Last week, there was this new movie released on Netflix. It happened to be an Indonesian film that I wanted to see when it was shown in the cinemas few months ago, but I was not comfortable yet to go to the theaters due to the surge of Covid-19 cases. So I was quite happy that I could see this one only few months later, especially having seen the first and second movies earlier. OK, let's get right to it then.
Brief Story Line
During the trip to his hometown, Ben (Chicco Jerikho - A World Without, Surat dari Praha etc) was involved in a demonstration with some villagers coordinated by Mr. Hasan (Arswendi Bening Swara - Habibi & Ainun 3 etc) against an illegal logging company. Unfortunately, the company hired some thugs led by Tubir (Yayan Ruhian - John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum, Beyond Skyline etc) to stop the strike, including by way of kidnapping Ben.
Meanwhile Ben's partner Jody (Rio Dewanto - Foxtrot Six, Bridezilla etc) who was in Jakarta promoting their new brand of coffee shop, was getting worried when he did not hear from him for a while. Jody decided to go and find out what happened to Ben, not realizing that both of them would be in a situation that would endanger their otherwise fun and happy life.
So what would happen to Ben & Jody? You can find out in this movie.
End of Brief Story Line
When I found out from its trailer that this movie would be having action genre, I was actually quite surprised with the abrupt change in direction as opposed to the drama with some comedy. In fact I was quite skeptical with the film as I thought it was too weird. However, it did not deter me from giving it a try, especially since I was quite fond of the two lead characters. As I started watching, I was pleased that it did not give me the strange vibe and my worry seem to be unjustified. I thought the story seemed logical enough and the way Ben and Jody interacting was still as fun to see as in Filosofi Kopi 2: Ben & Jody and its predecessor.
But as the story progressed, the usually fun and bright tone was soon replaced with dark and gloomy. And once the thugs led by Tubir were given more screen time, the movie grew even darker. Till this moment, I still felt it was OK given that there were scenes relating to coffee that were smoothly inserted. However, mid way through the movie when more people suddenly appeared, I immediately felt it to be ridiculous. Even though it seem to still make sense, I thought it was too far fetched. And beyond that moment, I was unable to totally enjoy the movie and it felt more like an obligation to finish it. Fortunately though, the action part was still quite entertaining. It should not come as a surprise since the fight choreography was done by the experienced Yayan Ruhian himself.
Aside from Chicco and Rio, there were also additional cast such as Yayu Unru (Gara-gara Warisan etc) as Mr. Hamid, Hana Malasan (Cinta Bete etc) as Rinjani, Aghniny Haque (Wiro Sableng Pendekar Kapak Maut Naga Geni 212 etc) as Tambora, Muzakki Ramdhan (The Returning etc) as Musang and few others. There was even the brief appearance of Luna Maya (Sabar Ini Ujian etc) reprising her role as Tarra. Of all the support cast here, the ones that I thought gave real color to the movie were Yayu Unru and the child actor Muzakki Ramdhan, while the rest felt like there just for the sole purpose of providing actions.
According to the information on the internet, the idea to make this third movie into action was due to Chicco, Rio and the director Angga Dwimas Sasongko (well known for making movies like multiple award winner Hati Untuk Amanda, Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Hari Ini and some others) wanted to give different color to the story rather than just the struggle of making it in the coffee business. It was said to be characters development of the Filosofi Kopi's Intellectual Property. So I guess it could be considered as spin-off rather than sequel.
Overall, this movie was certainly different from the previous two films. On the one hand, I admire the courage of Chicco, Rio & Angga for completely altering the genre. But on the other hand, it was probably too big of challenge to convince fans of the original movies to accept such drastic change (as could be seen by the lesser audience rating and commercial success). I myself was having difficulties to truly enjoy the movie. For a supposedly action film, it was lacking the high quality action sequence, except for few good fight scenes during the finale.
And then there was that irritating story development in the middle. Perhaps I might be too critical on this part, but I think I would be more receptive if the additional characters were introduced way earlier. I also felt the movie was more interesting when we were shown the warmth and closeness of Ben and Jody as best friends that would do anything for the other. Too bad they were not frequent enough. So if you are fans of the specific traits of Filosofi Kopi movies such as the coffee business, the drama, the chemistry of the two lead stars and so on, then you might feel this film did not have enough of those. But if you are fans of action, then you might find this to be entertaining. For me though, I still prefer the originals.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3 out of 5 stars
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