“Gundala: Rise of a Hero” is a promising superhero film and may be the start of many more awesome Indonesian superhero films to come! I can’t wait for the sequel! Filmmaker Joko Anwar has created an entertaining film full of action, drama and humor and I definitely recommend “Gundala: Rise of a Hero”!
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TITLE: Gundala: Rise of a Hero
FILM RELEASE DATE: 2019
DURATION: 2 Hrs., 3 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Color, 16: widescreen, Indonesian and English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: Well Go USA Entertainment
RELEASED: July 28, 2020
Based on the Comic Book by Harya Suraminata
Directed by Joko Anwar
Written by Joko Anwar
Produced by Bismarka Kurniawan, Wicky V. Olindo, Sukhdev Singh
Executive Producer: Andi Boediman, Robert Ronny, Erick Thohir
Associate Producer: Wim Berlinawan, Daiwanne Ralie
Cinematographer as Ical Tanjung
Edited by Dinda Amanda
Art Direction by Wencislaus
Costume Design by Isabelle Patrice
Starring:
Abimana Aryasatya as Sancaka/Gundala
Tara Basro as Wulan/Merpati
Bront Palarae as Pengkor
Ario Bayu as Ghani Zulham
Lukman Sardi as Rdiwan Bahri
Arswendi Nasution as Ferry Dani
Pritt Timothy as Agung
Muzakki Ramdhan as Young Sancaka
Marissa Anita as Kurniati Dewi/Sancaka’s mother
Rio Dewanto as Sancaka’s Father.
Based on the classic comic, Gundala is a poignant portrayal of the notion that heroes whether everyday or superhuman can be found anywhere (though a superpower never hurts). Indonesian orphan Sancaka spent his life on the streets trying to attract as little attention as possible, but when greed and violence reach a fever pitch in Jakarta, it soon becomes clear that he is the people s only hope for peace.
Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar is known for horror films such as “Satan’s Salves”, “The Forbidden Door” and “Impetigore” but what happens when he takes a classic Indonesian comic book character, Gundala and brings it to the big screen?
Let’s just say that it was quite awesome and it left me wanting to see more!
As part of the Bumilangit Cinematic Universe and a character created by Harya “Hasmi” Suraminata back in 1969, “Gundala” is the origin film for the superhero and as a comic book fan, seeing other countries develop their popular superheroes for the big screen is a major plus.
And the 2019 film starring Abimana Aryasatya, Tara Basro, Bront Palarae, Ario Bayu, Lukman Sardi, Marissa Anita, Rio Dewanto, Muzakki Ramdhan and man more, will be available on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment on July 28th.
The film begins with a young boy named Sancaka (pronounced as Sanchaka), who has two loving parents. His father (portrayed by Rio Dewanto) is fighting for more pay with the workers. Two of the workers are chosen by the boss to negotiate but when word is received the two men are missing, Sancaka’s father and employees march to their employers and gather by a large security force awaiting them.
Meanwhile, Sancaka’s mother finds out that the two workers were paid off by the boss and were hiding in their home and were not missing. This leads Sancaka and his mother to get to his father, before any violence takes place. But it is too late, Sancaka’s father was killed in the melee and for Sancaka, seeing his father killed and being struck by thunder leads the young boy unconscious.
Not long after the death of Sancaka’s father, Sancaka’s mother must travel to far places to get work to help the family survive but when his mother never comes home, Sancaka must find ways to survive on the street. Which leaves him to a life of pain, violence but also meeting one who would teach him how to fight and defend himself.
Fastforward to the future, Sancaka is an adult working as a security guard. He has managed to survive but it is turbulent times as mobs run the city and for the nearby market, they are being intimidated by the thugs.
One day, he hears a commotion in his complex and sees a group of thugs trying to hurt Merpati (portrayed by Tara Basro) and her little brother. He shows his amazing fighting skills and beats the thugs.
Rescuing the two, when he returns to work, the thugs return with more men to beat Sancaka and in the process beats him up and throws him off a high building. Which he is then struck by thunder again.
Why is he alive? And what happens when the thugs continue to threaten the livelihood of the market owners?
Meanwhile, Pengkor (portrayed by Bront Palarae) is an evil corrupt wealthy businessman who trained orphans to be assassins, but also paid for their educations so they can advance into government and major industries.
With his orphans with special abilities, he is able to get them to do his bidding, to control politicians and to find ways of taking over the world by creating a world of corrupt, by poisoning the rice supplies in Indonesia and infecting the fetuses of pregnant women all over the country.
Can anyone stop Pengkor?
“Gundala: Rise of a Hero” was quite a surprise but also a film that made me quite happy to watch.
As a comic book fan and a big fan of superhero films, while I grew up reading American comic books, I also grew up reading Filipino comic books and at a young age, making me realize that other countries had their own superheroes.
I am not familiar to Indonesian comic books but knowing that “Gundala” was created back in 1969, there is a ton of potential with many characters that have yet to be explored and for the most part, seeing how successful the Marvel Cinematic Universe films (and a few of the DC Cinematic Universe films) have been in the United States, “Gundala” has amazing potential.
The film is over two hours long but for an origin film, I’m glad that it was a bit longer because it really gave time to set the course of the character of Sancaka as a child (with a great performance from Muzakki Ramdhan as the young Sancaka) and to the present with Abimana Aryasatya as the hero Sancaka/Gundala and his friends/possibly love interest, Merpati (portrayed by Tara Basro) and Bront Palarae as the primary antagonist Pengkor.
And while Pengkor is the primary antagonist, the film has a lot of antagonists loyal to him, so I kind of look at this as how the DC Universe has the Justice League and the villainous counterpart, Pengkor has evil, deadly orphans with special abilities that makes things tough for Gundala.
The question is if Gundala, will have a team of Avengers-like heroes to help him battle against these supervillains.
The film is action-packed, has its moments of drama but also comedy. I absolutely enjoyed the film and while certain pacing issues crept up once in awhile, for the most part, “Gundala: Rise of a Hero” was an exciting and entertaining
The Blu-ray looks great, sound is great, watched both in Indonesian and in English, and was surprised of how well the English dub was for this film. So, that’s another plus!
The film also comes with Production Vlogs, Behind the Scenes and Trailers.
Overall, “Gundala: Rise of a Hero” is a promising superhero film and may be the start of many more awesome Indonesian superhero films to come! I can’t wait for the sequel!
Filmmaker Joko Anwar has created an entertaining film full of action, drama and humor and I definitely recommend “Gundala: Rise of a Hero”!
PURCHASE THIS BLU-RAY ON AMAZON
