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Piolo Pascual and Kyle Echarri in ‘The Ride’

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Fred Hawson

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17589420124622-2_2025-09-23_19-57-12_gallery.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Piolo Pascual and Kyle Echarri in ‘The Ride’"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Piolo Pascual and Kyle Echarri in ‘The Ride’</span></span></span>Barry (Piolo Pascual) was a member of a carnapping gang under his boss Vince (Gabby Eigenmann). Disgruntled, he wanted to move over to the gang of rival carnapping kingpin, Windsor (Ramon Christopher), which he planned with his senior gangmate Anton (Levi Ignacio). While this was going on, Barry picked up his son Leo (Kyle Echarri) and drove together to the province where his ex-wife Sally was dying from cancer. </div><p>The exact reason why Barry decided to coincide his business coup attempt with his family road trip was not too clear. However, this serious lapse in Barry&#x27;s critical decision making certainly resulted in a sure-fire formula for a night of violence that put both his and his son&#x27;s life in danger. This shared experience of being on the run for their lives did push father and son closer together unlike any other time in their checkered past. </p><p>This feature film runs for only a little over an hour, ending just as you were on the edge of your seats. Remarkably, despite the brevity of the run time and seeming simplicity of the plot, there were three writers credited for the screenplay — Thop Nazareno, John Bedia and Dodo Dayao. Director Nazareno went straight to the point, with no unnecessary fluff. However, there may have been some details lost, like who exactly Bossing (Joey Marquez) was. </p><p>Kyle Echarri has gone a long way from &quot;The Voice Kids&quot; in 2015 where we first saw him. 2025 is his breakthrough year in film acting. He was just in &quot;100 Awit Para Kay Stella,&quot; where he played the third wheel in the love story of the two leads. This latest one of his pits him with Piolo Pascual in a virtual two-hander story, and he was able to hold his own. While still giving off spoiled brat vibes, Echarri was able to show off more range here acting-wise. </p><p>It has been about 30 years since Piolo Pascual broke through in TV soap opera &quot;Esperanza.&quot; From being the quintessential romantic leading man, he&#x27;d gone on to do action (&quot;On the Job&quot;), horror (&quot;Mallari&quot;), experimental (&quot;Real Life Fiction&quot;) and Lav Diaz (&quot;Hele ng Hiwagang Hapis&quot;). Now in his late 40s, he can now play the father of teenagers, like he did in a cameo role in &quot;Sunshine&quot; (2024), going full-length as a flawed dad in this latest one. </p><p>Pascual did very well in the action scenes, like that frenetic shoot-out in the marketplace. However, his forte is really drama. His Barry narrated the story as it went along, his confession. He called himself a bad husband, a bad father, and a bad person in general. His scenes with Echarri&#x27;s Leo were purposefully awkward, but we feel the sincere effort of this delinquent father to connect to his delinquent son, until he just gave it his all at the end.  </p><div><br/></div><div><em>This review was originally published in the author&#x27;s blog, “<a href="https://said-fred.blogspot.com/2025/09/review-of-ride-desperate-drive.html">Fred Said</a>.”</em></div>

<p>Piolo Pascual and Kyle Echarri lead a lean, intense thriller that pairs high-stakes action with emotional depth. Director Thop Nazareno keeps the pace tight, delivering a gripping ride.</p>

Piolo Pascual and Kyle Echarri lead a lean, intense thriller that pairs high-stakes action with emotional depth. Director Thop Nazareno keeps the pace tight, delivering a gripping ride.

Movie review: ‘The Ride’ keeps it short, sharp, and full of father-son tension

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Movie review: ‘The Ride’ keeps it short, sharp, and full of father-son tension

Fred Hawson

Published September 27, 2025 11:07 AM PHT

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movie review

The Ride

Piolo Pascual

Kyle Echarri

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