Merantau (2009)

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Excellent, smart action film.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Overall, Merantau was a good movie, I rated it a total of 4 out of 5 stars. The movie consisted of an OK plot with amazing martial arts skills. The martial arts was an amazing spectacle which made up for the lack of plot. Even though it seems like a standard, boy tries to save girl plot, it is quite different because since it is a foreign film it allows the viewer to see a different perspective and gain a global perspective. The only problem I had with the movie was the fight scenes were unrealistic allowing the hero to take on 30 plus men and defeat all of them. However, at the end the main character is finally defeated and killed. This is refreshing because in the typical united states movie, the main hero will defeat the bad guy and survive. If you are looking to learn more about Filipino culture and just enjoy a good film I would recommend this movie.

I really enjoyed watching Merantau. This film is about a man named Yuda who left Benaue to go on his Merantau. Yuda started chasing this young boy named Adit because he stole his wallet at a restaurant. Once Yuda got his wallet back, he watched Adit's older sister getting into some trouble. Yuda realized Adit and Astri were good people who has had a very hard life. Throughout the rest of the film, Yuda was trying his hardest to protect Adit and Astri from any type of danger that comes their way. I enjoyed watching this film because I appreciated how thoughtful and protective Yuda was to help others in need. He fought so hard to save Astri and Adit even though he did not know much about them. I thought that Yuda's character in this film showed an immense amount of bravery by sacrificing himself in order to help others. I was extremely confused in the beginning of the film why Yuda was helping people he did not know. Towards the end of this film it is showed why Yuda protected Astri and Adit. Yuda protected Astri and Adit from danger because he is remarkably kind, caring, and is always going to help others.

A boy named Yuda goes on an Indonesian traditional journey, called Merantau. He goes to a city, to go on his journey, trying to practice a martial arts style called silat. He finds a girl named Astri and a boy named Adit, who are siblings. Adit takes Yuda's wallet and tries to evade him, but Yuda eventually catches him in an alley. This is where Yuda first finds Astri. Astri is being whored out by a pimp, who is being ruled by a higher European pimp. Yuda beats up the pimp, freeing Astri from his confines. When Astri is kidnapped, Yuda goes on a mission, fighting bad guys to rescue her. There is a large human trafficking ring, that is being lead by the 2 Europeans, which Yuda takes down. When Yuda finally takes out all the human traffickers, the European stabs him with a metal pole, killing him. Astri wants to save him, but it is too far gone. Yuda gives Astri a necklace and tells her to take it to his family. Then Astri goes to Yuda's hometown, where she lives with Yuda's family with Adit.This film was a very cheesy, Asian, martial arts film. The plot was very tacky, deriving back to a warrior saving the princess. Without a happy ending, the only good parts about this film were the funny fight scenes, with bad sound effects and ragdolls. Another enjoyable part about this movie were the poor lip syncing, especially on Astri.

A young man flies from the nest in order to become an adult. It's a pretty meager story for a martial arts film, one that comes up a lot (Ong Bak is a good example). He goes to the big city, gets into trouble, and winds up fighting for his life against a bunch of crooks. There's nothing here you haven't seen before, nor any reason to be watching this for plot. What you're here for, of course, is the action.As a traditional martial arts film, it spends a lot of time getting to the action and then the movie is nothing but. If you can get past the initial thirty minute slump, the film has some pretty decent action, though nothing I can seriously recommend watching the whole film for. In my experience, a lot of martial arts films can easily be cast aside thanks to the advent of Youtube. Now all you have to do is look the movie up, watch the fight scene that is the only fantastic part, and move on with your life. And sadly, I feel Merantau is one of those movies. Despite the brilliant directing on the part of Evans (he knows how to film an action scene without all the shakiness, as well as play the camera to the movement taking place) it's a very average, run-of-the-mill piece. The brutal action is kind of there, though you'll find that only one or two knock-outs are worthy of getting a rewind or a jaw-drop.So go to Youtube, watch the final fight, and otherwise there is no real reason to buy this. It's a very soft rent if you're itching for action, but could easily be a pass for most others. I'll give it a rent though, especially if you're a fan of The Raid.