Cinemalaya 2014: "The Janitor - A Fresh Face in Filipino Action Cinema or Just Another Cliché?" (Film Review)

Since the commercial and critical success of On the Job (OTJ), reviving the once-dominant Filipino action genre has shifted from a distant dream to a tangible possibility. While mainstream cinema had occasionally released action films prior to OTJ, audience reception was often tepid. The Janitor, however, signals a new wave of action cinema creeping into the mainstream through the independent route. This film is polished and boasts an ensemble of A-list actors, making it the OTJ of 2014—at least for now. It’s clear that while the era of FPJ and Robin Padilla-style action films may never fully return, we’re likely to see more sleek, sophisticated, and perhaps even sexier takes on the genre.

At first glance, The Janitor may seem like a breath of fresh air, but it still carries the hallmarks of the action films of the 20th century: cliché characters, over-the-top machismo, and familiar tropes. The cast of strippers and prostitutes, the corrupt officers colluding with criminals—it’s all there. Yet, both OTJ and The Janitor introduce something new: a breed of action stars with the chiseled, supermodel looks we now associate with leading men. Gone are the pudgy physiques of classic stars like Joseph Estrada, FPJ, and Rudy Fernandez. Instead, we get the more sculpted physiques of Piolo Pascual in OTJ and Raymond Bagatsing, Derek Ramsay, and Richard Gomez in The Janitor. In fact, The Janitor might as well be mistaken for Dennis Trillo’s personal workout video or a Derek Ramsay fitness ad. While the male bodies are on display, the female characters still manage to steal the show when it comes to showing more skin, down to the most explicit details.

Despite a strong premise, The Janitor quickly unravels with its illogical storytelling, particularly in the character of Crisanto (Dennis Trillo). A former cop-turned-hitman, Crisanto may appear youthful, but his character is a direct descendant of the archetypal Filipino action hero: think Ramon Revilla, Rudy Fernandez, Jeric Raval, or Joseph Estrada. For a hitman, Crisanto is unusually talkative. The traditional hitman is stealthy and efficient—find the target, eliminate it, and vanish. Yet Crisanto, instead, insists on lengthy conversations with his targets, putting himself in unnecessary danger. His killings are performed in the most haphazard, messy manner, further undermining the film’s credibility. But perhaps we shouldn’t be too hard on Crisanto; after all, he is a product of the old-school Filipino action movie character. Like his predecessors, he’s prone to unnecessary dialogue with his enemies, a convenient (if lazy) narrative device that allows secrets to be revealed in the most casual way.

Crisanto isn’t part of a new generation of Filipino action heroes; he’s a relic of the past with a more toned body, more fashionable clothes, and a face fit for a glossy magazine cover. Thankfully, he’s not as overtly sexist as his predecessors, but The Janitor still falls into many of the same traps typical of action movies. As Tatsuya Ishida’s Sinfest comic strip so humorously points out, what all action films ultimately want to convey is: “I have a p****!” and “I am heterosexual!”

While The Janitor may show promise, it’s hard to ignore that, at its core, it’s still very much a product of the same old action movie formulas—albeit with a polished, more attractive exterior.