Ben & Jody

Ben & Jody actually started off pretty well. The story was interesting enough to follow. And when those girls (and one annoying little boy) came along, the tempo starts dragging and slows down the beat of its story. I don't blame the characters. It's just they were sorely underwritten.

The action at the finale was decent, but not very impressive. Angga Dwimas Sasongko still can't manage to execute action sequences with real sense of urgency and danger.

Not without its fair share of missteps, but Angga Dwimas Sasongko's 'Ben & Jody' succeeds in integrating exciting action aspects to his 'Filosofi Kopi' movie series. The movie tries to hit social commentaries about agrarian conflict and violence toward peasants, as well as law enforcement misconduct and grassroots movements, but they aren't really concentrated enough to maximize the film's objective. Not bad.

Villages in the jungle suddenly there are children of tribal chiefs who are designed like warriors, but the clothes used are very fashionable like clothes from uniqlo are very absurd, and the characterization is uneven, too strong in Ben and Jody, but in cinematography is the best.

While I appreicate the effort of turning this comfy heartwarming drama franchinse into action packed movie, but this is just painful too watch. Good thing they didn't decide to give our beloved coffee enthusiats martial prowess or super powers to deal with their mishaps in this movie. Instead, they give them Kate Bishop and Karate Kid, who seems to be more than capable in taking down a camp of armed thugs themsleves, and should be done on their own instead of waiting until third act to do their thing.

Apparently this is the third in an Indonesian series of films about a couple of friends, but I saw it on Netflix under the title BEN & JODY. It seems to take place entirely at night and involves some villagers being exploited and oppressed by a faceless company. Some are taken prisoner, and they stage a breakout at the climax. Anyone expecting THE RAID or THE NIGHT COMES FOR US will be disappointed by this one, even though Yayan Ruhian has a henchman role and as usual gets to show off his skills at various points. But the heroes are underdeveloped, the plot almost non-existent, and the action relatively routine.