Rating: ***
Review Date: 3/3/24
Director: Timo Tjahjanto
Cast: Joe Taslim, Iko Uwais, Julie Estelle, Sunny Pang, Hannah Al Rashid,
Dian Sastrowardoyo
"If you weren't so ugly, I'd punch you in the face."
Ito (Joe Taslim) is an elite Triad enforcer who finally snaps during a village massacre and kills all of his teammates in order to spare a young girl's life. Of course, such a transgression in the world of organized crime will not be tolerated, and he spends the entire film trying to keep both himself and the girl alive long enough to escape overseas. To complicate matters even more, an ambitious childhood friend named Arian (Iko Uwais) is ordered to take Ito out in exchange for a promotion, which leads to a dramatic and violent clash between the two doomed friends.
The film is a refreshing step up from Timo Tjahjanto's previous "Headshot" (2016) and is a great looking production. It's impossible to avoid CGI effects these days, but I was thrilled to see some excellent practical effects along with "real" blood. That said, the film is extremely violent and brutal, and often made me wince. Joe Taslim gives an excellent performance, and it surprises me that he isn't a bigger star. Iko Uwais also gives a great performance, and his big showdown with Taslim is savage and exhausting. Taslim's style is rough and hard-hitting, while Uwais is fast, agile, and fluid. The two play well off of each other and dish out a sickening amount of punishment. The lovely Julie Estelle shows up as the cool and mysterious "Operator" who has been independently contracted to kill Ito, but she has a change of heart after learning his intentions. This leads to a fantastic and shockingly vicious fight with femme fighters Hannah Al Rashid and Dian Sastrowardoyo.
The stunt work and fight choreography are superb, and the graphically bloody violence is reminiscent of "The Raid" (2011) and the "John Wick" series. The cinematography is excellent and the camera work is incredibly impressive. The fight scenes get full and thoughtful coverage, which is very satisfying. Of course, not everything works as well as intended, and some intrusive editing occasionally trips up the flow, but that's easily forgivable within the scope of the bigger picture. I was also impressed by the dynamic use of color, which helped shape the emotional tone of the film.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film, despite its bleak nihilistic outlook and downbeat ending. There are no heroes or good guys, just violent criminals in an endless meat grinder of competition to stay alive and become top dog. While Ito's hopeless attempts to protect a young girl are noble and emotionally resonant, he's still just a violent thug with a dark past who has a lot to answer for. It's definitely not a film for squeamish audiences, but genre fans will likely appreciate the martial arts skills that are on display and the slick craftsmanship behind the action scenes.