Review: Legend of Gatotakaca

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Legend of Gatotakaca (aka Satria Dewa: Gatotakaca)

Directed by Hanung Bramantyo
Horizon Film Entertainment; Netflix; Lumine Studio;
Satreia Dewa Studio; Well Go USA Entertainment; Hi-YAH!
129 minutes, 2022 / 2023
www.instagram.com/gatotkaca_official/?hl=en
https://wellgousa.com/films/legend-gatotkaca
www.hiyahtv.com
#LegendOfGatotakaca @WellGoUSA

When I see a name of a release or character like this, I tend to run it through Wikipedia. From this, I learned that, in Indonesia, where this film originated (abbreviated quote): “Ghatotkacha (Sanskrit for "Bald Pot") is a prominent character in the story of Mahabharata. He was important fighter in the Kurukshetra war and caused a great deal of destruction and killed many demons.” He has been the subject of many films, mostly out of India.

The "real" Ghatotkacha 

The name may not roll off the English tongue very easily, but he is a warrior hero. In the action-filled prologue, we are introduced to the child Yuda, who is sought by a band of assassins. Their purpose it to find an heirloom with mystical powers, a medallion called Brajamusti.

To be honest, I am not familiar with the Indonesian god-myth culture, nor their ancient literature, such as the referenced Mahabharata (~400 BCE-400 CE) here, in a similar way they may not be familiar with, say, Beowulf (~1000 CE), Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1812), or the ancient mythological pantheon of gods of Greece, Rome, or Scandinavia (Odin, Thor, etc.). It might be good to either have Wikipedia open to throw in some of the names or terms, or just say screw it and enjoy it as it lays, as one would with the Dynasty days films of the Shaw Brothers.

After the prologue, we focus on now college student Yuda (Rizky Nazar). His mother Animbi (Sigi Wimala) is suffering from memory loss, his father Pandega (Cecep Arif Raham , from John Wick Chapter 3), disappears at the beginning, and whose best pal (Jerome Kurnia) is assassinated by a masked man with superpowers during college graduation. Yudi knowing Silat (Indonesian martial arts) does not help. Yet.

Through a learned source, Arya Laksana (Edward Akbar) and his daughter, obvious love interest Agni (Yasmin Napper), Yudi learns that the gods of the Mahabharata are real, residing in the home of the gods, Kadewatan, where Lord Shiva (aka Batara Guru rules); think Asgard and Odin. In fact, it may be helpful to imagine this is part of the Indonesia version of the Marvel Universe (MCU). The stories of Dr. Donald Blake becoming Thor after finding his source of power, his hammer Mjölnir, in a cave. I realize that the story may sound complex, but even if you don’t know the fictional characters, the storyline is quite easy to follow. For example, if you were to sit down and watch any of the MCU films, you can mostly follow along even if you have never picked up a comic book. Going forward, I will use the MCU and DC Universe (DCU) myths equivalency in brackets.

The two gods in question in this story are Pandava [Thor], and his descendants who use their power for good, and his rival Kaurava [Loki] and his lineage, who use it for, well, you know. So the Pandava group [Justise League], such as archer Dananjaya (Omar Daniel) [Green Arrow] and young Gege (scene stealer Ali Fikry) are under threat of the Kaurava one [The Legion of Doom], to restore to power an evil upper echelon god, Aswatama via his masked and his mysterious cowled underling with superpowers to steal souls [Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader] and bring the coming of the evil gods, which is scheduled for (wait for it) 2023. Mr. Cowl is helped by Beceng (Yayan Ruhian, who was in John Wick Chapter 3:and Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens). There is a lot of exposition given to the viewer throughout.

Of course, the sworn enemy to stop this is…good guy Gatotkacha. And who is the reincarnation of said Gatotkacha who will emerge with the help of the medallion? Pretty obvious. And that is when the action really picks up. There are some good fights in the early part of the film (including some wire work), but it is also filled with lots of talking, to explain what is going on to the uninformed watching it (e.g., me).

Agni is being pursed by marriage by bully Nathan (Axel Matthew Thomas). I can see where this is going as the lamb’s blood on a door frame. Same to be said about who is the unknown “Vader” villain. Through most of this, the medallion’s powers are minimal, post-human rather than superhuman, until the final fight.

There are lots of reflections on other films than the three I mentioned. For example, there is a bit of The Power Rangers, Mortal Kombat, and even Shazam!, thanks to the medallion.

The film is enjoyable but has three issues: first, if a bit hard to follow at times; second, they try to put too much into one film (the MCU and DCU 3-hour mega-extravaganzas tend to do this a lot), but the weakest link is its length. It does not need to be this long, nor complex. As I said, it is easy to view it for what it is and leave it at that. I mean, I did not read the Lord of the Rings books (never made it past page 25 in the first one), and it was also overcomplex, yet I enjoyed the films for what they presented. If one just goes to see it as an action film, well, there is plenty of that, along with mucho exposition and talking. I believe that perhaps maybe even the younger Indonesians may not know the legends well, and that is part of why it is so wordy with explanations.

Who the masked, unnamed villain is, came as no surprise to me as I figured it out early on. And, of course, it is setting up for either a sequel or a franchise. Understandable.

The film debuts exclusively on the martial arts streaming service Hi-YAH!, before landing on Digital, and Blu-ray.

IMDB listing HERE