''Agent X44'' is a 2007 Filipino

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

spy

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Joyce E. Bernal and starring

Vhong Navarro Ferdinand Hipolito "Vhong" Navarro (born January 4, 1977), is a Filipino comedian, actor, dancer, recording artist, and television host. He is known for his comedic performances in films such as '' Mr. Suave'' (2003), '' Gagamboy'' (2004), and ...

as Agent X44 with

Mariel Rodriguez Maria Erlinda Lucille Sazon Termulo-Padilla (born August 10, 1984), professionally known as Mariel Rodriguez (), is a Filipino-born American actress, television host, model, and video jockey. Early life Mariel Rodriguez was born Maria Erlind ...

in her film debut. The film was also the last movie of veteran actor

Tony Ferrer Antonio Dising Laxa (June 12, 1934 – January 23, 2021), better known by his stage name Tony Ferrer, was a Filipino actor, film director and producer. He was tagged as the James Bond of the Philippines for his films in which he played a spy name ...

prior to his death in 2021. The film was produced by

Star Cinema ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc., trade name, doing business as Star Cinema and also known as ABS-CBN Films (since 2018), is a Philippines, Philippine film studio, film, television production company, production and distribution (marketing), di ...

and is based on the Agent X-44 character previously played by Ferrer, which originated in the 1965 spy film ''G-2'', directed by

Eddie Garcia Eduardo "Eddie" Verchez Garcia (; May 2, 1929 – June 21, 2019), colloquially known as Manoy, was a Filipino actor, television personality, and filmmaker. Widely regarded as the greatest Filipino actor of all time, Garcia appeared in nearly ...

. It is the third film featuring Navarro to have been directed by Bernal after '' Mr. Suave'' (2003) and ''

D' Anothers ''D' Anothers'' is a 2005 Filipino comedy horror film directed by Joyce Bernal from a story and screenplay written by Adolfo Alix Jr., with Raymond Lee co-wrote the latter. The film tells the story of Hesus Resurreccion (Vhong Navarro), the pro ...

'' (2005).

Plot

King Aguila and his best friend, Junior Iskalibers take the entrance exam of an academy for secret agents. King is the

godson Within Christianity, a godparent or sponsor is someone who bears witness to a child's baptism (christening) and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelong spiritual formation. In both religious and civil views, ...

of Agent X44 Tony Falcon who is approaching retirement. Ever since he was a child, King has idolized Tony and wants to be a secret agent like him. King and Junior are admitted into the academy under the supervision of Colonel Cynthia Abordo, but turn out to be the most incompetent trainees. In the academy, King meets Mary Grace Talagtag, another neophyte agent. She develops a crush on King, but keeps it to herself. One day, she asks King out on a date and decides to tell him of her love for him when King rushes out of the restaurant to save a girl. Thinking that King is embracing the girl, Mary Grace is convinced that he is a playboy. After graduating from the academy as Agent 690, she decides to accept

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

training being offered to her, and leaves the country with bitter feelings towards King. When she returns from her training, Mary Grace immediately becomes the top agent in the country. King is given three cases to solve, but he fails each one of them, leading the agency to demote him to a clerical job. He and Junior graduate as "reserve agents" who temporarily work as janitors in the agency headquarters, much to their dismay. One night, the Philippines' most important artifact,

Lapulapu Lapulapu (floruit, fl. 1521) or Lapu-Lapu, whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu (chief) of Mactan, an island now part of the Philippines. Lapulapu is known for the 1521 Battle of Mactan, where he and his men defeated Spa ...

’s bolo which he used to kill

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fl ...

in 1521, is stolen from a museum. Minerva Castillo, the museum's curator, contacts the agency for help, saying that the dagger has the ability to turn water into crude oil. Being the top agent, Mary Grace expects the mission to be assigned to her but is shocked when Tony for pushes for King to be included in the mission. With the help of Junior, King nearly gets the dagger but loses it again. Disappointed with King, Tony gets depressed and accidentally falls into a manhole. Cynthia decides to take King out of the mission. During Tony's wake, Junior pretends to be the ghost of Tony and terrorizes Cynthia into reinstating King in the mission. Cynthia decides to pair King with Mary Grace to retrieve the dagger. The dagger falls into the hands of three rival crime lords - Mustafah Saleh, an Arab vampire millionaire who sees the dagger as a threat to his family's oil business; Leah, a Polynesian princess who wants to retrieve the dagger because they have the seawater resources but not the equipment to turn it into oil; and Purubutu-san, a

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

head who wants to retrieve the dagger because he has the seawater resources plus the machinery to market it all over the world. King and Mary Grace infiltrate Mustafah's hideout in Floridablanca and subdue him, but the dagger is stolen by Leah. They then infiltrate Leah's beach resort hideout, where the dagger is being auctioned. King shoots Leah, but Minerva steals the dagger and flees with goons by boat. Distraught, King mourns Tony at the manhole, only for the latter to show up, saying he had faked his death to push King to excel. Encouraged, King organizes a comprehensive investigation which finds that Minerva, whom he slept with prior to their mission at the beach resort, was previously a monkey genetically engineered to become human by Purubutu-san, much to King's disgust. King and Mary Grace infiltrate Purubutu-san's lair, but Mary Grace is captured and King is temporarily paralyzed. Upon recovery, King, with the help of Cynthia, defeat Purubutu and his goons, rescue Mary Grace and retrieve the dagger, escaping before the lair is blown up by a time bomb. King is promoted into a regular agent and becomes a couple with Mary Grace, while Tony reappears to everyone's surprise. In an epilogue, Cynthia reveals that a corrected translation of the inscriptions on Lapu-Lapu's dagger means that it actually produces cooking oil rather than crude oil, much to her frustration.

Cast

Main cast

as Reserve Agent King Agila / Agent X44 *

as Mary Grace Talagtag / Agent 690

Supporting cast

Cassandra Ponti Lejanie Palma Anigan (born 1 March 1978), known professionally as Cassandra "Cass" Ponti, is a Filipino former actress, dancer, model, and reality television contestant.

as Minerva Castillo * Uma Khouny as Mustafah Saleh *

Pokwang Marietta Tan Subong (born August 27, 1972), known professionally as Pokwang, is a Filipinos, Filipino comedian, actress, television host and singer. She started in a reality show on ABS-CBN and subsequently appeared in dramas and sitcoms of t ...

as Cynthia Abordo * Mura as Anton / Agent Junior Iskalibers *Juliana Palermo as Selecta Papadakis *

John Lapus Jonathan Anthony Solis Lapus (born July 7, 1973), also known as Sweet, is a Filipino actor, host, comedian and film and television director. Lapus is known for his various roles in films such as the '' Shake, Rattle & Roll'' film series. He ...

as Baklus *

Epi Quizon Jeffrey Smith Quizon (born January 23, 1973), professionally known as Epy Quizon, is a Filipino actor, television host and the son of comedian Dolphy. Early life Born Jeffrey Smith Quizon on January 23, 1973. He is the youngest of four siblin ...

as Karansai Purubutu-san *

Juddha Paolo Juddha Paolo is a Filipino actor and model. Biography Juddha grew up in the United States. He came to the Philippines to join the Philippine amateur boxing team. Instead, he found his way to show business. He became a Star Magic talent. He wa ...

as Mr. Clean

Special Participation

as Tony Falcon / Agent X44

Reception

Rating

MTRCB The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB; ; is a Philippine government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines that is responsible for the classification and review of television programs, motion pict ...

, a Philippine media board, has initially rated the movie R-18 due to topless scenes of both Cassandra Ponti and Mariel Rodriguez but was re-rated to PG-13.

Box office

On its opening day, ''Agent X44'' did well as it grossed . After a week of its showing, the film made a . Its overall gross was .

References

Agent X44 a big hit!

External links

* * {{Joyce Bernal 2007 films 2007 action comedy films 2000s spy comedy films Films directed by Joyce Bernal Star Cinema films 2007 comedy films Philippine action comedy films Filipino-language films