The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin begins with the titular character (Vice Ganda) saving the world from a zombie outbreak. He returns home a hero, and he revels in the attention. He is then assigned to work with General Chua (Richard Yap) in a task force targeting a vicious terrorist group threatening to blow up the Philippines. Benjamin is tasked with guarding the general's son, Bimby (Bimby Aquino), who holds the key to locating the remaining bombs and saving the country.
The movie is mainly about Benjamin trying to convince little Bimby to tell him the location of the bombs. It isn't really much of a plot, and the film does a terrible job of selling the danger. It doesn't at all seem like anyone in the movie is too concerned about those bombs blowing and killing hundreds of people. This is clearest in the final act, where apparently Benjamin knows full well where the last bomb is, but is instead moping at home doing nothing about it.
The film really doesn't bother with making sense. This is an elastic universe after all, with crazy inventions and zombie outbreaks and at times, video game logic. But even then the film feels pretty lazy. The story didn't need to be complex, or have scholarly themes. But it could have just tried to be a little coherent. A major character dies in the first act; one that was supposed to have meant a great deal to the main character. But that character is never mentioned again, and the effect of the death is never really felt.
If the film was really determined to just be silly, then maybe it would have been wiser to veer away from elements like terrorism and the death and family members. As it stands, it all just feels a little weird. The plot almost feels like an obligation for the movie, the hint of emotion just something that they have to get through to get to the laughs. If the movie was never going to take the plot seriously, then it really should have avoided anything remotely serious. The humor of the film is mainly based on pop culture references, which tends to be a clear sign of a rushed script.
A little more effort is evident in the production, which uses quite a lot of visual effects. But the film gains little from the larger visible budget. The direction is workmanlike at best, with many of these scenes lacking any sort of comedic rhythm. The actors are all acting as big as they can, making up for the lack of jokes with their outsized performances. Vice Ganda is still pretty good at applying his shtick, but there isn't much more to it then that. Richard Yap seems incapable of delivering even the most basic of punchlines.
The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin, despite the greater production values, feels much weaker than the prior installment. As flawed as that first film was, it felt like it had a greater sense of purpose. This sequel feels hastily thrown together, the plot merely an afterthought, the humor never really building to any greater effect. As much derision is given to Vice Ganda and regular collaborator Wenn Deramas, they have proven to be capable of delivering much more in the past. But when they get lazy, the result is just terrible.
My Rating:
