Welsh director Gareth Evans has pretty much established himself as one of the top ten names in contemporary action cinema, thanks in the main to his exceptional Indonesian film The Raid (reviewed here) and its sequel. This wasn't his first foray into Indonesian action flicks, however: that was his 2009 film Merentau.When I started watching Merantau a few years back, I made the prediction that it would be a breezy and entertaining action film about a slightly idealistic and noble young martial artist who leaves his small rural life for the big city – where he would immediately rescue an attractive young woman from violent drug dealers. It turns out there are no drug dealers in Merantau. Instead they are human traffickers. Asides from that I was straight on the money.
With movies such as Merantau (and Thai stablemates Ong Bak and Born to Fight before it), it almost seems inappropriate to review them on a level playing field with other movies. They don’t have large budgets. They are not exceptionally well written. The actors are generally selected first and foremost because they are skilled martial artists, and any performance skills are simply an added bonus. They are effectively movies in the style of World Wrestling Entertainment: showcases of human athleticism, filled with heroes you want to cheer and villains you’re encouraged to boo. When done properly, these sorts of action films are marvellous entertainment. When done badly, they’re tedious in the extreme. Thankfully, Merantau is one of the good ones.
