Without any offence to Filipino cinema, this movie was horrible. I was misled by the number of people calling it a masterpiece and my love for foreign and historical films, and couldn't expect what was coming. I suffered so much watching it that in the end I sympathised with that girl begging to be shot in the head. The reasons of my suffering in brief:
1. Sound design is extremely bad, struggling to listen to the characters' voices, the SFX were childish.
2. Unnecessarily long (3 hours that felt like 5). Impressed to learn that was initialy 5h long...
3. Nonsensical and unrealistic violence, made you feel like you are watching a low budget splatter.
4. That joke of a Rambo-like fighting scene near the end of the film that was so amateurishly executed and so long, that felt as if it was a practical joke on the viewer
5. Random sex happening
6. With the exception of a couple of good scenes (like the hacienda fire), the cinematography/photography was very dull
7. Characters (even ghosts) appearing and disappearing without meaning or connection to the plot
8. Excuse my OCD, but even the title Oro, plata, mata (3 part) is not in accordance with the film which is somehow in 4 parts (city, hacienda, forest house, slaughterhouse).
9. The relationships between the characters in the plot were very superficial. Despite the good acting from a couple of the ladies, the rest was so thin that it couldn't hold together the plot.
In case you are expecting to watch a historical epic movie (like the ones OPM is often compared to) I would really suggest you skip. Instead of the treasure you are seeking, you will find a carton of spoiled milk.
