Merantau

MERANTAU (2009) - March 22, 2012
About a guy who moves from his small village to the big city, only to find himself trying to protect a stripper with a heart of gold from an evil businessman.  No, it's not the freshest / most interesting story ever, but this is a martial arts movie, so what really matters here are the fights.  And boy, do they deliver.  Intricately choreographed and satisfyingly brutal, the fights may not be mind-blowingly innovative, but they're exciting and solid without much room for complaint.  Director Gareth Evans stages the action like a pro, keeping things exciting and dynamic without ever resorting to the type of quick-cutting trickery that ruins so many contemporary action films.  Star Iko Uwais is a bit of a bland screen presence -- he doesn't seem to have the charisma of a Jackie Chan or a Donnie Yen, but he's obviously an awesome martial artist, so hopefully the other stuff will come in time.  He's definitely not terrible here, he's just a little bit bland.  ***1/2