Helping him fight are his new friends whom he have met along the way, female warrior Anggini (Sherina Munaf) and a pig-faced fatty (Fariz Alfarazi). While on the lookout for Mahesa, he finds out about the young prince being abducted and a planned coup d’etat that threatens the kingdom, so he decides to put his skills to good use. Seventeen years later Wiro is ready, and now armed with a Dragon Axe, sets out to fulfill his destiny. Wiro only luckily avoids the death grip himself, thanks to the white haired silat guru Sinto Gendeng (Ruth Martini, May the Devil Take You), who takes him as her student and trains him in preparation for revenge. Enter Wiro, a boy still at a very young age, who’s parents get killed in front of him by the ruthless bandit Mahesa Birawa (Yayan Ruhian, The Raid 2). It all starts with a night raid on a small village. evil theme with the many times tried simplistic revenge plot, as well as an obvious inspiration drawn from the classic kung fu movies, 212 Warrior doesn’t take long to reveal its flaws, and soon enough it becomes apparent that the next two hours are going to be painful to sit through. I was wondering how these movies would look like if made in this day and age, and I have to say the answer to this question is indeed a disappointing one.Ĭombining the classic good vs. Rather than borrowing the tried and tested spectacular fight fest formula, 212 Warrior continues the tradition of Indonesian martial arts fantasies of the 80’s, such as The Devil’s Sword or Jaka Sembung movies, replacing contemporary setting for a more fantastical one.
Judging from the box-office figures, 212 Warrior succeeded in becoming a hit domestically, but for a spoiled western fan hungry for some hard-hitting silat action, it proves to be quite a letdown. All of this could have meant one thing only, 212 Warrior was the hottest Indonesian blockbuster to be unleashed upon the local cinema audiences in years. The role of Wiro, probably the most beloved heroic figure in all of Indonesian literature, was given to none other than Bastien’s son, former model-turned-actor Vino G.
On top of this what-could-possibly-go-wrong team up, 212 Warrior is based on a highly popular series of novels written by Indonesian author Bastian Tito. Pairing of the two was a choice that must have put many worried minds at ease, action was in safe hands. Taking over duties of the film’s fight choreographer was silat maestro Yayan Ruhian, joined by Jackie Chan’s former stunt team member Man Ching-Chan as action director. The involvement of local talent didn’t stop there. Co-production with Fox International Pictures, first for any Southeast Asian movie, secured a substantial budget, and the award-winning director Angga Dwimas Sasongko was brought to the project to secure this boat has a good captain. Bastian, Sherina Munaf, Marsha Timothy, Fariz Alfarizi, Happy Salma, Dwi Sasono, Yayan Ruhian, Cecep Arif Rahman, Lukman Sardi, Ruth MariniĢ12 Warrior could have been a step-up for Indonesian action cinema. “We’re in discussions now about the Chinese release that might go to cinemas,” added Rieder.Cast: Vino G. The team is planning to sell the film to different players, including over-the-top (OTT) companies. “ works harder than Tom Cruise or Ryan Reynolds, he’d do anything,” he said, adding that besides making a great film, filmmakers also needed to get a lot of people excited about it.įollowing the release in Indonesia, Rieder said that Wiro Sableng: Pendekar Kapak Maut Naga Geni 212 would have theatrical releases in Malaysia on Sept. “ Sheila was so professional, not only from the script, budget and production point of view,” he said. “She mastered the film in 4K, which is not even a requirement for us, but we’re really impressed by that.”
Rieder strongly praised the first installment of Wiro Sableng, saying that the movie had exceeded expectations. “We haven’t done anything beyond this,” he said, adding that talks were in place on making a second or third film. When asked about plans to collaborate with other Indonesian filmmakers, Rieder said that their hands were full.