To say that On The Job is great for a Filipino movie is an understatement.

On The Job is standalone and

should not be compared to other Filipino movies. Its a great story with a mind-thrashing plot and
unpredictable twists and turns.
My aunt, with whom Ive watched the movie with, said that it was a thinking movie. It had elements that
made you think about the truths of our country, and things weve never really thought of before. I guess
that its also whats lacking in other Filipino movies, the letting-the-audience-think part. It made a
whole lot difference in OTJ.
The big picture is the reality of the movie. Its happening right here right now. Ive always known that
our government was corrupt but I didnt know that they would take those kinds of great leaps to get
their way. Point number one: OTJ is an eye-opener.
What I really love most about the movie is the humanity of the characters. My favorite character would
be Tatang Mario because hes grief and problems in life are something very Filipino. The need for
money, the I-can-do-anything-for-my-family attitude, the I-want-to-make-my-daughter-proud attitude,
the love for his unfaithful wife, his faithfulness to his boss and associates, and his ultimate love for his
apprentice, Daniel. Call me a freak nationalistic and Ill tell you proudly that I am. I admire his Filipino
traits and that what makes him more real to me than any other character in the movie.
The plot was scary in a good sense. It was scary in a way that it can be happening at this moment at this
very hour. Also because it shows the worst case scenarios in our country. Families shattered. Money and
power above everything else. Lust. Way outs and loopholes. Evil wins over good. So on and so fort.
Another thing about the awesomeness of the plot is the management of data given. Not much
information was handed to the viewers on the first parts of the movie, and then over time, things get
revealed. But it didnt stop there. Once information was given to the audience, the plot does a quick
turn so you wont get ahead of yourself.
For example: The Back-up
I didnt know Daniels role was a back-up at the very first scene of the movie. I thought he was just there
to stare and watch how the veteran does it. Information is not given. But after a while, Tatang says that
hed switch roles with Daniel and hed play back-up for a mission. There it is! Information revealed! This
happened twice, the second time being the screwing up of Daniel. So they go to the hospital, and Tatang
doesnt show up while Daniel was waiting for him. He knew something happened so he purposefully
killed a janitor to drive whatever attention was on Tatang to him. Honestly, I didnt know he could kill
the janitor so easily. It was a public place for Petes sake! After a while, I realized, So thats what a back-
up does
I love the mentor-student relationship in the story, especially since both mentors are teaching what they
think is right to their student. They think their student is going to follow their footsteps so they tell them
Heres what I did, so thats also what youre going to do, and we find out later that they will not follow
the footsteps of their fathers.
One of the highest peaks of the story is, of course, the death of Agent Coronel. I did not see that coming.
I totally did not see that coming. Agent Coronel had the evidence. He was going to use it against the
politicians. And then he is eliminated from the game. Well, there was the foreshadowing when the son
of the father-in-law of Daniel eyed his iPhone which he was using the record their conversation, but I
didnt know it was going to happen until it happened.
Then, of course, the death of Daniel which was highly dramatic. I had expected that Daniel was going to
kill Tatang at the moment, so I covered my eyes and whimpered when I heard a groan. I opened my eyes
to see that it was actually Daniel who had been stabbed and he asked Tatang why but Tatang didnt
answer. Instead, Tatang cried and cried until the scene faded.
I thought it was momentous, and although a lot of people interpreted it as Tatang saving Daniel from his
possible future of being a professionally killer and being tormented the way he was being tormented, I
thought otherwise. It could have shown another face of Tatang. The Tatang who wanted to live. The
animal side of Tatang who considered his life above his considered son. Well, it was sure that Tatang
would be terminated when he sets foot out of the jail so before they could touch, he killed the person
who would most likely have killed him, or replace him. I thought that especially since he went back
home to kill the other husband of his wife and gets in the infamous black car everyone was getting
familiar with.
This is also true when Rayver Cruz gets the iPhone of Coronel from their evidences: he would either
dispose of it or use it against the government. Im leaning towards the disposal of the evidence. Call me
a pessimist but thats how I believe the world goes. Its evil after all.
Over all, OTJ was a movie worth watching the second time around. Its a breakthrough for Philippine
films. Hope to see another one of this kind of movie in the near future.