Rating: 2/5
Asian Cinema Challenge 2023 | 4/52 | Made in Indonesia
Rama wakes up, prays his morning prayers, and works out. He is fit and knows how to throw a punch. He kisses his pregnant wife goodbye before going to his job as an MBC officer.
The team gathers in an armored truck and plans a raid on an apartment block. The MBC target is a crime lord named Tama Riyadi, who has an army of “pushers, gangs, and killers.” He has been running out of this block for 10 years, with police unable to approach. It’s time to change that.
When the MBCs get into the building, they find two spotters. They shoot one, but the other can radio in that the police are here. Rama turns the radio off, but it’s too late. Tama is standing in front of the surveillance center, calling for backup. Tama’s men wipe out most of the team. Tama then announces over the intercom system that anyone who takes the rest of the team out gets permanent free residence at the building.
And that’s the movie. We get some minor twists, but it’s more or less 100 minutes of fights. If you like pencak silat, this movie’s got a bunch of it.
A younger me would have loved this movie, but today, I need more to keep me interested. I recognize that this movie is beloved among action fans and hugely influential—there’s no John Wick without this movie. It does what it says on the package, and not one iota more, and I can’t fault it for that. But that doesn’t mean I have to love it.