Beyond lavish visual effects

“ENCANTADIA.” Splendid viewing treat.

AS EXPECTED, the debut telecast of the new “Encantadia” series on GMA 7 last Monday, July 18, was a visually lavish and splendid “fantasy-action” viewing treat.

Aside from its opulent digitized settings, props and effects, the premiere telecast also made it a point to beef up its boffo “action” element, with one swordfight flashily following another—and, significantly, with its female characters doing most of the fighting and fencing honors!

Devious monarch

Stars like Marian Rivera and Solenn Heussaf pointedly upstaged their male counterparts to subdue their king- and queendoms’ foes, led by Roi Vinzon as the devious monarch of Hathoria.

Heussaf’s character was used as a narrative link to briskly bring viewers up to snuff on the series’ back story—all about how the realm’s all-powerful Jewel was broken up for better safekeeping into four smaller but still powerful gems, which were assigned to the eventful protection of younger “sang’gres.”

The first telecast offered other viewing treats, but the one that most struck our fantasticating fancy was the creation of a flying dragon that Rocco Nacino rode with great pride as he did an aerial survey of the progress of the evil king’s armies as they approached his queen’s threatened realm. Yes, the image looked “borrowed,” but it was striking and stirring, all the same.

To be sure, there came a time when we felt that there was too much emphasis and reliance on visual “effects” to keep viewers watching. All those obviously digitized realms, palaces and vistas eventually reached “surfeit” level.

Action scenes

Did the show have anything else and more real to offer? The action scenes helped, but we longed to see all those royal personages behave more like people, rather than idealized monarchs whose mere gesture had the “explosive” power to instantly subdue a platoon of enemy troops!

There were intimations of more personal encounters in the offing, and relationships in the unfolding—which we trust will happen soon, so that we can relate to all of the story’s characters in more personal and empathetic terms!