Film Review: Merantau

After the sheer giddy joy of watching Gareth Evan's The Raid (review here) I almost immediately had a look to see if he had made any other films. I hit pay dirt with Merantau, which was the first collaboration with Evans and the star of The Raid, Iko Uwais.

Whilst The Raid wastes no time getting to the action, Merantau has a slower pace as it tells the story of Yuda who leaves his quiet village to travel to the bustling city of Jakarta as part of his 'merantau', an ancient rite of passage all young men in his community partake in on the road to becoming a man.

"Aw shit, he's got PIPES!"

When he arrives, looking to start teaching the martial art of Silat Harimau, he finds himself homeless, and soon comes across a damsel in distress in the form of Astri (Sisca Jessica) who is part of a human trafficking ring run by unhinged gangster Ratger (Mads Koudal.)

The plot is nothing original, but then again neither was The Raids, but in the case of Merantau it's a small negative, as that basic plot is dragged out a bit, whereas The Raid wasted no time in cutting to the chase. I'm not one to compare films in reviews normally, but I feel like that is a fair comparison to make.

Other than that minor quibble, it's hard to fault Merantau. The action (which does actually benefit from a slow build) is top notch, and absolutely brutal. So much so in fact that I found in strange that the film was given a 15 rating in this country. The fighting (which involved some nasty looking spills) coupled with an insanely violent and prolonged shooting really looked more like 18 material to me. U.S. readers will probably just know the film as an R.

If you liked The Raid, I can't recommend checking out Merantau enough, and after that join me in awaiting the next Gareth Evans and Iko Uwais project!

****
More kick ass action from Indonesia. Excellent fighting, but the plot does drag ever so slightly. Still well worth a watch for fight fans.