BuyBust

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BuyBust

Released Aug 10, 2018

2h 6m

Action

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

17 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

After surviving the slaughter of her entire squad in a drug raid compromised by dirty cops, anti-narcotics special operative Nina Manigan is eager to go head-to-head with the drug cartels that hold a bloody grip on Manila. But when her new mission in the city's most dangerous slum goes south, the angry civilians turn on her squad. Trapped between a brutal drug gang and hordes of bloodthirsty citizens, their only option is to fight their way out.

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Cary Darling

Houston Chronicle

When "BuyBust" finally combusts, it's often simultaneously spectacular and disturbing.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 10, 2018

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Simon Abrams

RogerEbert.com

So often bogged down by pseudo-naturalistic long takes and generic cop/robber power dynamics that it makes one wonder what the point of watching such a film is.

Rated: 1.5/4

Aug 10, 2018

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Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Featuring one villain in leopard pants and another in a bathrobe, "BuyBust" is surprisingly funny for a movie that's basically a massacre in progress.

Aug 9, 2018

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Brent McKnight

The Last Thing I See

Rough around the edges and chaotic, and full of weird-as-hell flourishes, it's mean and violent and bleak as hell-be prepared for beheadings and morally questionable dirty deeds American movies shy away from.

Rated: B

Jul 1, 2020

Full Review

Panos Kotzathanasis

Asian Movie Pulse

The film starts a bit slowly, building the tension and introducing the characters, but as soon as the story moves to the slums, the action picks up and never actually stops, taking over the whole narrative.

Nov 30, 2019

Full Review

Richard Yu

Cinema Escapist

Beyond its realistic portrayal of gunfights, BuyBust does not shy away from the brutal realities of a drug war. Civilians living in the slum are caught in the crossfire, and ultimately rise up to attack both the drug cartel and the PDEA agents.

May 31, 2019

Full Review

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Eagan U

It's like The Raid, but worse in every way. More often than not, action sequences are full of choppy cuts that hides seemingly good choreography (from what could be seen provided the choppy cuts). To be fair, the action gets better later in the movie and the set-pieces are great all-throughout.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/30/24

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Emilliano Jr S

Hollywood feels for a local Filipino action film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/04/23

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Audience Member

Meh...it passed the time. It's basically a remake of the superior Indonesian film The Raid. The acting is passable, but the action didn't convince me. The action didn't look visceral or hard-hitting; especially from the main actress who's fight scenes were pretty terrible. I don't know what was going on with the musical score as well, it was all over the place, inconsistent and didn't gel with what was happening on screen.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Obviously POLITICALY MOTIVATED MOVIE.. Its the most discustingly ignoramus film i have ever seen. It branded our country to whoch our first conqueror the RCC wanted to keep this country look like. This movie made me really sad.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

Surprising good and action packed Filipino film about betrayal, corruption, and the drug underworld. This film is violent and frenetic but that gives you a cinematic sense of the drug underworld in South East Asia. Anne Curtis leads an ensemble cast of unknowns to me, who are really good in this film about a drug raid gone bad in an attempt to catch a high level cartel under lord. Curtis' brings gravitas to her performance as a suspicious soldier whose prior unit was ambushed due to a double cross. This film is chaotic but not by accident, or by poor cinematography- the opposite. It is well filmed and well directed. The pacing is engaging. If you like the feel of Gareth Evans, The Raid, then you will enjoy this one. There is a lot of gunplay and fighting, but not martial arts. Unlike Maria, another Filipino action film I liked very much, this one has very goof fight choreography and fight cinematography and it makes a big difference. It is violent. It is subtitled.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The action was ok, but Manigan was a terrible fighter yet she kicked all that ass, by herself and survives and the truly skilled fighter died, HOOEY!!!!🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

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Erik Matti

Director

Anne Curtis

Nina Manigan

Brandon Vera

Rico Yatco

AJ Muhlach

Gelo Elia

Alex Calleja

Teban

Victor Neri

Bernie Lacson

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The Meg Isn’t Ridiculous Enough

BuyBust: Trailer 1

1:55

BuyBust: Teaser Trailer 1

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Synopsis

After surviving the slaughter of her entire squad in a drug raid compromised by dirty cops, anti-narcotics special operative Nina Manigan is eager to go head-to-head with the drug cartels that hold a bloody grip on Manila. But when her new mission in the city's most dangerous slum goes south, the angry civilians turn on her squad. Trapped between a brutal drug gang and hordes of bloodthirsty citizens, their only option is to fight their way out.

Director: Erik Matti
Producer: Erik Matti, Ronald 'Dondon' Monteverde
Screenwriter: Anton C. Santamaria, Erik Matti
Distributor: Well Go USA
Production Co: Reality Entertainment
Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Filipino
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 10, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 16, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $175.9K
Runtime: 2h 6m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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