Committed, driven, and multifaceted – these are just some qualities that obviously shine through in the star that is Coco Martin. And once again, he proves just that in his upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival entry titled 3pol Trobol Huli Ka Balbon, in which he wrote, directed and of course, starred in.

SPOILER ALERT: The following contains plot details of the movie. Read at your own discretion.

3pol Trobol starts with an action-packed opening where Coco’s character, then-Criminology student Apollo “Pol” Balbon saves the life of the National Defense Secretary. Impressed, the Secretary decides to hire Pol to be his personal security right after he graduates from college. Soon after, the Secretary discovers an anomaly involving two government officials and illegal firearms that will eventually get him killed. This mission, he is able to pass onto Pol before he gets murdered.

Coco proves his skill as an action star as well as a comedian. Just check out how he commits to his role as his popular alter ego Paloma tries seducing Sam Milby’s character while wearing sexy tights.

The movie also featured an original soundtrack. Catchy and fitting as background song for Coco’s Paloma transformation scene, the single was titled “Paloma” as well, and was performed by Darryl Ong.

Now Sam Milby is another surprise in the film. He was able to effectively internalize the character of a bad guy. He shined specifically during the last fight scene where Sam pulled off an even worse Ace Corpuz [his character in the defunct serye Halik].

Meanwhile, Coco’s onscreen team up with Jennylyn Mercado seems funnier more that it was serious and romantic. They appear to have such chill chemistry that just puts a smile on your face as you see how they interact.

Another cute tandem in the movie was that of supporting characters Ai-Ai Delas Alas and Joey Marquez’s. Ai-Ai played Coco’s mother while Joey was her former sweetheart.

Over all, the storyline was pretty much smoothly executed and humor spontaneously delivered. Although the backdrop entails a far more complicated situation and probably requires more actual details, the story was presented in a way that it was simple for general viewers to comprehend and consume.

Finally for the last tip, when the credits start to crawl in, don’t leave the cinema just yet as cut scenes and even bloopers will start to roll, giving insights to some of the things that were not shown in the final cut.

An entry to the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival, 3pol Trobol: Huli Ka Balbon, produced by CCM Film Productions, is showing in cinemas on Christmas day, December 25.