Satria Dewa: Gatotkaca

When I sat down to watch the 2022 Indonesian action movie "Satria Dewa: Gatotkaca", here late in 2022, it was without ever having heard about the movie. But given my fascinatio and love of the Asian cinema, of course I needed no persuasion to sit down and give this movie a chance.

And I will say that "Satria Dewa: Gatotkaca" was actually entertaining enough, and writers Rahabi Mandra, Hanung Bramantyo and Tesadesrada Ryza did put together a good enough script and storyline here. However, I don't feel that the movie was really outstanding as per se, and there are far better Indonesian action movies out there. But it was entertaining enough, though I personally don't understand why they opted to turn the movie into a strange hybrid mix of superhero movie and "Mortal Kombat" towards the end, it was a rather strange change of direction for the overall feel of the movie.

I was, for the majority of the actors and actresses on the cast list, not familiar with the talents that starred in "Satria Dewa: Gatotkaca". In fact, the only familiar face to me here was Yayan Ruhian (playing Beceng), and he is always a nice addition to any movie.

Something that worked well in favor of director Hanung Bramantyo's movie was the action sequences and the special effects. There was quite a lot of action in the movie, and it was nicely choreographed and executed on the screen, which added a lot of enjoyment to the movie. And the special effects were quite surprisingly good for an Indonesian movie.

While "Satria Dewa: Gatotkaca" was entertaining enough, it is hardly a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time though.

My rating of "Satria Dewa: Gatotkaca" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Gatotkaca is the First Instalment of Satria Dewa Universe, This Movie a Lot Many Problem.

Story or Script is Really Bad, Directing is Fine, Acting is Cheesy and Cringe (This Acting Looks Like Soap Opera or FTV), Cinematography is Fine, Editing Camera is Really Bad and Broken, CGI is Failed, Production Design is Good, Gatotkaca Costume Design is Okay (Kinda Captain Marvel Little Rip-off), Sound and Music is Really Bad, And The Most Annoying in Movie is A Lot Many Commercial or Ads.

Overall, A Disappointing Indonesia Superhero Movie, I Giving Score is 6/10, The Next Satria Dewa Movie Arjuna is Gonna Be Better Than Gatotkaca.

GATOT KACA does an admirable job of introducing the origins of an Indonesian superhero, providing a detailed exploration of who he is and tracing his journey from an ordinary individual to a celebrated hero. The film manages to present this origin story with clarity, allowing audiences to gradually understand the character and his evolution.

The film begins with a strong foundation, methodically digging into the backstory and slowly revealing the details to the viewers. This deliberate pacing builds intrigue around the mysteries within the film, keeping the audience engaged as they uncover more about the plot and the characters. As the film progresses, it continues to unfold new information, effectively expanding the narrative and introducing additional characters that contribute to the overall story.

In terms of improvement, GATOT KACA appears to address and refine several aspects that were seen as shortcomings in other Indonesian superhero films, such as GUNDALA. It seems to build on the lessons learned from its predecessors and presents a more polished and engaging superhero experience.

Visually, the film is a standout. For an Indonesian production, it is quite impressive to see a superhero in flight with all the accompanying spectacular and magical effects. While it may not yet rival the visual grandeur of Marvel superhero films, the film still manages to deliver a visually captivating experience. The special effects and cinematography contribute significantly to the film's appeal, showcasing a superhero genre that is both exciting and unique within the context of Indonesian cinema.

Overall, GATOT KACA is a commendable effort in the Indonesian superhero genre. It combines a compelling origin story with impressive visuals and a thoughtful approach to character development, making it a film that deserves recognition and appreciation.

Plenty of sci-fi/fantasy flicks revolve around finding THE ONE of some prophecy who will save the world from ...whatever. Usually it's an average young guy (occasionally a kid or young woman) who seems an unlikely, underqualified wearer of that lofty mantel. Keanu Reeves in the Matrix was probably the most famous. Yuda, the hero of this iteration of the concept, can only claim to be the most... recent.

The movie runs too long for what it delivers. It takes almost half of its two hours just to get the kid started. Then another half hour of figuring out who's who on both sides of this eternal conflict. Waaaay too much exposition for the amount of action they manage to stage; overcrowded with past and present characters involved in this existential struggle. And when the big CGI-laden fights finally begin, they're mostly in dim lighting with misty overlays, and cut so jerkily that it's hard to appreciate whatever physical skills the players may be deploying.

All of this for the first installment of an intended series. No spoiler in saying the good guys win this battle, but it's not the end of the war. The Yuda character might play well in a tighter package, but the the producers have to clean house on writing, directing and editing to make the sequel(s) worth following.

The concept of this superhero universe is promising, combining ancient Javanese mythology into modern society. This potential concept was blown away by rushing the stories, mediocre directing, unnecessary characters, and awfully product placement.

The writers put too many things in the storyline resulting in a fast-paced and no emotional attachment story. I can't feel/empathize with the character's emotions and feelings. Sometimes relationships among characters appear out of nowhere, like the romantic feelings between the main character. This movie should focus more on how Yuda struggles to live his life while taking care of his mother and finding his true self-identity. Leave the in-universe world-building later on in other films.

As a new genre for Hanung Bramantyo as the director (and Indonesia's film industry), it is understandable that he is still not used to directing this genre. But he should be able to give a better performance than this.

The second most annoying part of this movie is two characters are really unnecessary, Quinn and Gege. They don't serve any important role, they don't contribute anything to the plot, and their dialogues are only saying something outloud and most of the time not related to the context of the scene. An important note is maybe Gege's character like that could be justified because he is a child. If these two characters were removed from the movie I'm sure nothing would be affected.

The last problem for me with this movie is how they place advertisements. The majority of the food and drink product placement is ok, not good, but in some ways is acceptable. On the other hand, the online marketplace advertisement is so weird. Why would someone create a dedicated scene with a completely unknown character who throws dirty/NSFW jokes just to advertise some online marketplace? This scene and the jokes made me cringe at best.

There is also a questionable plot hole in this movie regarding how Yuda's friends came to the final battlefield. But maybe it can be explained later.

In conclusion, this movie, Satria Dewa: Gatot Kaca needs to fix a lot of things to be able called a good/decent movie. Regardless of all the flaws in this movie I still appreciate the cast and the crews who work on this movie, they were all brave to take the challenge of creating a movie with a genre that is not popular enough in Indonesia's film industry. I also encourage anyone who reads this review to give this movie a chance and watch it in the cinema to support our local movie industry. I hope Satria Dewa Studio take lessons from their first movie, good job!