01-01-2021, 11:55 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-02-2021, 12:19 AM by Drunk Monk.)
Yayan Ruhian is one of my fav martial actors. He was in The Raid & John Wick, another genuine Silat Master. This is his 2020 flick.
Apparently he really likes The Karate Kid. This film is his version. It’s an Indonesian mash up of that and the prince and pauper tale. The protagonist is Deni Ruso (Daniel LaRusso), a spoiled rich kid who gets sent to a remote village without his bodyguards in hopes that he’ll reform his bad boy ways. He meets a girl who is the object of the local bully’s affection. Deni gets beat, then takes revenge by getting the villain wet, who chases him and takes revenge with his thugs until Deni is saved by Yayan. Yayan agreed to train him with chores that build basics, then there’s a face off at the tournament.
There’s a random scene where The Karate Kid is discussed and they did Jackie’s redux.
Here’s the twist - it’s sarong duels. Two fighters get in the same sarong and duke it out. These sarongs are a circular tube of cloth. I have a sarong - you have to wear them to visit holy places in Bali - but mine is just a large swath of cloth. I still have it. It serves as my bedroom curtain.
The other twist is this is very Muslim. Silat is a Muslim art and Yayan is devout. It’s pious and there’s some nice bits of Islamic wisdom.
The disappointing part is that it’s not good. The fights are mediocre at best. Yayan is good in his scenes but he doesn’t fight nearly enough.
It’s a nice slice of Indonesian life and Muslim philosophy but at nearly 2 hours, that’s not enough to sustain it.
There’s a sarong knife fight but no swords. Not DOOM recommended.
Apparently he really likes The Karate Kid. This film is his version. It’s an Indonesian mash up of that and the prince and pauper tale. The protagonist is Deni Ruso (Daniel LaRusso), a spoiled rich kid who gets sent to a remote village without his bodyguards in hopes that he’ll reform his bad boy ways. He meets a girl who is the object of the local bully’s affection. Deni gets beat, then takes revenge by getting the villain wet, who chases him and takes revenge with his thugs until Deni is saved by Yayan. Yayan agreed to train him with chores that build basics, then there’s a face off at the tournament.
There’s a random scene where The Karate Kid is discussed and they did Jackie’s redux.
Here’s the twist - it’s sarong duels. Two fighters get in the same sarong and duke it out. These sarongs are a circular tube of cloth. I have a sarong - you have to wear them to visit holy places in Bali - but mine is just a large swath of cloth. I still have it. It serves as my bedroom curtain.
The other twist is this is very Muslim. Silat is a Muslim art and Yayan is devout. It’s pious and there’s some nice bits of Islamic wisdom.
The disappointing part is that it’s not good. The fights are mediocre at best. Yayan is good in his scenes but he doesn’t fight nearly enough.
It’s a nice slice of Indonesian life and Muslim philosophy but at nearly 2 hours, that’s not enough to sustain it.
There’s a sarong knife fight but no swords. Not DOOM recommended.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
