Review: Headshot

John Wick: Chapter 2 aside, the Indonesian slaughterfest Headshot may be the most insanely ultraviolent movie one will see this year. This should come as no surprise to fans of The Raid films, which introduced international audiences to star/fight choreographer Iko Uwais and the traditional martial arts fighting style known as silat.

The Raid films were an exhaustingly relentless barrage of action and gore and Headshot, directed by The Mo Brothers (Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel), doesn't so much continue the formula as tightly swaddle itself within it. The plot, such as it is, concerns Uwais' amnesiac, whose body washes up ashore an Indonesian island. Dubbed Ishmael by Ailin (Chelsea Islan), the pretty Jakartan doctor who looks after him during his two-month long coma, he awakens to discover a scar across his forehead, a bullet still lodged in his brain, and little recollection of what happened other than intermittent flashes of a woman pointing a gun at him and saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to do this."

Ishmael may not know who he is, but a certain Mr. Lee (Sunny Pang does) does. Mr. Lee is a diabolical figure, known as both "the sea devil" and "the father from hell," and he is intent on tracking down Ishmael. It turns out that Ishmael is actually Abdi, one of the numerous children that have been kidnapped by Mr. Lee and trained to become ruthless killing machines. Unfortunately, Abdi made the mistake of trying to get out of the syndicate, which earned him a bullet in the head. Now he must battle the seemingly endless stream of assassins Mr. Lee tosses in his path before confronting Mr. Lee for their final showdown.

One will lose count of the number of ligaments snapped, bones broken, flesh slashed, eyes gouged, and other body parts bruised and maimed. Choreographed by Uwais' own stunt team, the fight sequences are feats of brute poetry, jaggedly balletic pas de deux and bluntly athletic group dances that display the performers' intricate and acrobatic movements to maximum effect. The Mo Brothers' skillful and streamlined staging enhance the visceral intensity as does Yunus Pasolang's nimble camerawork, which never hesitates to throw itself into the mayhem.

Uwais makes for a sympathetic and magnetic hero, almost making one forget that Ishmael/Abdi is a paper-thin version of Jason Bourne. Pang makes for a formidable foe, slithering his way through every scene with chilling panache. It's understandable that the filmmakers would want to keep the two apart for as long as possible to build momentum for their climactic fight, but the parade of extended fight scenes almost lessens the impact of their encounter. Their confrontation is no less thunderous, but it's almost like the last course in a very rich 12-course menu. This is a film for whom oversatiation is the baseline and, incredible as the action sequences are, they can feel monotonous. Yet one can't really complain - wouldn't one rather have an action film over-deliver than under-deliver?

Headshot

Directed by: Kimo Stamboel, Timo Tjahjanto

Written by: Timo Tjahjanto

Starring: Iko Uwais, Julie Estelle, Chelsea Islan, David Hendrawan, Epy Kusnandar, Zack Lee, Sunny Pang, Very Tri Yulisman