Ola Bola

I'm proud as a Malaysian.

What a great film!

Music, Acting, Cinematography, Storyline was awesome This is what you get from a good team of hard work!

Malaysians will truly appreciate this movie, especially those who lived and enjoyed Malysian soccer back in the 70s and 80s. This is based on some historical facts though not exactly depicting the lives of the characters. But many of us who have experienced the era would be able to identify the roles played by the actors to the real life characters. Havent enjoyed this much watching a Malaysian movie for a long time. This one, I watched with three generations of my family. And everyone loved it.

This movie deserves 10/10 if only for one reason: It beautifully captures what it means to be Malaysian.

When I first saw the trailers, I was thinking this was just going to be about football, or reliving the glory days of Malaysian football.

I'm sure glad I was proved wrong, this movie has so many strengths and one of them is it made the audience feel as if they were part of the movie. Get ready to experience a range of emotions. Football was just part of the overarching theme of what truly makes Malaysia great: our unity in diversity. How we triumph together despite any challenges.

I'm unapologetic that this is a patriotic movie. It will make you love more about Malaysia or rather, love the fact you're a Malaysian. If sounding 'patriotic' seems foreign to you, this movie will give you a good reminder of it. Even if you aren't a Malaysian, I would still highly recommend it for giving you a feel of what Malaysian culture and society looks like.

A side note: I haven't watched a Malaysian movie in ages. I was blown away by this film's sheer quality. This film sets the benchmark for future Malaysian movies and it got me optimistic about our local film industry: no other direction but up.

Let's be honest, most recent Malaysian films are catered for one demographic or another. There have been attempts at targeting the general Malaysians before, but none as successful as Ola Bola.

Ola Bola is inspired by a true story. It's not exactly a historical account. So don't expect accurate historical drama. It took liberty here and there, but left enough reference to the inspiring story that anyone who grew up in the 70s and 80s can relate to them immediately. There are some interesting character development going on, but juggling ensemble films aren't easy. Suffice to say the director manages to get the balance right, although it isn't stellar.

The only downside I found in this film is several cringe-worthy dialogues. In fact, we could see how the actors struggle to deliver those lines, particularly in the earlier part of the story.

But that aside, this is a very moving and inspirational story with enough juice to draw the audience in and enjoy the journey.

Ola Bola movie is fully occupied of human emotion themes such as pain, struggle, happiness, glory, hard work. The movie also occupied unity & patriotism themes. The best thing is that, this movie by Chiu is an inspiring for our Malaysian. "Kita menang sama-sama, kita kalahpun sama-sama. This film is a winner when the climax made my eyes to drop tear without even my consent. I will give 10/10 for IMDB rating.