With a lot of pressure on his shoulder since the announcement that he will portray the titular role, he does not budge an inch and resorts to the convenience of his stature as one recognized actor who has a knack in performing what is needed from him, all of which despite veteran director Joel Lamangan’s confused if not totally aimless direction. He does well in showing a fierce and passionate Manalo in spite of a weak script and hardly tolerable storytelling. With a runtime of almost three hours, it is a relief to witness how actor Dennis Trillo takes the character with justice as he could just be the sole reason to stick around. On another hand, its narrative is disjointed, its editing too rushed and unaware, with visual effects that neither beautify nor boil down into anything believable. It follows the life of Iglesia Ni Cristo’s first executive minister as if by skimming through a list of recorded events and setting aside the relevance of any in-depth research to delve into his humanity. Only all of these accomplishments and the size it wants to depict pale to reflect the overall quality of this biopic. On that momentous event, the missions were clear: to celebrate the triumphs of their centennial church and provide a view, for both the uninformed and the misinformed, about who they are as a people rather than merely getting into their roots. It cannot be denied that the support of the crowd is evident as they cry and cheer and participate together with us non-members. On its premiere night at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan on Sunday (October 4, 2015), it gathered a whopping 42,624 people in the audience, nabbing the Guinness world records for Largest Audience At A Film Premiere and the Largest Audience At A Film Screening – titles held by 2012 American film Honor Flight with 10,000 and 28,442 moviegoers respectively. There is such a big force behind all this, granted the remarkable unity among the members and leaders of their church. Its capacity to make something this expensive is likely attributed to its budget that yielded a massive output three years in the making. The teaser-trailer alone warrants a wow for what seems to be an impossible feat of bringing together in one project some of the biggest artists, most of which are not even members of the Iglesia ni Cristo. Not to mention, it is able to cast a great number of stars in Philippine showbiz in one single production. It boasts of a grand production design that merits commendation–from its nostalgic color and look to its glamorous costumes to affecting musical scoring to set decorations to the very idea that it has come into fruition. Without a doubt, Felix Manalo is a gigantic movie.

Felix manalo movie realease date