He is able to give a sweet smile (he has wonderful smile indeed) and brutal angry face with enough convincing acting. Iko is blessed with great camera presence and natural facial expression. For those uninformed, during the first part of the movie some of the language used is Minang language, that I, an Indonesian of Betawian descent (just like Iko), has to read the subtitle to understand what it means. Iko Uwais proves himself to be a capable actor, despite the fact this is his first acting experience ever and he has to play the role of a guy from different ethnic group, with different accent and language and different Silat style. I can feel the rage and determination of Yuda when he broke into the strip club to safe Astri, and I become misty-eyed when Yuda's mother waves goodbye to Adit. I can feel the anxiety, loneliness and despair of Adit when he was forced to hide when his sister was chased by the thugs. Supported by excellent casts, combining first time actors and the more experienced ones, the acting look natural. Instead of watching a purely action movie, I feel like watching a drama whose main protagonist happens to be a really good martial artist. Merantau gives a balanced combination of drama and action. Can Yuda help them? Will he survive in his new place and prove to people back home that he is a real man? You have to watch the movie by yourself and I guarantee you won't be disappointed. His goody country boy nature made Yuda can't let injustice happens to those siblings, although he has his own problem to be solved. But in Jakarta, fate brings Yuda's journey to the life troubles of a stripper, Astri and her pickpocket brother, Adit. He wishes to establish a Silat school in Jakarta. Yuda's skill is Indonesian traditional martial art called Silat, or Silek in Minang language, of the Sumateran Tiger (Harimau) style. Before going on Merantau, they usually prepare themselves with certain skill that would support their survival in the new place. About this guy named Yuda, played by Iko Uwais, in his journey of Merantau, a tradition still very much in practice by the young males of Minang tribe in West Sumatera, in which they have to prove themselves worthy to be called a real man by migrating to other place and surviving against all odds in the new place, gaining new experience, new skills that will benefit their hometown or their village. Merantau story is quite simple and almost cliché. ![]() But admitting bias as I am, I would say Merantau is a much better movie than Ong Bak and Iko Uwais is a much better actor than Tony Jaa. Not only because the two movies come from the same region and introduce us to the new generation of martial art actors, but also because the vague similarities in their faces. ![]() It's hard not to compare the movie with Ong Bak, and Iko Uwais with Tony Jaa. Here comes Iko Uwais in his first movie, Merantau. Being an ardent lover of martial art flicks and all its heroes- Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa, to name my favourite ones- I have been waiting for a long time to have the hero of my own country, Indonesia of our own martial art tradition, Silat.
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