Aka. A (hopefully) spoiler-free mini-review of Hello, Love, Goodbye
I wasn’t prepared to write about Hello, Love, Goodbye this early.
I went to last night’s by-invitation-only premiere with the intention of just showing my support outside the cinema, as I don’t have a ticket. Then, a friend informed me that another friend was able to pull some strings and managed to score tickets at the last minute. I was one of the lucky few who were able to see the movie ahead of the general public. Hence, this mini-review.
I’ll try my best to keep things spoiler-free for those who haven’t seen the movie yet.
1. Let’s talk about the technicals first. The utilization of a Thai film production house for post-production is very evident if you’ve been regularly watching movies produced by Star Cinema. The color grading is different. I’m used to seeing vivid colors in Star Cinema films. On HLG, the colors are more on the subdued, sepia side. Which, for me, perfectly captures what the story is all about, as well as the real feel of Hong Kong. From the way the scenes are framed up to the production design, even the songs included in the soundtrack, everything fits.
2. Cancel out whatever theories you’ve formulated in your head based on the teaser and trailers. If you’ve heard stories – fabricated or otherwise – about the plot or certain scenes, throw them out of the window. This is a love story, yes. But love stories aren’t limited to romantic love, and this is exactly what the movie is saying. There’s family love, and also self-love. It’s not one-dimensional.
Also, while the movie is not short on hilarious and kilig moments, it’s not a rom-com. And it’s most definitely NOT pabebe.
3. Speaking of pabebe: Kathryn’s critics have branded her as a pabebe actress, and to be quite honest, I agree to a certain extent. This is coming from someone who has seen practically all KathNiel movies. Prior to The Hows Of Us, the one whom I’ve always thought to have grown so much in the field of acting was Daniel Padilla. Then THOU came along, and while there was a very noticeable change in Kath’s acting, the one who still caught my attention was Daniel. Despite two Best Actress trophies won for THOU, I still didn’t see the “bagong Kathryn Bernardo” that they were talking about. (Sorry, just being honest here.)
For me, the “bagong Kathryn Bernardo” has truly arrived in Hello, Love, Goodbye.
I mean, WOW. The sacrifices that she had to endure to fully absorb the Joy character really paid off. One look at her eyes and you’ll feel her pain. One look at her face and you’ll see her changing. Even her diction which I had always found to be pabebe-ish is gone. Now I can truly say that Kathryn Bernardo is one of the best actresses of this generation.
4. As for the one who’s also being called a Pabebe Actor by his critics: well, I’ve always known Alden Richards to be one heck of an actor. It’s the reason why I became a fan. I know what he can do and he is most certainly more than just Pambansang Bae. After seeing HLG, I’m like looking at a brand new actor. Yes, he CAN do more. He has mastered the Art of Pakilig, but it’s a different kind of pakilig here. It’s not just the charms. As Ethan, there’s a certain mystery in his aura that when he finally let go and opened up, you just find yourself being uncontrollably drawn towards him the way Joy has.
Also, if you’ve only known him as Alden Richards of Kalyeserye in all his wholesome goodness, prepare to be in shock for like, 20 minutes or so. Actually, it’s been several hours and I still couldn’t get over it. This, despite me knowing that KSAlden isn’t really the real Alden. I’m shocked because I didn’t expect to see it on this film.
5. Come to think of it, it’s the same with Kathryn. Frankly, I was totally floored that I spent the first quarter of the movie clutching my armrest and screaming internally because I couldn’t take what I’m seeing on the screen. In a good way. It was raw, it was totally unexpected from these two actors, and one particular scene was so beautifully (and shockingly) executed, you’d end up hungry and wanting for more (in Ethan’s words, “nagutom ako”).
But all that shock factor is just an introduction to the characters. They let us in to their pain and struggles, and when they had to go through the ordeal of choosing what to do with their lives, we, the audience, also go through that same ordeal. We felt their pain. Director Cathy Garcia-Molina is not just a master storyteller, she’s also a genius in drawing out raw emotions from her actors. Kathryn and Alden delivered master performances under her helm.
6. I’ve seen majority of Star Cinema’s previous movies about OFWs, particularly Anak which was also set in Hong Kong. It might be the same scenario but the stories are definitely different. HLG truly has a millennial feel.
As with all Cathy Garcia-Molina/Carmi Raymundo films, HLG is filled with one-liners that will end up on the list of Classic Movie Lines that becomes the film’s trademark. Although I cringe at some of Ethan’s pick-up lines, but I think that’s the point. We’re supposed to cringe at his random cheesiness.
7. Supporting cast: you could never go wrong with ever-reliable actors like Joross Gamboa (trademark one-liners galore), Kakai Bautista and Jeffrey Tam. Maymay Entrata is endearing as Joy’s cousin Mary Dale, and Lovely Abella certainly didn’t look and act like a newbie beside Kakai and Kathryn. We should see more of Maricel Laxa; she had two scenes in the movie but it didn’t go unnoticed. The revelation for me was Jameson Blake. It’s my first time to see him act and I was pleasantly surprised that he was able to duke it out in the acting department alongside Alden and Lito Pimentel, who are both amazing actors. Jameson just has to improve on his delivery of Tagalog lines (he still has a hint of American twang) and he will go much further as an actor.
The thing that I like about HLG is, everyone in the cast is indispensable. If you take out one of them, it won’t work as well as it did.
8. That ending.
Echoing what most of the people who came out of the cinema after the movie said: can we have the sequel by tomorrow? Please? Don’t make us suffer like this! 
As I was traversing my way home, I was pondering on what other movie had the same feel as how the story of Joy and Ethan unfolded. I came up with…
Sana Maulit Muli. Yes, the Aga Muhlach-Lea Salonga starrer which is now a cult classic.
Do you agree?
This isn’t just blood and gore and mayhem – don’t worry if you’re watching this for that, though, there’s a lot of that in there, too – it also has a story. A very familiar story to those who have even the slightest knowledge of Korea’s history and culture. I won’t go into too much details so as not to spoil it for others.
She has always portrayed strong female characters, but her role here required her to be strong, but with a timid quality of a peasant during the Joseon era. I think she nailed it.
Joseon-period Korea looked so beautiful here. The royal costumes looked elegant. I even saw some Tweets noting the hats that the characters wore. You know, fighting zombies in fabulous hats and all that. 
There’s authenticity in the costume design. It’s not like in other productions where we see stuff like the clothes still looking immaculate after a fight scene in the mud.
The screenplay, cinematography and production design are fit for the big screen. The battle scenes are well-executed; you won’t see as much blood and gore due to the limits of it being aired on Free TV, but the ‘feel’ is there.
It’s a very minor detail, but I’m a chronic nitpicker, so…
It’s been rumored – and he has expressed desire to accept the role 
– that he might be playing Big Boss in the local adaptation of Descendants Of The Sun. If this Magpakailanman episode is a look-test for his future participation in the Pinoy version of DOTS, then he certainly passed with flying colors. 
I do know that the one thing that impressed me with the story is that you won’t know who exactly was the villain until around Episode 14 or so. You thought you already knew, but you don’t. It has many surprises along the way until the very end.
