Plot
The Santos family has fought in almost every List of conflicts in the Philippines, conflict and List of wars, war in the Philippines, such as the Battle of Mactan, the Philippine Revolution, and the Second World War. In the present day, Benjamin "Benjie" Santos VIII is a dance instructor who lives with his parents and sisters, Jesamine and Anjamin. His grandfather, Benjamin "Bino" VI, unaware that he is gay, expects him to enlist in the Philippine Army, army like his ancestors. Benjie's father, Benjamin "Ben" VII, gave up being a soldier to become a scientist and an inventor, going against his grandfather's wishes. Benjie's family left his grandfather's house and moved to a cramped house, where his father invents gadgets and unique deadly weapons, including the Utot-gun (lit. 'Fart gun'), a fan that shoots bullets, and a tiara that acts as a multiple rocket launcher. One day, relatives invite Benjie's family to his grandfather Bino's 75th birthday. At the party, his grandfather finds out Benjie is gay. The relatives tell his family to leave and never show up again. Bino declares them a disgrace to the family and disowns them. A terrorist organization, Bandidos International, starts coordinated attacks and a civil war and kidnaps Benjie's grandfather and other high-ranking officials. The terrorist's leader, Commander Abe Sayyep, claims they have taken over the whole country. In response, the government reintroduces conscription. Benjie enlists in place of his ailing father. In the training camp, Benjie meets his platoon members and their commander, Officer Brandon Estolas, with whom Benjie becomes secretly infatuated. Benjie's platoon initially performs poorly in training and is at risk of being dissolved. The men train at night and show improvement in the morning. A rival group, incensed with losing to Benjie's platoon during training, gets Benjie drunk and films him dancing lewdly and effeminate. The following morning, the Commanding General sees the video and orders Benjie to leave the army. As Benjie is about to leave, his friends show solidarity and also leave the army. While traveling through a wooded area, Benjie and his friends accidentally stumble upon Bandidos International's base. They return to the army training camp to inform the Commanding General, but the official refuses to believe them. Based on the army's intelligence, the entire training camp believes the enemy base is in Tanay, Rizal, Tanay. However, when the soldiers arrive, they are ambushed by hundreds of terrorists. Among the dead is Benjie's rival platoon. Meanwhile, Benjie's group returns to the enemy's base. They see the captured officials, including Benjie's grandfather and Brandon. They gain entry into the terrorist camp by dressing as women to trick the guards. Once inside, the group kills many terrorists using the inventions of Benjie's father. Benjie rescues his grandfather, Brandon, and the other generals. Benjie's grandfather thanks him and asks for forgiveness. They reunite with Benjie's group, but Abe Sayyep appears and attempts to shoot Benjie's grandfather. Benjie takes the bullet to save his grandfather. Benjie's friend, Brandon, kills Abe Sayyep. In the afterlife, Benjie meets his ancestors, who are proud of him and say it is not yet time for him to die. Benjie comes back to life, and the group returns home, where they celebrate their victory with a party. Benjie lets Brandon know how he feels, but he rejects him, saying he already has a fiancé. Brandon's fiancé arrives, who turns out to be a lookalike of Benjie, shocking everyone at the party. The closing credits are interrupted by Captain Tenille telling General Santos that the president of the Philippines is summoning the country's bravest soldiers. In Europe, Benjie and his team happily accept the president's call, saying there will be a The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin, sequel.Cast and characters
Main cast
*Benjie's forefathers
* Benjamin Santos I (Benjie's ancestor who fought in the Battle of Mactan) * Benjamin Santos II (Benjie's great-great-great-grandfather in Philippine Revolution) * Benjamin Santos IV (Benjie's great-great-grandfather in Second World War) * Benjamin Santos V (Benjie's great-grandfather, Benjamin "Ben" Santos VII's grandfather, Benjamin "Bino" Santos VI's father)Supporting cast
*Recurring cast
*Carlos Agassi as Paul Marigma *Bodie Cruz as George Carang *Tutti Caringal as Ringo Daway *Malou de Guzman as Lilibeth Santos *Dennis Padilla as Bentot Santos *Anja Aguilar, Angelie Urquico as Jesamine Santos *Abby Bautista as Anjemin Santos *Tess Antonio as Lisa Santos *Jasper Visaya as Benten Santos *Rubi Rubi as Captain Tenille *Andrew Wolff as Commander Abu Sayaff *Emilio Garcia as Billy Aladdin *Romhel Valera as PrimitivoSpecial participation
*Luis Manzano as Ericson *Angelica Panganiban as Voice of Herself / Brandon's Fiancé *Yam Concepcion (cameo)Filming
''Praybeyt Benjamin'' was filmed in the last half of 2010 and wrapped up in January 2011. The filmmakers used retro movie cameras and Fujifilm instead of modern movie cameras. It was the last movie to be made in 35mm film. The movie underwent restoration for Blu-Ray/4K release.Reception
Release
The television trailer for ''Praybeyt Benjamin'' premiered during the talk show ''Gandang Gabi, Vice!,'' announcing its release on October 12, 2011. However, during the premiere of ''No Other Woman,'' the ''Praybeyt Benjamin'' trailer indicated a delayed premiere of October 26, 2011. A home video release was made on December 16, 2011 on DVD and VCD by Viva Entertainment#Viva Video Inc., Viva Video and Star Cinema#Star Home Video, Star Home Video worldwide.Rating
It was graded "B" by the Cinema Evaluation Board of the Philippines.Box office
''Praybeyt Benjamin'' opened with PHP 23.6 million in ticket sales on its first day. It broke Philippine box-office records after grossing PHP 109 million on its fourth day. After its seventh day on air, it reached the PHP 200 million mark.PEP Exclusive Vice Ganda on Praybeyt Benjamin's earnings of P200 million in eight days: "Alam kong maghi-hit ang movie, pero hindi ganung kalala!"Critical reaction
Although ''Praybeyt Benjamin'' is one of the highest-grossing of all time in the Philippines, its reviews ranged from mixed to negative. Most critics criticized the movie's overly simplistic story and outdated slapstick humor. However, many reviewers noted that the film's saving grace was the sharp comedic timing of Vice Ganda and the brilliant comic performance of Nikki Valdez.Sequels
''The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin''
In November 2011, ABS-CBN News reported that a sequel was in the works and would be released as early as 2013.'Praybeyt Benjamin,' niluluto na ang part 2Third ''The Super Praybeyt Benjamin'' film
A third film was announced as part of the 2020 Metro Manila Film Festival, 46th Metro Manila Film Festival, based on its script.Awards
References
External links
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