From the writer-director of The Raid & The Raid 2, Merantau is Gareth Evans' breakthrough feature that marked his first collaboration with Iko Uwais and is also notable for bringing the Indonesian martial-arts "pencak silat" into the world cinema. And even though Evans ended up taking action in cinema to a whole new level in his later films, this is where it all started in the first place.

A potent blend of full-throttle, kinetic action that delivers the thrills & adrenaline rush in sufficient doses, Merantau tells the story of Yuda who follows into his family's centuries old tradition of rites-of-passage by leaving behind his village in order to seek experience & success in a big city, only to find himself being chased…

Actioner that was written, directed and edited by a man of many talents Gareth Evans!

Evans took a simple plot added some strategically placed and wonderfully choreographed fight scenes that quite simply were a thing of beauty! Yes his skills are not quite as finely honed as they are now but his gifts are clearly evident.. even a blind man could see it!

This is obviously a dry run for the future success of Evans and his collaborative efforts with The Raid cast members Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Ray Sahetapy whom appeared in both Merantau and The Raid : Redemption!

The films share much in common with one major exception Merantau was a little long in the tooth before it…

The Raid's little brother, and though it's not nearly as innovative and brilliant as either of its big brothers, it does its job sufficiently well.
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Stunts - 85/100 | A few CGI-assisted stunts here and there, but Gareth Evans shows once again why he's one of the best action directors working today.

Narrative - 60/100 | Boy goes to the big city and fights people with his great martial arts skills. Definitely have seen this one before!

Fight Choreography - 79/100 | Iko Uwais always has the same stances and moves in this movie. Maybe it's the choreography, maybe it's him, who knows, but more variety wouldn't hurt! The fights are still good though, don't get me wrong.

Enjoyment…

Merantau Warrior: a young rural martial artist must head to Jakarta as part of his coming-of-age ritual, but when his plans fall through he soon gets caught up in some grotty business. The story takes its time to warm up, but from the first frame the it looks great, with guerrilla location use of the vivid & vibrant countryside, and the city’s graffiti, buildings, clothes etc. The film really comes to life when the fighting starts – it remains intricate, innovative and entertaining through all of the set-pieces; and nothing beats a good-old showdown in an industrial shipping container yard! Iko Uwais shines brightest when kicking and punching his way through every extra in the country, but he can also hold…

Der Film „Merantau – Meister des Silat“ ist ein indonesischer Actionfilm, der für Genrefans einige durchaus sehenswerte Szenen zu bieten hat. Die Kampfszenen sind sehr gut inszeniert und vermissen durch (größtenteils wohl dem Computer entsprungenes) Blut auch nicht eine gewisse Härte. Das Finale ist ein sehr gutes Beispiel für gut inszenierte, ansprechend choreographierte und im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Genreproduktionen einfache und dadurch realistische Kämpfe. Die wohl härteste Szene des Films ist das Erschießen des Mannes im Fahrstuhl, gefolgt von ebenfalls gut inszenierten Handgreiflichkeiten.

Allerdings hat der Film auch ein Problem: Seine Laufzeit. Mit fast 2 Stunden ist der Film für eine grundsätzlich sehr einfache und simpel gestrickte Story viel zu lange. Den meisten der gezeigten Handlungsszenen kann man zwar…