Kung si Derek Ramsey ang nag-Asiong Salonga

I probably wouldn't have been bothered by that opening scene wherein Asiong was getting juiced by another gangster, while his arms were tied up and his armpits were exposed gravely. I probably wouldn't have noticed that when Asiong and his gang were going for resbak, they brought knives; but during the encounter, they killed them all with guns. I probably wouldn't have laughed when he went into an arm-to-arm, no-guns-in-this-battle fight with Totoy Golem.

I probably wouldn't have cringed every effin' time that he had an intimate scene with a lady -- those kisses on Valerie Concepcion's neck, that short foreplay scene with the ticket booth lady, and the many times he had to kiss his wife, Carla Abellana. Ugh, the horror of seeing an old man be intimate with very much younger ladies (and someone who doesn't kiss nicely on camera at that).

I probably wouldn't have minded that he made a lot of unnecessary hand and arm gestures while delivering lines. I probably would have looked over the fact that they brought up the Liberal Party a little much (and somehow single-handedly categorized Nacionalista as the enemy). I probably wouldn't have paid attention to the Chuck Taylor shoes that a lot of them were wearing.

I probably would have teared up when he learned that his mother has died while he was in jail. I probably would have cheered on his wife when she confronted the other woman. I probably would have felt his pain while he was healing himself in a cold, dark, maximum security place aka bartolina after the knife fight

I probably would have taken Asiong's very sexist words (wala kang ibang gagawin kung hindi hintayin ako at magpaganda ka lang lagi, or something to that effect) seriously and threw the bottle of water that I was drinking to the big screen instead of just laughing off at it. I probably would have cried like a baby when he was whispering sweet words and vows to his wife while they were dancing to the tune of a very awesome song (note to self: get a copy of the movie's soundtrack) in a very regal affair, wearing very regal attires.

But I probably would have died along with that bullet that went through his head because I just can never bear to see my Derek Ramsey killed so violently.

So what if it was Dennis Trillo? Or Baron Geisler? Baron should've gotten an award or something.

Kidding aside and for whatever's worth, I seriously enjoyed the movie even though I was wearing my feminist goggles. I'm just hoping the life of women in Tondo is far from that now. A lot about the movie is awesome: the fast to slow transitions, the lightning, the costume and makeup, the fact that it is black and white, the patayan scenes, the script, the rain and how they manipulated its visual, it being an underdog, the camera angles -- a lot. And it is great in the sense that I am sure this film would bring back the life of action movies in our country's entertainment industry. But seriously, to the producers, do a version with Derek Ramsey.