“Alfa & Bravo”

RATING: 3/5 | By Sandro Mairata @smairata / REFLEKTOR

“An action film that, despite all its flaws, delivers what it promises.”

“Alfa & Bravo” could have ended up being one of those recent Peruvian B-movies that are hardly worth mentioning (“Vaguito,” “Locos de amor: mi primer amor,” "¿Ahora somos 3? Yes, My Love") but no, it is a film with specific successes that make it digestible and can be considered a bubbly manifestation of the film industry monstrosity that is developing before our eyes.

In 2025, Peruvian cinema is offering everything: action, comedy, romance, auteur cinema, historical drama, horror, although it is true that it does so in an almost embryonic way and much of what is released remains “almost there.” Most of the titles are attempts, trials, first steps, but we're getting there.

Alfa & Bravo is also being released in a historic week that highlights this milestone, with a total of nine Peruvian films in theaters and titles for all tastes. On the other hand, and overlooking the rudimentary nature of the primitive art of its official poster, the film in question does not seem out of place in this group.

In Huancayo, a group of friends stumble upon the disappearance of several local girls; in their daily lives, they devote themselves to having a good time in a world of partying and motorcycle taxis. One day, they become suspicious of a strange, bald, athletic foreigner who lives alone in a house on the outskirts of town. When they try to rescue the girls, they find themselves immersed in an odyssey of violence as they clash with the interests of a transnational mafia represented in the area by a local gangster nicknamed 'Cholo Chulo' (Emilram Cossio).

In the vein of popular action buddy movies with nods to cinema that doesn't take itself too seriously—from Terence Hill and Bud Spencer films to Lethal Weapon and Men in Black— we are presented with an adventure comedy directed, written, produced, and co-starring Aaron Otoya, a Peruvian-American filmmaker and actor who chooses Huancayo as the setting for a script that mixes low- and high-budget film references. It must be said that the gunfights are much better executed by this debut director than the embarrassment we feel when watching the shootouts and so-called action scenes in “La pena máxima” (2022) by the highly experienced Michel Gómez, and that Otoya achieves a good pace and even an effect of interest that has not been seen since the days of “La gran sangre: la película” (2008)—remember that in the days of ”La gran sangre," what could not be achieved with film was replaced using animations that today look handmade.

“Alfa & Bravo” features the most extensive hand-to-hand combat scenes in Peruvian cinema

that I can remember—although we are still a long way from showing our own personality in these Peruvian-style fights. Let's remember that hand-to-hand combat action movies manage to stand out from the crowd when they meet a series of requirements that are far from simple. First, a very specific fictional universe, where there is a mission to accomplish or a recurring threat (“Bourne,” “The Transporter,” ‘Taken’); second, they give their violence a particular and identifiable style (“John Wick,” “The Anonymous Avenger,” any of Jackie Chan's films); and third, they generally revolve around a top-level performer who combines charisma, acting ability, and physical prowess (not to mention kung fu films and, once again, Jackie Chan, let's talk about films by Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Tony Jaa, or the fight sequences in the James Bond films starring Daniel Craig).

Comedian and content creator Johnny Zare, known as “Cholo Soy,” plays the well-meaning Bravo in a debut that is a variation on the typical good-natured young man as comic relief. Zare is well supported by a cast that includes Huancaína theater actress Daniela Segura as

the kidnapped Shirley, or “Mi Shirley,” Bravo's innocent love interest, whom he will do anything to rescue. Rounding out the cast are Santiago Suárez from Chiclayo as Rigo, influencer Sibenito Osorio as Flaki, Mateo Garrido-Lecca as JuanPa, and model and influencer Brenda Matos as Florencia, the pretty girl in the group who falls for the mysterious Alfa (Otoya), who turns out to be a former CIA agent.

Matos and Segura deserved more screen time; Segura has an interesting talent, while Matos has a strong screen presence that should lead to new roles in film. Garrido-Lecca is the most experienced comedian of them all, but he is always on the verge of overacting. Cossío brings poise to an unfortunately caricatured role. And unfortunately, the worst of the entire cast on screen is the director himself, who decided to cast himself as the protagonist for reasons we can only speculate about. Personal aspirations are understandable, but Otoya ends up hurting his own film with his very low dramatic level and poor Spanish diction. Apart

from the explanation that both he and his character are American, it is impossible to understand what he is saying, and he conveys no emotion whatsoever when doing so. In this vein, his fight scenes are designed for personal showmanship, perhaps to further his career in the future.

With its ups and downs, “Alfa & Bravo” demonstrates the potential for making commercial films outside Lima, not by simply moving technical equipment and cast members there, but by thinking up stories from within, without ties to the capital. It also revives the action genre, which had long been abandoned. These are merits for a film that delivers what it promises, which is more than can be said for the rest.

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Year of Release:	2025
Director	Aaron Otoya
Producer	Jonathan E. Zorrilla
Cast	Mateo Garrido Lecca, Brenda Matos, Aaron Otoya, Santiago Suárez, Johnny Zare
IMDB	https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37718218