Jaka Sembung

Indonesian martial arts flick. It's the kind of movie that reminds you that you haven't seen everything yet. It's incredibly bizarre. Not good, mind you, but so weird you can't help but like it. Action star Barry Prima stars as Jaka Sembung, a mighty mystical rebel trying to resist the rule of the evil Dutch. The governor of the island, a mutton-chopped maniac, hires a series of wacky wizard villains to dispatch Jaka. The film is extraordinarily brutal. The hero at one point gets his eyes stabbed out. The hero is Muslim, and at one point he's turned into a pig, which is probably even worse than being blinded by needles. This may not be very well done, but it's certainly never boring. In fact, I'd categorize it as a must-see for anyone who likes bat-crap insane movies.

The star of this Indonesian film Barry Prima is on record as hating every film he ever made, complaining that they are all trash. That maybe so but for the most part they are entertaining trash. This film is exactly that, entertaining trash of the highest order.

This is the first of a series of films with Prima as Jaka Sembung, a hero known as the Warrior. Sembung is an Indonesian native who fights against the colonial Indonesian government for the freedom of his people. He is a real pain and as the movie opens he has been captured by the authorities. Instead of killing him they send him off to work in the quarry breaking rocks. His captivity doesn't last long and he's soon back leading the forces of rebellion. The government is desperate and is reduced to hiring great warriors to try and capture and kill Sembung. Eventually they are further reduced to having a powerful voodoo priest resurrected for the task.

I really like this movie a great deal, its just 90 minutes of action and magic and the perfect thing to unwind with after a long day at work since it requires very little from the view except acceptance. This is the type of movie that popcorn was invented for.

Certainly by no means a well made movie (the fights occasionally appear staged and the make up is low grade) that makes up for pretty much all its short comings in its go for broke, through everything in but the kitchen sink attitude. This movie just keeps piling on the complications as it goes along and if you tune into its wave length there is nothing better. (I even didn't mind its ""Rah Rah! Go Indonesia attitude" which was used to inspire pride in native Indonesian audiences, but to my eyes at least showed a seriousness of cause lacking in most action films)

A word of warning.Despite the films lesser make up effects this is still a bloody movie. Lots of people are shot and killed, there are decapitations, eye gouging, people are graphically crucified and lots of blood flows. Its gruesome. Still if you can get past the blood its a fun movie.

9 out of 10 (minus one because its slows a bit in the middle for exposition). Worth a couple of bags of popcorn and several glasses of soda.

This Indonesian film belongs to the strangest obscure oddities of film history. It offers a wild mix of Action, Fantasy, Horror and Epic, with the title character Jaka Sembung, maybe the most vulnerable super hero ever put on celluloid.

Although the production values are laughable compared with almost any American production, the film delivers good entertainment and never becomes boring. The action scenes are trashy, the sometimes astonishingly gory special effects are cheap but effective, and the dramatic story boosts plenty of unintentional humor to make this pic a thoroughly funny experience that certainly bares cult potential.

Indonesia is a country in turmoil. The people are poor and oppressed by the Dutch Government. However one hope remains in the form of rebel leader Djaka Semboeng. His rebels and his famous fighting ability inspires the people to hang on. Van Shramm, the Dutch representative in Java offers a reward for the death of Semboeng and employs a mighty warrior, the invincible Kobar, to go after him. One short fight later Kobar is dead and Van Shramm turns to a magician for him. The magician resurrects the deadly of enemy of Semboeng, Kieten, to take revenge. Kieten faces Semboeng and defeats him - Semboeng is imprisoned and blinded by the cruel Van Shramm. However Van Shramm's daughter has fallen for Semboeng and frees him. Semboeng again faces Kieten and is overcome by his magic - finally being turned into a pig before escaping the prison! A kindly magician returns Semboeng to his human form and teaches him new skills that he will need as he prepares to face Kieten for the final time.

This is a very cheesy martial arts film. The story is not as complex as it sounds, the camera shots are very 1970's - in short this is the sort of film that should come to mind when you imagine a dubbed martial arts movie from that period. The film is very very cheesy - it's hard to describe, but that doesn't mean it's not fun to watch.

The camera constantly zooms in on people's faces to register their surprise - it's quite funny for most of it! Also the camera is used to hit tricks - like the main character is shown jumping off the ground, and then cuts to a shot of him flying through the air, it's not believable but it's often unintentionally hilarious! Also the acting is of a very cheesy variety - the fighter Kobar near the start of the film is a perfect example of the wonderful hamminess that's in this film - the terrible American dubbing in the version I saw didn't help the actors at all! The only performance that's a bit out of tone with the film is the character of Semboeng. He comes across as too self righteous and takes himself too seriously, at some points he even comes across as a Christ-like character (despite being a Muslim) in terms of what he says - at one point he is even paraded through the streets before being nailed to the prison wall, crucifixion-style. Semboeng takes a bit of the fun out of the film as he really is too sombre for this type of thing - but his fights are good!

The fights are generally ok - not great but ok. The effects are very cheap and nasty - they're surprisingly gory for the time, but the use of dummies and rubber effects make some scenes look very cheap and amateurish. One visual effect worth seeing is the huge overbite on the evil wizard - those are some big teeth!

Overall it's a film of it's time - it's very cheesy and pretty cheap, but it's quite interesting in it's own way and quite funny if you're in the mood for it.

The Warrior, Jaka Sembung, played by Barry Prima, is an Indonesian Robin hood with magical powers who fights evil Dutch Imperialists. This is one little strange movie filled with martial arts, mysticism, blood & gore, and a strong anti-imperialist message. It is also quite funny, and the dubbing is of course priceless. The final battle between the evil Ki Item and the warrior has to be the most weird piece of bloodshed in movie history, and who can forget the sequence where Jaka Sembung gets a new pair of eyes. Essential viewing for fans of Asian weirdness. the U. K. version seems to have some minor cuts, but is still worth watching.

Recommended.