Matapanki Film Review: The Hero We Don’t Deserve

Matapanki is here to disrupt the status quo, in the most punk way possible; this irresistible Chilean movie will have your eyes glued to the screen.

And even though Ricardo (Ramón Gálvez) wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider but simply happened to drink the titular MacGuffin, the great power he acquires does come with great responsibility indeed.

At first, it’s not clear yet why Ricardo, of all people, would be chosen to become Matapanki‘s hero, whose powers are activated when the teenager stumbles upon a strange alcoholic brew at a party, and takes a sip. And even though Ricardo means well, he isn’t exactly superhero material: he’s just an ordinary ‘punk’ who lives with his (very cool) grandma (Rosa Peñaloza) and spends his days partying, drinking, playing games, and hanging out with his two best friends, Claudia (Antonia McCarthy) and Mella (Diego Bravo).

Everything changes when Ricardo is suddenly gifted with super strength that awakens whenever he drinks ‘matapanki’, and since Mella, his ‘guy in the chair,’ was able to replicate the concoction, he has an endless supply of alcohol. Still, Ricardo doesn’t know how to handle his strength yet, nor where to direct it, so much so that an early attempt to stop a pickpocket leads the teenager to taking off the thief’s entire arm. Concha de tu madre, says Ricardo, in classic superhero-fashion, but our well-meaning young man is destined to fight a much bigger battle.

It turns out our protagonist was born with the “fighting gene”, and that someone is working against him in secret, manipulating him to get him to do their dirty work for them. At first, it does work, but when Ricardo starts to realize that something isn’t quite right, he rises to the occasion, using his disarming punk-rock energy to become the national hero he was meant to be.

It turns out Ricardo is actually fighting for Chile itself, and for democracy as a whole, in a movie that wears its message on its sleeve, challenging the nonsense of current world politics with a different kind of insanity that invites us to rebel and stand up for human rights instead. And Fuentes finds the exact right way to make this message land, in a film that’s just as poignant as it is riveting, energetic, and absolutely hilarious, filled to the brim with pop culture references, clever in-jokes, and unexpected, appropriately improbable twists.

The biggest laugh at my screening took place when the U.S. President himself – played, of course, by a Chilean actor (Rodrigo Lisboa) who doesn’t even attempt to conceal his accent – reacts to the death of President of Chile (Guilherme Sepúlveda) by stating, in a press conference, that “it’s essential for the U.S.A. to safeguard democracy everywhere,” and that should give you an idea of the kind of humor you’re in for with Matapanki.

But this is a film that abounds in personality, with gorgeous black and white cinematography (Vicente Correa) punctuated by graphic novel-like sparks of color that imbue our superhero with even more charm. An infectious punk rock score makes this journey even more immersive, and smart moments of magic realism give some characters and objects a mystical quality that makes the film stand out even more. Of course, some suspension of disbelief is necessary to enjoy this tale, but if you’re able to get on board with its quirky storytelling style, indie charm and infectious, larger than life energy, you’ll have a blast with Matapanki.

The entire cast shines here. Ramón Gálvez is magnetic as a protagonist that’s always believable no matter how absurd his actions become. Every single member of our superhero’s “family” – both literal and extended – has a very specific personality that gives them more charm, from Antonia McCarthy and Diego Bravo as Claudia and Mella to Bruno Cabrera as Gabo and Rosa Peñaloza as Ricardo’s ‘abuela’, one of the film’s most memorable characters. Just as iconic is Ximena Galleguillos as a woman at a liquor store whose key role in the movie won’t be spoiled here.

More than that, Matapanki feels like a project that was made by your friends, who simply got together one day and decided to film themselves while they were having fun. In the press notes for the movie, Fuentes explains that the movie was born as a university project, and that most of its cast and creatives had never been involved in anything before. Watching the film in all its low-budget glory, you can tell that this was the case, and this only makes Matapanki even more special. This film isn’t perfect, but it’s not trying to be; this bold, vibrant punk rock flick is both an ode to creativity and an urgent call to action.

Matapanki premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on February 17-22, 2026, and won the Special Mention Generation 14plus Award. Read our Berlin Film Festival reviews.