifacio" or Jeorge E.R. Ejército in "El Presidente".

Just like a Marvel film, there was an extra scene in the middle of the closing credits, suggesting a next film featuring Paulo Avelino as Gen. Gregorio del Pilar. There was also a brief cameo appearance of Benjamin Alves as a young Manuel L. Quezon, hinting at a possible trilogy. This is a very exciting plan indeed which we all hope will materialize given the success of "Heneral Luna".

I hear this is also under consideration of being submitted for Oscar consideration, and I support that campaign. The screening I caught today was a full-house despite being 1:30 in the afternoon on a weekday. It was really gratifying to see a quality Filipino film have commercial success even if it was not an inane comedy or "kilig" teen flick with box-office stars in the cast.

Kudos to Artikulo Uno Productions and director-film editor-musical scorer Jerrold Tarog for coming up with what may just be the best, certainly the most audacious, Filipino film released this year to date. Like Gen. Luna, this film leads a mad charge on horseback with a raised fist against Filipinos who say they love their country yet look out for their personal interests first. Let's hope this strong message hits its targets. 9/10.