But this isn’t some kind of breakout revelation (beyond Feiynah Tajudin) either. And that final act does put it over the edge as a solid showcase for Malaysian action cinema. Silat Warriors ultimately ranks as an action film that I did enjoy. South Korea’s The Swordsman absolutely blew my mind early on and likely still holds the top slot as the best action film of the year thus far. I’ve been a bit floundering as an action fan in 2021 thus far. That said, from a narrative perspective, it probably would have helped if Ali had been the main character all along, so it didn’t just feel like a fight for the sake of the genre the film fits into, but rather a compelling need for this character to shed his devout and pious ways to kick ass.
It’s a relentless action set piece that entertains and rewards your patience for wading through the rest of it. The final third of Silat Warriors: Deed Of Death makes the film worth the price of admission. Khoharullah acquits himself quite well in terms of the massive martial arts payoff. It’s Ali (who mostly lays low throughout the bulk of the film’s run time and feels largely aloof from the meager story being told) who ends up taking center stage in act three. Mat Arip takes up lots of the screen time here and he and his bumbling comic relief sidekick may be the impetus for most of the plotting, but they’re annoying and hard to root for in any way. But unfortunately this isn’t Fatimah’s film, so she recedes into the background and while she comes out swinging early on, she wraps this film up with a whimper. It’s a reveal that happens early in the film and Fatimah gets a few battles throughout the movie. Perhaps the most delightful and surprising component of Silat Warriors is when Fatimah, a devout Muslim woman complete with head covering, starts taking thugs out left and right with her remarkable martial arts acumen.
Unfortunately, the film spends most of its time with Mat Arip instead.Įxtremely low on compelling plot, Silat Warriors is largely just a bunch of fairly low stakes battles between street thugs and our protagonist siblings as they battle to protect their father’s home and property. It’s these three siblings who make up our Silat Warriors, and it’s Fatimah and Ali we’ll be the most interested in paying attention to. The resulting chaos threatens the lives of his father and siblings, Fatimah (Feiyna Tajudin) and Ali (Khoharullah Majid). Good for nothing Mat Arip (Fad Anuar) is a bumbling gambler who has taken the paper deed to his father’s home and put it up for collateral in one of his street races.
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