I thoroughly enjoyed it, yeah. And, unlike so many of the films cited here, it's a silat movie. Not a movie featuring a related art (e.g., kali or muay boran). Not a movie with a couple of stances reminiscent of silat. A movie that's actually about silat. I was very pleased to come across it on Netflix. Always enjoy it when an art that hasn't enjoyed much prominence on the big screen gets introduced to a wider audience. Especially when it's done well.
wow that Merentau looks great! didn't realise it till i watched this but i had bought my brother a silat knife when i went to Aceh!
In terms of plot and character, it's very similar to Ong Bak. Virtuous bumpkin with fighting skills ventures into the big, bad city and confronts the seedy underbelly of human nature, showing a couple of lost souls the way to redemption in the process. Appealing message. And it worked for Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon. Worked for Tony Jaa in Ong Bak. Seems to work again here.
oh god the ending of Merantau was so sad. im holding back tears :'( the fight scenes were great though. silat is a interesting few styles, im liking it so far
I actually just found Merantau on On Demand and watched it today. Overall I have to say it was an entertaining movie and fun to watch. Good fight choreography and Iko Uwais ("Yuda") is a talented martial artist.
That reminds me. I saw "The Art of War 3" (I think it was) starring Wesley Snipes. Now, it's not a good movie. And I have no idea what Snipes' silat pedigree is (though I know his FMA background). But silat plays a big part in the movie from a plot standpoint. He practices various djurus in the film. Though the actual fight scenes didn't look particularly different from his usual fare. (That said, I do like Snipes in those roles.)
I hear there's already a sequel in the works for "The Raid;" here's hoping that they don't go the "more is better" route.
I think I had heard they were going to do a Hollywood movie of it. That would not go well. The director of Merantau and The Raid was working on a documentary on Silat which was how he found the star of both films, Iko Uwais. I am hoping he finishes that work.
Actually, there is definitely a sequel in the works: http://screenrant.com/raid-redemption-sequel-berandal-gareth-evans-kofi-158935/ Maaan, no kidding. Gareth Evans sure doesn't pull any emotional punches.
A sequel by Evans & Co. would be interesting naturally. A Hollywood version with pick your young star of the moment just wouldn't get it.
The makers of the new movie "Dredd" forgot to double check for similar plots of other movies like "The Raid". [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PifvRiHVSCY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PifvRiHVSCY[/ame]
Given how long it must take to get something like "Dredd" made, versus an actioner from Indonesia, I'll wager that Dredd was in the works before anyone knew what The Raid was. To be clear, I'm looking forward to both.
2 movies In the last few years they have made 2 good movies. 1. marantau (about harimau (tiger) silat and minangkabau traditions (sumatra) 2. The Raid (downloadable with english subs, original title I forgot) Both starring the same main character Iko something. Who is an Indonesia martial artist (Jakarta)
The Raid, although it was always promoted as 'generic silat' by its creator, it was more to Betawi silat. Perhaps since Iko (Betawi) now coreographed the fight with Yayan instead of following others. Merantau was coreographed by Edwel Yusri (Minang, specialist in Harimau although he also mixed it with other Minang silat). Just for information, The casting process of The Raid 2 (will temporary titled as 'Berandal' -- means thug in Indonesian) had been finished and some of the cast had been publicly announced. Cecep A. Rachman from Panglipur joined the cast and I heard rumour that his existence would spiced up the choreography. There will also be three Japanese actors whose name hasn't been released yet. Yayan Ruhiyan (played as Mad Dog in The Raid and Eric in Merantau) will be back as other character who has no relation with Mad Dog and will appear in completely different appearance. Other than fighter, there is additional three Indonesian senior and respectable actors joined the cast so there will be more drama, perhaps not as much as Merantau but obviously more than The Raid. Currently, they were in the Camera Testing phase. Some of pictures from camera testing were released via twitter. The shooting process is scheduled for 6 months from Januari to June 2013. The movie itself is scheduled to be released in 2014.
