On the Job

In terms of an alibi, it’s almost foolproof. When the corrupt politicians want somebody killed in this Filipino crime thriller from director Erik Matti (The Arrival) they simply give a couple of convicts a day pass from their high security prison to do the dirty work for them. The simple beauty of the arrangement gets knocked for a loop when one of the political organizations best hit men, Mario 'Tatang' Maghari (Joel Torre), actually makes parole and becomes a liability. The cat-and-mouse game played by Benitez, his employers and his protégé Daniel Benitez (Gerald Anderson) gives the movie an edge that most crime thrillers don’t seem to care about these days, but even if there wasn’t any actual plot to be engaged by, Matti’s flair for action sequences would make the film worth watching. The fact that its as smart as it is exciting is a real bonus.