Agak Laen: Menyala Pantiku! - A Standalone Sequel That Was Still As Enjoyable As The First Movie

After more than a week of release, my wife and I decided to see this movie in the cinema very near to our home at noon today where we can still easily get our favorite seats. Amazingly the film was playing in 3 studios which meant that we could opt to see it every half hour to forty five minutes. All right then, why don't I just get to it now.

Brief Story Line

Four police detectives that consisted of Bene (Bene Dion - The Underdogs, Susah Sinyal etc), Boris (Boris Bokir - Ngeri Ngeri Sedap, Guru Guru Gokil etc), Jegel (Indra Jegel - The Guys, Miracle in Cell No. 7 etc) and Oki (Oki Rengga - Keluarga Super Irit, Cinta Tak Seindah Drama Korea etc) have been under a lot scrutiny due to their repeated failures in the past. They were given final chance to redeem themselves by their superior, Commander Ario (Ariyo Wahab - Ganjil Genap, Sayap Sayap Patah etc) to find the murder suspect from 2 years ago who have fled to a nursing home.

Obviously it would not be so easy as they need to go undercover and accepted by the owner Linda (Gita Bhebhita - Comic 8: Casino Kings 1 & 2 etc). In the nursing home there were quite a lot of residents including Ida (Tika Panggabean - Hit & Run, Ali & Ratu Ratu Queens etc), Pak Karni (Jarwo Kwat - Gerbang Setan, Partikelir etc), army veteran Darso (Egi Fedly - Tira TV series, Pengabdi Setan 2: Communion etc), former handy man Koh Acim (Chew Kin Wah - The Shadow Strays, Cek Toko Sebelah etc) and Jihan (Jajang C. Noer - Bibir Mer, Cintaku Di Rumah Susun etc). There were also three staff working there, i.e. Ayu (Tissa Biani - The Returning, KKN Di Desa Pelangi etc), Martha (Priska Baru Segu - Kaka Boss etc) and Tantri (Boah Sartika - Kukejar Mimpi, Tinggal Meninggal etc). 

So what would happen to the Bene and friends? You could find out in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

Last year, my wife and I saw the first film Agak Laen which also starred the four lead cast. Having broken a lot of box office record then (including becoming the second highest-grossing of all time before the top spot was overtaken), it would not be a big shock to have a sequel. What surprise me though that this new film was a standalone sequel as it had a completely different story and they portrayed different characters. It is quite a common thing to see in the Western movie industry but I am fairly certain it's not in Indonesia. Anyway I only got to know the story after seeing this in the theater since both of us had never seen the trailer or read the synopsis before. 

The film's plot was not too complicated but the story telling was pretty good. The main characters were introduced and shown to have their own personal problem that somehow made us root for them. And though it's not that difficult to guess where it was heading, the journey towards finding the murder suspect was nicely done as the comedy and drama blended nicely. In this case I really had to applaud the writer & director Muhadkly Acho who came up with the idea and also wrote & directed the original, plus other movies like Gara Gara Warisan and Ghost Writer 2. His specialty seemed to be combining drama & comedy that resonate with audience.

There were plenty of comedic moments here that would make you laugh out loud including one or two that was so hilarious that people could not stop laughing. Few times the touching scenes were also enhanced by the soft piano playing in the background which added the emotional feel for us, especially my wife who shed her tears few times. Just like in the first movie, I thought this one had a mature enough conclusion that did not feel like a fairy tale but still satisfying. Btw the duration was very long for such a film with 119 minutes. There was a brief mid end credit scene and during closing credits there were some bloopers that you could enjoy.

The four lead cast portrayed their roles pretty well although during certain dramatic moments, they might seem less convincing. I like the acting by the senior actors here particularly Tika Panggabean and Chew Kin Wah. In addition to the names I mentioned above, there was also the support of Surya Saputra (Sri Asih, Arisan! etc) as Ario's boss, Ayushita (A World Without, Home Sweet Loan etc) as Boris' wife Gina and plenty of cameos by comedians (just like in movies directed by Ernest Prakasa who was credited as producer along with Dipa Andika). My wife and I only knew very few of them but I am quite sure that majority of Indonesian audience were already familiar with most. 

Overall to me and my wife, this was another dramedy that was entertaining and enjoyable with a nice story and engaging characters. The story telling was pretty well done by Acho and the performance of the lead cast in the comedic moments was great, supported by the briliance of their more senior counter part that make the drama felt stronger. Audience seem to embrace this sequel too, as proven by its quick record breaking (hitting 3 million tickets admission within 1 week). Let's see if it's going to hit an even better record in few weeks time. So if you like Bene, Boris, Jegel and Oki in the first film, I am sure you would love to see them again in a totally different story here. 

Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars