Director: Various
Year: 2017
Country: Indonesia
Rating: 6.0
We have become so used to our superhero films
being these big orgasmic CGI filled blockbusters sucking up every dollar
in sight, that we will likely shrug when a superhero film comes along with
none of that. Not everyone who wants to make a superhero film has a budget
of 300 million dollars, so they do what they can. Indonesia of all places
has produced a few superhero films that have budgets that would not pay for
the trailers of the Marvel productions, but they have their charms going
by this one. Not likely to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but
in Indonesia there is the Bumilangit Cinematic Universe which has produced
a few superhero films and has others planned. How easy it is to access them,
I can't say but I will have to look. This film is not part of that Universe
but instead based on an Indonesian comic book and though it has more than
a few weaknesses of plot and budget, I found it fun enough to want to see
more of these films. This looks to have had a sequel in mind, but it never
happened.
The plot makes no sense but then how many
superhero films have a plot you can put your hat on. Batavia City (fictional
place with this being filmed in Jakarta) is having a crime wave and the police
seem unable to stop it. They also have a super-villain as well who is blowing
up stuff and taking hostages. He calls himself Shadow and has three female
minions who are also crack fighters and wear comic villain make-up. Where
there is a super-villain, a superhero is sure to show up. A film producer
named Bono (played weirdly by American Matthew Settle who was in 121 episodes
of Gossip Girl) wants to make a superhero film about a female vigilante named
Valentine. No financiers are interested - so he thinks he can get some buzz
going by hiring a woman to pretend to be Valentine and actually stop crime,
He just needs a woman who is attractive and knows martial arts. Where to
find?
Lo and behold, he is having dinner in a
restaurant when two thugs start pushing around a waitress and another waitress
jumps in and knocks them out. Bingo! She is Sri, the daughter of a policeman
who killed himself over a scandal. But he had taught, Sri (Estelle Linden)
and her brother (Ahmad Affandy) the martial arts form of Silat all their
lives. Silat is a style practiced primarily in Malaysia and Indonesia and
consists of "strikes, joint manipulation, weaponry or some combination of
them". Bono talks her into appearing in his film - but before we start filming,
let's stop some real crimes and film you in action. Huh? What? And she goes
for it and wears the purple suit and mask that he has made for her.
They drive around at night looking for crimes
and there is a lot of crime. First in a convenience store, she beats down
three robbers and ties them up. And what the heck. She is having fun. But
when are we going to start shooting the real film? A few more. And she becomes
a legend all over TV. Then there is the Shadow and his posse. Time to go
after the big guy. There is a lot of action, some parkour but all basically
within the realm of reality. She has no super powers. The Shadow has no super
powers. It is just full on hitting each other. Don't go in expecting Hong
Kong choreography, but it isn't all that bad either.
