Now I’ve recently been going through a martial arts craze and the need for me to watch high octane ass kicking has skyrocketed to the point where I’m almost willing to go out and learn how to do it myself. I want to blame Tony Jaa’s original Ong Bak for this but I think it really traces back to Jet Li in The One, just brutally destroying those little minion bitches and his evil self. Jump back to today and now the fighting style I am following is Silat Harimau thanks to Iko Uwais, the star of Merantau and the first real action movie to come out of Indonesia. So if you like explosive martial arts and guys like Jet Li, Donnie Yen, and Tony Jaa then you need to hit the jump for my review so that you can now have another star to love. Silat is the indigenous martial arts of the Indonesia archipelago and has been spread all across Southeast Asia. It has many forms, stance is important, spirit is important, but your training in Silat is incomplete if you do not know how to use weapons, how cool is that? If you have never witnessed Silat in practice then go no further than your video rental source because I am about to tell you what the movie Merantau is about and how it will open your mind to a new way of fighting.
Merantau follows a young man named Yuid (Iko Uwais) who must embark on a journey to face the challenges of life in order to become a man. Once he is ready, he is allowed to return home to his village and back to his former life. This journey is called ‘Merantau.’ After departing his village to go teach Silat Harimau in Jakarta, Yuid finds that the school has been demolished and leaves him homeless. As he explores the city he sees a young women, Astri (Sisca Jessica) being slapped around by Johni (Alex Abbad), the club owner, and interferes causing her to lose her job as a dancer. After departing their own ways and kicking Johni’s ass, Yudi sees Astri again being taken to the club, this time against her will and out of a trunk. Yudi again goes to save her and in the process ends up destroying the face of a powerful human trafficker named Ratger (Mads Koudal). YUDI ROUNDHOUSE KICKS A GLASS BOTTLE INTO RATGER’S FACE! It becomes Yudi’s mission to keep Astri, her brother, and himself alive and away from Ratger but once Astri is caught it then becomes a full blown, intensive rescue mission.
I really enjoyed this movie and if you like tons of fighting in a unique style that is rarely showed on screen then this movie is for you as well. The thing about this movie is that it is an action family drama which means that it does tell a well written story and it does develop its characters well. While the plot may not be the most sophisticated, and is at times similar to that of Ong Bak, writer and director Gareth Evans does a great job creating a unique film in which he focuses on the character development and less flashy acrobatic fighting to distinguish Merantau from being dubbed a copycat film. In terms of character development , we get to know the backgrounds of Yudi, Astri, and even a little bit about Ratger and his brother during non combative scenes. Evans puts a more effort in so that we, as audience members, can invest a little more of ourselves into the film.
Additionally, I felt that the fighting in this movie was very realistic. It wasn’t over the top but it was incredible to see this young guy just kicking so much ass but at the same time getting continuously injured throughout each fight. You could visually see him getting tired and you could tell when he was unmatched because he is a young and skinnier guy which makes him a tad weaker than most. Evans’ ability to portray that physical weakness but mental toughness on screen was a brilliant move. It was also fun to see when he was tired and watch that rush of vengeance run through his body, revitalizing him to destroy some more minion meet.
Another aspect of the fighting that I liked was the overall choreography of the fights and chases. Again, it was down to earth but also, at times, spectacular and original. Most of the movie was hand to hand combat but like I mentioned above, when weapons are used, there is a very little change in Yudi’s fight tactics. His movements and usage of space were also appropriate which gave you this feeling that the movie did try to make it as authentic is possible even if some things may be a little over the top.
While I am now a complete fan of this movie and Uwais, there were a couple of negative things about this movie. I’m not going to bash him for this but Uwais’ acting was not the greatest performance, the same goes for Mads Koudal. This was Uwais’ first movie so I can understand that there will be some flaws in his facial expressions and demeanor but I can’t say the same for Koudal. I felt that he went a little too far in his psycho criminal approach even though his character is supposed to be pissed off at Yudi (some will definitely disagree with me here). Lastly, Uwais doesn’t have the same kind of presence on screen as someone like Jaa but I think things will change in future Uwais movies. Those are the only real downsides for me throughout the entire movie.
While I did think this movie was going to be over the top and full of ridiculous ‘finish him’ moves, it actually satisfied my thirst for an ass whooping in a realistic manner, which I think is difficult in foreign martial arts films. It may not completely “wow” you like Ong Bak did the first time you saw it, but I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised when you watch your first Indonesia action movie and take your first steps into the style of Silat. With a well infused score, tons a fight scenes, good character development, and a new action star on the rise, I think it is safe to say that Indonesia action cinema is headed in the right direction.
Overall: A more realistic martial arts movie that will keep your mouth watering for more Silat action
Expect to see this film in the states sometime in 2011 for Magnet’s 3rd 6 Shooter Film Series
Recent Comments