Review of Merantau (2009) by Ridho K — 22 Oct 2009
Gareth Evan's Merantau is one enthralling martial arts movie out of Indonesia.In short, this film is about a young man going on his "Merantau." Actually, a more fun way to describe the story is a young man goes to Jakarta and whoops some major buttocks.
At just around 1 hour and 45 minutes (international cut) this picture is not surprising at how it is set up. The first 30-45 minutes is all character and story, with a couple very small training sequences to serve as an appetizer.
At this point the film is at the brink of finally unleashing the pain ... and it does.The final hour or so contains a ton of action and there is only two, maybe three, slow motion shots. There is also no repeating shots from different angles for massive moves or hits.
This is straight up high octane martial arts and stunt work. This truly is fantastic stuff.Iko Uwais not only displays his Silat martial arts style, but he shows that he has the ability to act as well.
Other than Sisca Jessica as the damsel in distress and Mads Koudal as the villain, there isn't much more to say about the acting.Merantau is one of those films where the action is pretty much all that matters, although there is a decent enough story to go along with it.
Check it out if time allows.
This review of Merantau (2009) was written by Ridho K on 22 Oct 2009.
Merantau has generally received positive reviews.
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