A clip from the GMA-7 show Victor Magtanggol has been garnering a lot of attention for the past few days — but for the wrong reasons.
The video, which came from the show’s 24th episode, was posted late last month but went viral over the weekend. It shows the titular superhero Victor Magtanggol (Alden Richards) frozen and stuck within a block of ice, unable to stop his enemies.
Another hero named Sif (Andrea Torres) arrives at the scene to save him but did not manage to, forcing Victor to save himself.
What viewers thought was hilarious was the sub-par special effects used in the scene which was shot — in all places — at a children’s playground.
See for yourself and check out the flying creature that looks like a hastily drawn plushie, as well as the awkwardly-moving monsters who were about to kill Victor.
Before the action-fantasy show premiered, Richards told GMA News that its special effects was “two levels higher” than what people are used to seeing on local television.
Judging by the clip, it seems like Richards’ statement is a case of overpromising yet underdelivering.
A quick look at the comments shows that quite a lot of netizens were unimpressed.
Wrote Chellyn Mildon: “This is the first time I’ve seen a clip from that show. What’s that, Sesame Street? My gosh, GMA Network, please!”
Someone who goes by the name Rill Sasa Tok wrote in Filipino: “Is this what they were saying was Hollywood-level effects?”
Wrote Seb Calaguas: “Is this what they were proud of? The sticker effects on IG [Instagram] stories are even more realistic.”
But the show has its defenders too. Richards has numerous and highly vocal fans who would not put up with the criticisms thrown at his show.
Jen Yam was one of the more passionate ones, who wrote: “Wow, this page is flooded by hypocrites who are calling for a boycott and are just so negative but you watch the show and follow everything that happens, right Alden. YOUR (sic) PATHETIC. AGAIN GET A LIFE!”
Even before it premiered, Victor Magtanggol has been accused of copying elements from Marvel’s Thor character.
Men’s website Esquire Philippines picked several parts that appeared to have been copied from the Thor movies and told GMA that “this new thing you’re working on isn’t looking so fresh.”
This prompted GMA’s president Annette Gozon Valdes to post a sharp and obviously piqued reaction on Facebook, where she wrote: “Your [Esquire] article lacks research. Even before Thor was a comic book character…he already existed in mythology. Thor is a Norse God [therefore] part of Norse mythology. They [Norse mythology] belong to the public domain.”
Despite Valdes’ clarification, however, accusations of plagiarism dog the show. One netizen named Daniel Kitazawa wrote that one of the monsters reminded him of Malekith, a character from Marvel comics.
He wrote: “Is that supposedly Malekith. Because there is no Malekith in Norse [m]ythology. Malekith is a name given by Marvel Comics to use for the leader of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim. Malekith is NOT in the public library and is trademarked by Marvel.”
Do you think the show deserves the criticisms it has been receiving? Tweet us your thoughts at @CoconutsManila.
