SARI-SARING SINENG PINOY

     Fantastika with Wonder Woman (Prima Productions/Petersen Film, 1976) follows Fantastika (Pinky Montilla) and Wonder Woman (Alma Moreno) as they attempt to defeat an evil sorcerer with immeasurable powers. It's pure good against pure evil. A farcical premise but as the film progresses, you realize that it’s not the plot that matters but the jokes. Let’s start with the lead stars. Montilla has her eureka moment but is easily fooled. Yet, she carries all of this in stride and is never crestfallen, remaining unfazed and calm even when the odds are stacked against her. Montilla is a wooden performer but her genuine warmth and sincerity perfectly serves the preposterous nature of the role. Moreno, on the other hand offers a stilted and painfully forced performance as Wonder Woman. Sure, Fantastika with Wonder Woman is haphazard and unconventional, but then so is the entire movie. The performances from the villains are memorable and you can’t argue with the brilliant cast of actors who depict their key nemeses. Johnny Monteiro, Marissa Delgado, Celia Rodriguez and Odette Khan treat their characters like theatrical exercises. Fantastika with Wonder Woman is wild, absurd and ridiculous with acting that teeters from awful to over the top and a plot that is pretty nonsensical.

    Fantastika with Wonder Woman is something of a joke. Perhaps it wasn’t originally intended to be when it was first conceived, produced and then released. This is a favorite for those into bad cinema and I'll admit that a film this schlocky is quite fun to watch, even if it's just to admire how bad it really is.  Debates may rage on as to whether the creators of the film intended this to be a campy bad film or if they earnestly tried to make something good, but regardless of the conclusion, there isn't much entertainment to be found in anything other than the inanity of it all. None of this matters, and here's why. If the storyline had been played even faintly seriously, the film would have been a naff, self-important turkey. Fantastika with Wonder Woman is not designed to be taken seriously or to have allegorical connotations. The closest it ever comes to having any kind of message is in the big final showdown, with all the various people uniting against the evil sorcerer.