Due to a handful of factors, it’s easy to equate Pedring Lopez’ new action film Maria to Erik Matti’s 2018 BuyBust. Both hail from the Philippines, they feature similar color palates, both have a particular mean streak, and they even share stunt choreographer Sonny Sison. And thanks to a single, but significant plot point, it’s also going to garner comparisons to Kiet Le-van’s Furie from earlier this year.
I don’t generally make it a practice of noting every time Netflix acquires one random movie or another. They’re so busy snapping up films I would never sleep. But I’ll make an exception in this case, as this is a movie I’ve been dying to see. Netflix just acquired the rights to Filipino director Pedring Lopez’ action movie Maria, and it drops on the divisive service May 17.
So far, March is shaping up to be great month for badass female-fronted international action movies. First up we have Veronica Ngo in Furie, which looks incredible, and though it’s full of dudes, Triple Threat prominently features JeeJa Yanin and Celina Jade. And now there’s Filipino director Pedring Lopez’ Maria to add to the pile. Check out the trailer below and mark your calendars.
