''Amang Hustler'' is a 1987 Filipino

action crime The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

film written and directed by Mike Relon Makiling and starring Rhene Imperial in the title role of George "Amang" King, alongside Ramon Zamora, Philip Gamboa,

Melissa Mendez Melissa Mendez (; born July 27, 1964) is a Filipina film and TV actress. Mendez was nominated for a Best Actress FAMAS Award for the film ''Kalakal'' (2008). Mendez produced an independent movie, ''Hilot'' (2009) with Empress Schuck. It was dir ...

, Robert Lee, and

Anita Linda Anita Linda (born Alice Bueñaflor Lake; November 23, 1924 – June 10, 2020), was a Filipino actress whose career spanned nearly eight decades and had done close to 400 motion pictures. A romantic lead in her early years, she gained wides ...

. Set in

Binondo Binondo (; ) is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Manila, Quiapo, Santa Cruz, Manila, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas, Manila, San Nicolas and Tondo, Manila, Tondo. ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, the film is about Amang, a Chinese mestizo who is jailed for a crime he did not commit, only to be lead into a life of crime after his release and become the new kingpin of a

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

syndicate. The film was released on March 6, 1987. Critic Justino Dormiendo of the ''

Manila Standard The ''Manila Standard'' is a broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines which, as of 2017, is owned by the Romualdez family. The Romualdezes, through incumbent speaker of the House Martin Romualdez, also own Journal Publications, Inc., the owner ...

'' gave the film a negative review, criticizing the film's exploitative violence and poor characterizations of

Chinese Filipino Chinese Filipinos (sometimes referred as Filipino Chinese or Chinoy/Tsinoy in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent with ancestry mainly from Fujian, but are typically born and raised in the Philippines. Chinese Filipinos are one ...

Cast

* Rhene Imperial as George "Amang" King * Ramon Zamora * Philip Gamboa *

as Amang's fiancee *Robert Lee *

as Amang's mother

Release

''Amang Hustler'' was released in theaters on March 6, 1987.

Critical response

Justino Dormiendo, writing for the ''

'', gave the film a negative review, disparaging the "senselessness and meaninglessness" of the violence in its action scenes. He stated that "Here, he violenceis used for sheer exploitation, unsparingly, reveling in bloodshed after bloodshed, until the whole movie crumbles in the pool of its gore." Dormiendo also criticized the film's poor characterization of its

characters with their lack of cultural nuances, as well as the lack of policemen in the story other than Philip Gamboa's character, all of which results in an unconvincing film.

References

1987 films 1980s crime action films 1987 action films Filipino-language films Films set in Manila Philippine action films Philippine crime action films Films directed by Mike Relon Makiling {{1980s-Philippines-film-stub