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Released by: Well Go USA
Released on: July 6th, 2021.
Director: Areel Abu Bakar
Cast: Namron, Khoharullah Majid, Feiyna Tajudin, Fad Anuar, Taiyuddin Bakar
Year: 2019
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Silat Warriors: Deed Of Death - Movie Review:
Released in its native Malaysia as Geran, director Areel Abu Bakar's 2019 action film Silat Warriors: Deed Of Death introduces us to Mat Arip (Fad Anuar), a young troublemaker of sorts with a taste for gambling, fighting and street racing. Mat is also heavily indebted to some local mobsters, led by Haji Daud (Faizal Hussein). These aren't nice mobsters either, they're the kind that aren't above leaning on his siblings, brother Ali (Khoharullah Majid) and sister Fatimah (Feiyna Tajudin), and father, Pak Nayan (Namron), when Mat doesn't pay up on time. Where Mat finds his focus is when he's training in silat (the martial arts style brought to the forefront of the modern action movie scene thanks to the two The Raid films), a skill which has been passed down to he and his siblings by their father.
When the mobsters decide enough is enough, they kidnap Mat, who has just lost the deed to his father's properly in a gambling match. With no one else to turn to, Ali and Fatimah, both skilled martial artists themselves, head into the Malaysian underworld in hopes of finding their brother and getting him back in one piece before it's too late.
This film does not start off strong. It's unfocused and it tries to be too many things at once - a Fast And The Furious type of over the top racing film, an underground fight club film, a gangster picture and a martial arts movie all at the same time. Once Baker gets that out of his system and properly establishes the plot, however, things improve both dramatically and quickly. It's all very predictable and not particularly original in terms of its plot, but it definitely does redeem itself once we get through the first third of the film with some strong action set pieces and impressive fight choreography.
That said, Mat is a hard guy to like and as such, a hard guy to root for. We do like Ali and Fatimah just fine, but Mat's a bit of a jackass so it's a good thing indeed that the movie shifts focus from Mat to the other two. None of the characters in the movie are particularly well-written or all that deep, but at least Ali and Fatimah seem like decent people, better siblings than Mat really deserves!
If some of the acting is a little clunky and the story rife with clichés, the action scenes hit hard. Not all of the choreography is as polished as something you might see come out of Hong Kong but it doesn't need to be, as the fights here retain a gritty and authentic feel to them that helps the movie a lot.
Silat Warriors: Deed Of Death - Blu-ray Review:
Silat Warriors: Deed Of Death comes to Blu-ray from Well Go USA framed at 2.35.1 in AVC encoded 1080p high definition taking up 21.4GBS of space on the 25GB disc. There are no complaints here, really. Some really minor compression artifacts can be spotted in some of the darker scenes but they aren't distracting. Detail looks quite strong through, there are no issues with dirt or debris of any kind. Skin tones look good and colors are handled nicely. Black levels area strong as well.
Audio options are provided in Malay DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo tracks, with subtitles provided in English only. The lossless track is the way to go here as it offers plenty of surround activity throughout. Bass response is pretty solid as well. No problems with any hiss or distortion to note and the levels are nicely balanced.
Extras are limited to a trailer for the feature, menus and chapter selection. Trailers for a few other Well Go USA properties play before the main menus load.
Silat Warriors: Deed Of Death - The Final Word:
The dramatic aspects of Silat Warriors: Deed Of Death work well enough even if they aren't the memorable, but the action scenes hold their own and make this one worth checking out. Well Go USA's Blu-ray release is devoid of any substantial extra but the presentation is strong. Action junkies will appreciate this one.
Click on the images below for full sized Silat Warriors: Deed Of Death Blu-ray screen caps!
