Asian action has always been better than Hollywood action given the budget in which they operate. Hence, when they migrated to the international platform, their stardom spread far and wide. But when you ask the general public about their favourite action stars, they’ll come up with the same popular names: Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Donnie Yen etc. Yes, they do deserve the popularity. However, there are many more, especially from Indonesia, who deserve an equal share of the spotlight due to their talent. And, in my opinion, Indonesian action and Silat (a martial art form) are going to be the next big thing.
In my recent interview with Sam Hargrave, director of Extraction, he lauded the action scene in Indonesia and what Gareth Evans is doing. You must’ve seen names like Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Cecep Arif Rahman, and Yayan Ruhian pop up in movies like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Fast and Furious 6, Star Trek: Beyond, John Wick: Chapter 3, Stuber and Mile 22. Even Vasan Bala, director of Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, tipped his hat to Hammer Girl (from The Raid 2) via Radhika Madan’s costume design. But none of them, except maybe John Wick, have done justice to the immense potential in Indonesian action. And there’s no better way to do so than watching the mind-blowing movies coming out of the country.
So, without further ado, let’s begin the list.
1. Merantau (dir. Gareth Evans)
Fair warning, this movie takes its time to get started as Iko Uwais’ Yuda goes to Jakarta to teach Silat and finds out about the slave trade. But once things heat up, the action goes up by several notches. There’s a chase scene which starts at ground level, goes several stories high, returns to the ground, and then ends in a little gully! It’s nerve-wracking AF. And just when you think your blood pressure has reached an alarming level, Evans smacks you with two more set-pieces which Iko and the rest of the stunt team execute brilliantly. I just love the way the environment is used to fight, which is something you rarely get to see in action movies.
2. The Raid: Redemption (dir. Gareth Evans)
I’ve been harping about this movie for the past decade but I think it just deserves more attention. From the single location shooting to the set design, the pitch-perfect action choreography, the stuntwork, the acting by Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Yayan Ruhian, and the rest of the cast, the phenomenal camera-work, there’s just so much to appreciate. There are breathers which make you think ‘are they going to go harder than the previous scene?’ and that answer to that is always ‘yes’. I always find myself re-watching and re-re-watching that cold-storage/locker room three-way fight because of how perfect it is.
3. The Raid 2: Berandal (dir. Gareth Evans)
This is one of those rare sequels which strays away from the style of storytelling of the first movie by several miles, goes bigger and bulkier, and ends up being not only a great sequel but also a fantastic movie in general. It has much more plot in it but all of it is engaging because the first movie has made you fall in love with the central character, Rama. The action scenes are much more elaborate and yet they have a personal touch to it. The newer characters are so pulpy and rich that you can’t help but want to know more about them (I mean why does that girl use a hammer and why does that guy use a baseball bat and a baseball?). Also, if you watch all of the above-mentioned movies back-to-back, you’ll see the satisfying change in Evans’ direction.
4. Headshot (dir. Timo Tjahanto)
My man Iko Uwais is back and this time he’s suffering from partial memory loss. His past is fairly dark thereby making said memory loss to be a boon. But as soon as he starts to step into his new life, his past comes to draw him back into the darkness. And instead of resisting it, he jumps right in to bring all of it to an end. The action is understandably top-notch, Iko and Chelsea Islan’s chemistry is really nice, and Sunny Pang as the drug overlord Lee is all kinds of creepy and menacing. It’s packed with brutal action sequences involving a variety of weaponry, the one that’s burned into my brain is where Abdi takes on Besi and it’s all about fists and a baton.
5. The Night Comes For Us (dir. Timo Tjahanto)
For the first time in a long time, Iko Uwais plays the bad guy, Arian, and he’s bad to the core. He has some semblance of morality but as soon as the fight for power comes into the play, he forgets everything. And the only one who can stop him is Joe Taslim’s Ito who turns on his crime fam to protect a girl who basically symbolises his redemption arc. However, any act of goodness in a corrupt world comes at a price, and Ito and his friends have to pay it with lots and lots of blood and gore. That said, they don’t go out silently. Every fight is evenly matched and will make you bite your fingers to the bone. Everyone gets their moment to shine but it’s undoubtedly Taslim who shines the brightest. More of him, please!
6. Gundala (dir. Joko Anwar)
We have seen grounded superheroes. We have seen fantastical superheroes. This is a mixture of both of them. Just imagine a mixture of Daredevil (the Netflix series, of course), Thor, and a dash of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises that is infused with a lot of Indonesian culture. And that is Gundala. It is derivative (The end credits sequence is very similar to Captain America: Civil War) and yet unique in its presentation. The movie is slow-paced initially, so be patient because as soon as it gets going, it doesn’t stop until it reaches its bittersweet conclusion. Abimana Aryasatya as the reluctant hero is too good and so is the rest of the cast. In addition to all that, there’s a conspiracy at the centre of the story that is so relevant that it might scare you a little.
7. Buffalo Boys (dir. Mike Wiluan)
If you’re a fan of Westerns, I am pretty sure that you’re going to love it. But if you aren’t, you might take some time to warm up to it. That said, like every Indonesian action movie, the action is pitch-perfect. It’s the perfect fusion of Silat and gunplay. Exactly! You can’t even imagine what that looks like and that’s why you must watch this. The crowning jewel of this action flick is certainly its final act where the titular duo goes against the status quo of the place, exact some sweet, sweet revenge, and save some innocent villagers from their state of misery. You know, like a classic Western movie.
In conclusion, here’s the thing. The lockdown we are currently in is a great time to catch up on stuff that we’ve missed out or neglected for one reason or another. So, when these filmmakers, actors, writers, etc. will start to resume their work after the lockdown is over, you can go and support them. And, trust me, they will need your support. In addition to that, we have to keep in mind that Action is a very fickle genre. As soon as some producers find an easy way to make money, they will jump on it and we’ll go back to CGI’d scenes, shaky cam, and jarring editing. Therefore, we need to promote the kind of clean and impactful action that Indonesia is doing and thereby influencing others to do.
In case you’re looking for some more movies or TV shows to add to your watch-list, here are some more suggestions:
Cover artwork by Bhavya Poonia/Mashable India
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