GUNDALA: A Rousing Beginning for the Bumi Langit Cinematic Universe

Genre: Action, Superhero

Produced by: Bismarka Kurniawan, Sukhdev Singh, Wicky V. Olindo

Directed by: Joko Anwar  

Written by: Joko Anwar 

Production Company: Screenplay Bumi Langit 

Starring: Abimana Aryasatya, Bront Palarae, Muzakki Ramdhan, Tara Basro, Lukman Sardi, Ario Bayu    

Runtime: 123 minutes                                                          

SYNOPSIS: 

Sancaka (Abimana Aryasatya) is a young man who has been raised in the streets ever since his parents went missing. On one fateful night, he gets struck by lightning, which grants him the ability to shoot lightning out of his hands. As political unrest in the city continues to mount, which coincides with the evil, cunning mafia lord Pengkor (Bront Palarae) climbing up the government ladder, he must decide whether to stay out of the mafia’s business or use his newfound powers and rise up to be the superhero that the people sorely need. 

REVIEW: 

Published for the first time in September 1969, Gundala Putra Petir helped revolutionize the Indonesian comic book industry. It was Harya “Hasmi” Suraminata’s iconic work that finally brought the idea of Indonesian superheroes into the mainstream. The series would go on to enjoy a nearly thirty year long run of success. Beyond that though, Gundala would also go on to inspire the creation of new Indonesian superheroes as well as resurgence for some of the more under-appreciated superheroes that came before. Most of them would then join Gundala in forming Indonesia’s first ever superhero team Patriot in 1996. 

Despite the comic book’s instant success, Gundala’s journey to the big screen wasn’t as instant. Lilik Sudijo made a one-off adaptation with the faithful, yet enjoyably cheesy Gundala Putra Petir (1981), starring Teddy Purba in the titular role, which never amounted to the sort of franchise-starter that both Sudijo and Hasmi were dreaming of. 

Dead and buried for a while, it would take the country’s top filmmaker Joko Anwar and the source material’s publisher Bumi Langit thirty eight years after Teddy Purba’s iteration and three years after Hasmi’s death in November 16^th, 2016 to give Gundala another cinematic go, with Abimana Aryasatya now taking on the titular role. 2019’s Gundala is far more ambitious than the 80’s version not only because of the names involved, but also what it is setting up. Following the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe’s model, Gundala is the first entry in Indonesia’s own superhero cinematic universe Jagat Sinema Bumi Langit (Bumi Langit Cinematic Universe). Bumi Langit even goes the extra mile of recently announcing a huge slate of casting and upcoming movies for their Phase One line-up, further intensifying the hype surrounding Gundala. 

Long story short, this movie goes beyond just living up to its hype. It is perhaps a landmark achievement in Indonesian filmmaking. Joko Anwar’s Gundala has taken a superhero so goofy as well as fantastical on paper and grounded him in a surprisingly dark and gritty comic book adaptation that plays out as a radical reimagining of the famed Son of Thunder’s origin story. 

Anwar seems to be influenced by the way blockbuster auteur Christopher Nolan revives and deconstructs the superhero genre, because he brings to his Gundala version the sort of adult sensibility and real-world implications that Nolan’s the Dark Knight trilogy evoked. His deviations from the source material cannot help but draw comparisons to Bruce Wayne/Batman’s arc, yet in practice, it actually lends a deeper dimension to Sancaka/Gundala’s character than even the late Hasmi could ever imagine. Gundala is almost a slap-to-the-face political parable, less about the giant superhero rock-em sock-em and more about how an ordinary man responds to a society gradually losing its moral center, that’s excellently realized for the eyes and ears. 

Thanks to Wenceslaus De Rozari’s impeccable production design and Ical Tanjung’s gorgeous cinematography, Anwar manages to clearly define his grimy political dystopia, surrounding its aesthetics with dimly-lit rundown ghettos and skyscrapers, trash-strewn streets and alleyways. Gundala’s world feels so lived-in, to the point of it being too close to home. Aghi Narottama, Bemby Gusti and Tony Merle’s superhero movie score further supports the proceedings as they make the wise decision of sidestepping the genre’s traditional sound and instead, leaning much closer to the creepy, unsettling sound of their Festival Film Indonesia-winning work in Pengabdi Setan (2017), which was also written and directed by Joko Anwar. Haunting and melancholic, the trio’s score wholly embraces the darkness of Anwar’s Gundala world and even Sancaka’s tragic life. 

 

For proof, look no further than Gundala’s opening sequence – a massive brawl between factory workers, led by Sancaka’s father (Rio Dewanto), and riot control set against the backdrop of an old, worn-out factory’s entrance, all of which is witnessed by young Sancaka (Muzakki Ramdhan). Its muddy grey color palette and the chaotic intensity of the brawl, reminiscent of the prison brawl in the Raid 2: Berandal (2014), epitomize the harsh austerity of both Anwar’s hopeless dystopia and the life in a poverty-stricken household like Sancaka’s. 

Young Sancaka’s relationship with his father is the real backbone of the movie’s first act, especially in a scene after the factory brawl where his father has a heart-to-heart moment with his son back home. However brief that scene is, it’s a compelling father and son moment, carrying more than enough dramatic weight and uplifting inspirational speech to give a clearer understanding as to how his father would serve as a solid moral compass for Sancaka as he grew up, particularly as he’s adjusting to life as a superhero. And it makes his eventual death in the second brawl even more heartbreaking, with the sight of the boy holding his father, blood-soaked and mud-soaked, in his arms amongst one of the eeriest depictions of tragedy in superhero movie’s history. 

But what’s more unexpected here is Anwar’s unique handling of Sancaka’s relationship with his lightning superpower, which is just one of the many effective deviations from its source material. The lightning is so central to Sancaka’s coming-of-age journey that it almost seems like a character in itself, as fully realized and fleshed out as most of the human characters in the movie.

 

Throughout its first act, Anwar finds the heart in such a comic book story scenario as the lightning attempts to be a reluctant father figure of sort to Sancaka, especially right after his father died and his mother (Marissa Anita) left him on his own. Considering the fact that Sancaka has a PTSD-level fear of lightning, it’s something he’s struggling to deal with, demonstrated in the many scenes of him trying to close the window and him running off and hiding in the corner any time the lightning strikes right in front of him, each and every one of them Anwar and cinematographer Tanjung staged for maximum suspense and drama. The movie also beautifully ties together Sancaka and his lightning superpower relationship with its main, old-fashioned theme of “with great power, comes great responsibility”, exploring it in a personal, more complex manner than the source material. 

If Sancaka/Gundala’s origin story might be deemed too dark by today’s superhero movie standard, then his main villain Pengkor’s origin story is pretty much a horror movie, told for the most part through some fittingly horrific childhood flashbacks. Joko Anwar drenches the screen in blood red tint in a way that closely emulates the roughness and atmosphere of grindhouse horror. But the grindhouse horror influence extends not only to the visuals, but also the themes. 

Known for being a provocative filmmaker, Anwar doesn’t hold back with the themes, throwing rape, arson and throat slashing into the mix. Even if the camera cuts away right when young Pengkor slashes the poor, tied-up man’s throat, thus restricting the horror to just a sound effect, the fact that all these themes are present in this movie is unprecedented for any superhero movie, let alone a PG-13 rated one. 

Gundala is simply a hardcore PG-13 movie with an R-rated-esque atmosphere, themes and idea of violence. And that represents Anwar in full command of his craft as a storyteller. His unflinching approach to Pengkor’s characterization pushes the envelope as far as the portrayal of a supervillain in superhero movies goes, rendering the character far more intriguing and complex than his comic book-esque grotesque face may suggest. 

What’s so engaging about Pengkor is how he feels like a real-life person. His whole arc serves as a poignant commentary on the mafia-controlled Indonesian politics, where all it requires is death, deception and corruption to overthrow the system. As a villain without any superpower, his tactic to overthrow Gundala revolves around these same three components, thus challenging the hero’s moral compass. 

But he has a clear emotional motivation for his evil actions. His background as an orphan who uses his position to protect his fellow orphan friends frames him as a sympathetic figure, particularly in a scene when he is mourning over an orphan’s death. It makes sense why he’s referred to by a certain moniker, whose meme-worthy popularity should rival Pengabdi Setan’s Ibu. Without spoiling too much, the moniker comes into play in a cool manner with a scene involving phone calls and a Suicide Squad-sized league of orphaned assassins. That aside, Anwar strikes the fine balance between showing his moments of humanity and inhumanity, the latter like a suspenseful scene involving a bunch of hostages in a parking lot, which brings to mind the warehouse scene in the Dark Knight (2008). 

At the same time, Gundala is the rare dark superhero movie with a healthy dose of humor. Oddly enough, the second act generates far more laughs than tragedy. Anwar makes the most of the small character moments to poke fun at mundane life to the ridiculousness of a superhero existing in the real world, especially with the addition of characters such as his neighbor Wulan (Tara Basro) and her little brother Teddy, as well as his senior security friend Pak Agung (Pritt Timothy). 

Much of its comedy is drawn from Sancaka’s awkward interaction with these characters, whether it’s at home or at work. His dry, deadpan banter with Teddy, one of which involving the latter’s habit of wearing a headphone and an obvious Easter egg from Pengabdi Setan or Pak Agung with his “I’m ashamed to be an Indonesian” remark during a montage sequence of Sancaka trying out his many superhero costumes are terrific showcases of impeccable comic timing that is guarantee to get anyone howling with laughter. 

Anwar also has a deft hand in integrating the country’s social and economic issue into standard comic book mythology. A poisonous serum might have been perceived as genre cliché, but the Indonesian twist makes it fresh and unique. Gundala’s MacGuffin here, believe it or not, revolves around serum-infected rice, which, for all its irrelevance apart from advancing the plot, adds an element of ticking clock tension to the action. 

Despite having a politician of sort as a villain, Anwar doesn’t hesitate to show the hopeful side of politics, especially with how he recreate the Batman-Commissioner Gordon-esque dynamic through Sancaka and good politician Ridwan Bahri (Lukman Sardi)’s relationship. 

In terms of action, Gundala stays true to the spirit of the Indonesian cinema by reinventing the superhero spectacle as a balls-to-the-walls martial arts extravaganza far removed from the CGI orgy of Marvel and DC movies. While there are some flashes of well-done CGI here and there, it’s kept at a bare minimum in favor of practical effects and in-camera stunt work. And the hand-to-hand combat here is some next level stuff, carefully crafted to match the balletic grace, intricacy and street intensity of the typical Indonesian action flick, the Raid (2011) for instance. 

Still, Gundala is far from perfect, with its ambitious storytelling sometimes keeping the movie from realizing its true potential. It loses its steam soon after it starts juggling so many characters and plot threads all at once, some of which don’t really add much to the narrative.  The second act is needlessly convoluted, even borderline unfocused, as Anwar is straining to figure out which story is worth telling. 

It jumps around so many genres so quickly, from superhero origin story to political parable to franchise-building to comedy to family melodrama, without any connective tissue to hold the pieces together. That comes at the expense of relegating the titular hero to the sidelines. Parts of Gundala feel like a superhero movie featuring Gundala than it is one starring Gundala. Other than Gundala, it seems that the movie doesn’t have enough time for his so-called main villain Pengkor. 

There’s a point here where the story is uncertain of who its actual main villain is. Anwar makes a half-baked effort at fleshing out the secondary villain Ghazul (Ario Bayu), only for the character to overshadow the main villain. He gets far too much screen time, to the point that he his appearance, though only sprinkled throughout, becomes distracting. It doesn’t help that he spends the rest of the movie separated from all of the superhero action. 

As Gundala is off fighting Pengkor, Ghazul is somewhere else with his corrupt politician comrade Ganda Hamdah (Aqi Singgih). His whole arc revolves around him discovering a fantastical item, and then getting it to a specific place for it to work. From the word “fantastical” alone, it’s clear that the subplot doesn’t fit with the movie’s overall grounded tone. It’s also clear that his real purpose in the movie is only to set up sequels. And so, a subplot that could have been resolved in one or two minutes (even a post-credit scene) has been stretched out to over a ten minute-long arc, which disrupts the movie’s generally smooth flow. 

Gundala explores Sancaka’s relationship with his mother in a rather non-committal manner. It almost comes across as a throwaway subplot that has little to no bearing to the narrative and characters, yet it’s constantly referenced throughout. 

Half of the first act consists of Sancaka waking up from nightmares that are somehow connected to his failure to cope with maternal loss. But the movie doesn’t go much deeper beyond a series of nightmares. It doesn’t know whether the mother is important to the story or not, as it’s often brought up and then quickly dropped anytime something bigger happens. Whenever it’s brought up, the timing is out of place, like in a scene preceding a superhero set-piece when Wulan, whose history with Sancaka’s mother is never implied, suddenly tells Sancaka where she’s been during her disappearance. 

 

Despite a few narrative problems, Gundala unsurprisingly boasts a handful of solid performances from a top-to-bottom capable star-studded ensemble, most of whom are holdovers from previous Joko Anwar movies.

Abimana Aryasatya rises to the occasion superbly as Indonesian superhero Sancaka/Gundala, bringing an air of everyman modesty and raw tenacity to the role that’s consistent with the movie’s grounded tone. His physicality is impressive, making the nonstop martial art action that goes his way seem immersive, effortless yet real. But it’s in the tender moments where he’s right at his wheel house. Abimana gets to showcase his acting versatility, conveying the superhero’s human vulnerabilities with genuine pathos and levity, the latter particularly in his lighthearted interplay with Agung, Wulan and his little brother Teddy. 

Muzakki Ramdhan, only ten years old, is no less superb as young Sancaka. Gundala provides a remarkable display for his range and subtlety that belies his age. Given such a tragic back story to work with, Ramdhan’s performance is the closest thing its first act has to an emotional anchor, channeling the character’s inner angst-ridden guilt and explosive rage with natural gravity as he’s struggling to overcome parental abandonment. Ramdhan acknowledges the sorrow of the boy’s unfortunate circumstance while also smartly avoiding cheap sentimentality, elevating the heartbreaking superhero origin story above a mere cry-fest. 

Malaysian character actor Bront Palarae proves to be as much of an inspired choice as Abimana and Ramdhan are, this time playing such a three dimensional villain as mafia lord/ Gundala’s main adversary Pengkor. Palarae takes a suitably yet effectively restrained approach to his performance, exuding the character’s charismatic, brainy-type of evil in ways that plays into the audience’s expectation of what a villain with facial deformities like Pengkor would do as well as transcends it. He captures just the right amount of crazy and cunning to keep his menace constant and entertaining throughout. 

Gundala’s supporting cast makes every second of their limited screen time count, in particular Sancaka’s friends. Tara Basro easily toes the line between being down-to-earth and funny as Wulan, just like senior actor Pritt Timothy and a child actor (whose name isn’t listed on IMDB somehow) who portrays Pak Agung and Wulan’s little brother Teddy respectively, the latter two of which get the movie’s funniest lines. Asmara Abigail and Cecep Arif Rahman contribute to the action and comic book fun in entertainingly scenery-chewing cameo role as two of Pengkor’s assassins. 

CONCLUSION: 

Gundala beautifully realizes Hasmi’s legendary creation with a grounded, but ultimately satisfying superhero origin story packed with plenty of heart, non-stop action, humor and cool Easter eggs, marking a rousing beginning for the Bumi Langit Cinematic Universe. 

Score: 9/10