''Ambush'' is a 1988 Filipino action film directed by Francis 'Jun' Posadas and written by Jerry O. Tirazona. It stars

Ronnie Ricketts Ronald Naldo Ricketts, popularly known as Ronnie Ricketts, is a Filipino actor, scriptwriter, film director, line producer, and martial artist who is the former President of the Philippine Film Actors Guild, and former Chairman of Optical Medi ...

Dick Israel Ricardo Vizcarra Michaca (10 December 1947 – 11 October 2016), known by his stage name Dick Israel, was a Filipino character actor who played mostly villain and sidekick roles in many Filipino movies. He later branched out in television playi ...

Sonny Parsons Parsons Agliam Nabiula Jr. (August 22, 1958 – May 10, 2020), known professionally as Sonny Parsons, was a Filipino actor, singer, director and politician in the Philippines. He was a member of Hagibis, an all-male sing-and-dance group in the l ...

E.R. Ejercito Emilio Ramon Pelayo Ejercito III (; born October 5, 1963), commonly known as E. R. Ejercito, is a Filipino actor and former governor of Laguna from 2010 until his removal in 2014. Prior to his election as governor, he served as mayor of Pagsanj ...

, Leo Lazaro, Bobby Zshornack, and

Beverly Vergel Beverly Vergel is an actress and film writer, director and producer, who now lives and works in Canada after many screen appearances in the Philippines during the 1980s and 1990s. Biography She was born in Manila, Philippines to actors César ...

. The film depicts an armed struggle between the

New People's Army The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aimi ...

's Sparrow Unit and the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The P ...

. Produced by Regent Films, ''Ambush'' was released in theaters on July 13, 1988. It was given a mildly positive review by critic

Lav Diaz Lavrente Indico Anciro Diaz (born December 30, 1958) is a Filipino independent filmmaker and former film critic. Frequently known as one of the key members of the slow cinema movement, having made several of the list of longest films, longest na ...

, who praised its non-propagandistic depiction of ideological conflicts between

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

revolutionaries and law enforcers, while criticizing its technical flaws and the inclusion of an implausible character.

Plot summary

Cast

as Ka Mario *

as Ka Diego *

* Leo Lazaro * Bobby Zshornack *

Raoul Aragonn Raoul Aragon was a former Filipino actor in drama and action movies in the Philippines. Aragon was nominated in Gawad Urian Award 1980 as Best Actor in the movie ''Ina ka ng Anak Mo'' and he won the Best Actor award in Metro Manila Film Festival ...

* Odette Khan * Johnny Wilson *

Joonee Gamboa Joonee Gamboa (born Jose Espineli Gamboa Jr.; August 7, 1936) is a Filipino actor. As veteran actor, he appeared in more than 145 movies and television shows. Life and career Gamboa won the Best Supporting Actor in the 1977 Metro Manila Film Fe ...

* Johnny Vicar *

Gladys Reyes Gladys Sommereux (née Reyes; born June 23, 1977), is a Filipino actress best known for her role as "Clara," the lead villainess from the 90s ABS-CBN hit series ''Mara Clara''. In 2012, after years with her home network ABS-CBN, she transferred ba ...

* Vic Varrion * Rey Sagum * Danny Riel * Rene Matias * Grego Gavino * Robert Talby * Dave Moreno * Jess Bernardo

Production

''Ambush'' was one of the first major roles of Bobby Zshornack and Leo Lazaro, part of a group called the "Escolta Boys" who mostly starred in action films. On April 11,

did her own stunt of driving a

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...

through a fruit stand.

Critical response

, writing for the ''

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

'', gave a mildly positive review of the film. He praised the film's non-propagandistic and unbiased depiction of the ideological conflicts between communist revolutionaries such as the Sparrow Unit and enforcers of the law, but considered the filmmakers' inclusion of an inexperienced recruit within the demanding unit as unbelievable and the film's "biggest mistake", in addition to its other technical faults. He concluded, however, that if viewers watched the film solely for its action, it is worth the cost of admission.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{Jerry O. Tirazona 1988 films 1988 action films Filipino-language films Philippine action films