Back in 1991 and being a massive fan of Ridley Scott, i jumped on the first chance I could to watch Black Hawk Down. War movies weren't part of my favourite genre but with Mr. Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer who happens to be that role model of a producer for me, I couldn't miss it.
In a summary, Black Hawk Down was a war film set during the Battle of Mogadishu where a Black Hawk helicopter was shot down with its crew and a rescue mission was immediately deployed. An assemble of stellar cast added to the production value of the film and it was eventually nominated for four categories at the Oscars, winning two for Best Sound and Best Film Editing.
Twenty one years later, a Malaysian filmmaker Adrian Teh decided to make a movie based on the same incident but from a Malaysian vantage point as the Malaysian Battalion were participating as one of the rescue unit alongside the Pakistan Army. Scott left this fact out in his film.
The movie opens well with a rescue mission saving the hostages from the Somali extremists and scenes that would be coming out straight from a Western war movie. Good camera movements and some stylised slow-mo.
But of course that didn't last long as the "typical Malaysian film" started to creep in. The comical part is basically a comic that went wrong. No humour and nothing hilarious with some corny dialogues. The foreign female journalist was a total waste of time, nothing made any sense with her in a flirting scene.
To break it down in categories, here we go .....
1)Script, Screenplay & Dialogues The script lacked great depth. It has little flow without any strong dialogues and feel. At times it felt dialogues were all monotonous and especially being lined up with strong actors, it was all noticeable that there is a possibility that the casts were not entirely comfortable with the texts or were ordered to be "robotic" while reciting the dialogues directly off a notebook.
The "flirting" scenes in the beginning and towards the end were unnecessary. It was a complete waste of space with corny pick up lines done in overzealous spirits.
Having name titles appearing whenever each character appears for the first time (as a form of introduction) was a pain to the eyes. Instead of focusing on the characters, it sways our attention to the little text being typed out as the scene gets moving. After 10 seconds reading the names, I went totally blank in trying to recall their names.
The plot was mundane and characters were not developed well. We turn to lose track on who is who and what their ranking is in a military heir-achy. Most of the dialogues spoken were done in a rather loud manner. The casts were literally shouting at each other more than anything. A simple quiet dialogue session was a rarity. Almost everyone spoke at their top of their voices.
5/10
2) Direction
Adrian Teh may have employed more pace looking at it being an action packed war film but he still missed on several aspects especially in character development. Camera works are commendable but again his direction is a vast contrast with how Scott made his a film to remember. It is unfair to make a comparison between Teh and Scott but let's leave the overall budget out here for a moment. The storyline seems to lack emotions, the conviction and Teh failed to bring the best out of his experienced cast.
5/10
3) Cinematography
The cinematography was well crafted with some nice and fancy moves but somehow was overshadowed by the "fake look" it occasionally had when some of the scenes were done with matting shots. It was clear that the lighting on the subject(s) was off with the blurry background (the depth of field effect matte shot). Lighting of the subjects in these situations were totally a disaster. But in other close up shots such as the interiors of the APCs were well lit resulting with some pleasant images.
The aerial shots were tastefully done and I must say that some of the B-rolls or 2nd unit's shots were cinematic.
7/10
4) Production Design
Ho Chee Siang, a long time buddy of mine was the art director in this. I must say that he did a very commendable job and it certainly painted the exact mood and feel of a war-torn communal. I couldn't point a visible flaw and obviously at a war-zone, the more damaged items are used the more realistic the film can get.
The wardrobe stylists was quite accurate in her interpretation and the right costumes were used. Nothing look brand new coming out straight from the shelves.
Make up on casts was generally fair but I felt that it was overdone on some of the casts involved especially when faces were "over" drenched with sweat.
Otherwise, it was a job well done.
8.5/10
5) Casts
I am quite disappointed with the main casts on this to be honest. Yes, they carried out their roles as soldiers but they all looked too rigid, too bland. Some made silly jokes which were unnecessary and most of them were filled with too much of tense, screaming from the top of the voices. I haven't seen injured soldiers in a war movie cry or grimace in pain so loudly. I was wondering if their enemy was going to spot them because of how loud they were.
See, some of them are top actors of this country but somehow I feel that the mundane script overshadowed their talents or simply the director couldn't bring the best out of them.
Despite the setbacks here, I must say that the Somali interpreter Abdelle played by a Somali-American Musa Aden surprisingly stole the show from the otherwise all-star cast.
Having experienced the Somali Civil War in real life himself, his appearance adds a palpable sense of authenticity to the movie. It's hard not to root for his sympathetic character, who just wants to do the right thing between helping the Malaysian soldiers and saving his people from committing war crimes. Aden also deserved praise for his brief but winning chemistry with Shaheizy Sam, where the latter delivers a typically engaging performance as Lance Corporal Ramlee.
The movie also featured some other great acting from the likes of Zahiril Adzim, Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin, Fauzi Nawawi and Adlin Aman Ramlie. The former three played Lieutenant Dahari, Lieutenant Mustafa and Major Osman respectively.
The casts for roles of the American soldiers were poor, typically looking like some B or C grade outcasts. They were not natural in their roles and seem so rigid and monotonous. There wasn't any flair as how an American soldier would be portrayed.
And lastly, the American female journalist was a complete waste of time and space. Pretty girl she is but it was certainly an unnecessary role given to her.
5/10
6) Post Production
Sadly, this was the most underperforming segment of the entire movie. Despite having the right grading of colour and some good editing, the CGI was a massive disappointment. The spotty CGI shot of a rocket shooting out from the RPG every now and then may have ruined some of the movie's intended grounded realism. Some of the explosions and fires seem so fake and unreal. The green/blue matting technique was a disaster for the plate shots and too much glare.
Considering Black Hawk Down which was released in 2001 and what the capabilities of VFX at that time, extensive work was put to achieve a certain degree of realism. For the most part everything looks very real in that movie. There was a lot of augmenting CGI used in Black Hawk Down. You'd be surprised how much of bullet impacts, smoke, helicopters, set extension, etc was all CGI. That is a stroke of a masterpiece from the director himself, 21 years ago!
3/10
Summary
Overall Malbatt: Misi Bakara is a watchable movie for those who want to see the battle of Mogadishu from a Malaysian perspective. It's not quite as the high cinematic standards of Black Hawk Down, but at least it gives us a little sense of pride on the true stories of the sacrifices made by our Malaysian army.
My rating for this movie is 5/10.
In a summary, Black Hawk Down was a war film set during the Battle of Mogadishu where a Black Hawk helicopter was shot down with its crew and a rescue mission was immediately deployed. An assemble of stellar cast added to the production value of the film and it was eventually nominated for four categories at the Oscars, winning two for Best Sound and Best Film Editing.
Twenty one years later, a Malaysian filmmaker Adrian Teh decided to make a movie based on the same incident but from a Malaysian vantage point as the Malaysian Battalion were participating as one of the rescue unit alongside the Pakistan Army. Scott left this fact out in his film.
The movie opens well with a rescue mission saving the hostages from the Somali extremists and scenes that would be coming out straight from a Western war movie. Good camera movements and some stylised slow-mo.
But of course that didn't last long as the "typical Malaysian film" started to creep in. The comical part is basically a comic that went wrong. No humour and nothing hilarious with some corny dialogues. The foreign female journalist was a total waste of time, nothing made any sense with her in a flirting scene.
To break it down in categories, here we go .....
1)Script, Screenplay & Dialogues The script lacked great depth. It has little flow without any strong dialogues and feel. At times it felt dialogues were all monotonous and especially being lined up with strong actors, it was all noticeable that there is a possibility that the casts were not entirely comfortable with the texts or were ordered to be "robotic" while reciting the dialogues directly off a notebook.
The "flirting" scenes in the beginning and towards the end were unnecessary. It was a complete waste of space with corny pick up lines done in overzealous spirits.
Having name titles appearing whenever each character appears for the first time (as a form of introduction) was a pain to the eyes. Instead of focusing on the characters, it sways our attention to the little text being typed out as the scene gets moving. After 10 seconds reading the names, I went totally blank in trying to recall their names.
The plot was mundane and characters were not developed well. We turn to lose track on who is who and what their ranking is in a military heir-achy. Most of the dialogues spoken were done in a rather loud manner. The casts were literally shouting at each other more than anything. A simple quiet dialogue session was a rarity. Almost everyone spoke at their top of their voices.
5/10
2) Direction
Adrian Teh may have employed more pace looking at it being an action packed war film but he still missed on several aspects especially in character development. Camera works are commendable but again his direction is a vast contrast with how Scott made his a film to remember. It is unfair to make a comparison between Teh and Scott but let's leave the overall budget out here for a moment. The storyline seems to lack emotions, the conviction and Teh failed to bring the best out of his experienced cast.
5/10
3) Cinematography
The cinematography was well crafted with some nice and fancy moves but somehow was overshadowed by the "fake look" it occasionally had when some of the scenes were done with matting shots. It was clear that the lighting on the subject(s) was off with the blurry background (the depth of field effect matte shot). Lighting of the subjects in these situations were totally a disaster. But in other close up shots such as the interiors of the APCs were well lit resulting with some pleasant images.
The aerial shots were tastefully done and I must say that some of the B-rolls or 2nd unit's shots were cinematic.
7/10
4) Production Design
Ho Chee Siang, a long time buddy of mine was the art director in this. I must say that he did a very commendable job and it certainly painted the exact mood and feel of a war-torn communal. I couldn't point a visible flaw and obviously at a war-zone, the more damaged items are used the more realistic the film can get.
The wardrobe stylists was quite accurate in her interpretation and the right costumes were used. Nothing look brand new coming out straight from the shelves.
Make up on casts was generally fair but I felt that it was overdone on some of the casts involved especially when faces were "over" drenched with sweat.
Otherwise, it was a job well done.
8.5/10
5) Casts
I am quite disappointed with the main casts on this to be honest. Yes, they carried out their roles as soldiers but they all looked too rigid, too bland. Some made silly jokes which were unnecessary and most of them were filled with too much of tense, screaming from the top of the voices. I haven't seen injured soldiers in a war movie cry or grimace in pain so loudly. I was wondering if their enemy was going to spot them because of how loud they were.
See, some of them are top actors of this country but somehow I feel that the mundane script overshadowed their talents or simply the director couldn't bring the best out of them.
Despite the setbacks here, I must say that the Somali interpreter Abdelle played by a Somali-American Musa Aden surprisingly stole the show from the otherwise all-star cast.
Having experienced the Somali Civil War in real life himself, his appearance adds a palpable sense of authenticity to the movie. It's hard not to root for his sympathetic character, who just wants to do the right thing between helping the Malaysian soldiers and saving his people from committing war crimes. Aden also deserved praise for his brief but winning chemistry with Shaheizy Sam, where the latter delivers a typically engaging performance as Lance Corporal Ramlee.
The movie also featured some other great acting from the likes of Zahiril Adzim, Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin, Fauzi Nawawi and Adlin Aman Ramlie. The former three played Lieutenant Dahari, Lieutenant Mustafa and Major Osman respectively.
The casts for roles of the American soldiers were poor, typically looking like some B or C grade outcasts. They were not natural in their roles and seem so rigid and monotonous. There wasn't any flair as how an American soldier would be portrayed.
And lastly, the American female journalist was a complete waste of time and space. Pretty girl she is but it was certainly an unnecessary role given to her.
5/10
6) Post Production
Sadly, this was the most underperforming segment of the entire movie. Despite having the right grading of colour and some good editing, the CGI was a massive disappointment. The spotty CGI shot of a rocket shooting out from the RPG every now and then may have ruined some of the movie's intended grounded realism. Some of the explosions and fires seem so fake and unreal. The green/blue matting technique was a disaster for the plate shots and too much glare.
Considering Black Hawk Down which was released in 2001 and what the capabilities of VFX at that time, extensive work was put to achieve a certain degree of realism. For the most part everything looks very real in that movie. There was a lot of augmenting CGI used in Black Hawk Down. You'd be surprised how much of bullet impacts, smoke, helicopters, set extension, etc was all CGI. That is a stroke of a masterpiece from the director himself, 21 years ago!
3/10
Summary
Overall Malbatt: Misi Bakara is a watchable movie for those who want to see the battle of Mogadishu from a Malaysian perspective. It's not quite as the high cinematic standards of Black Hawk Down, but at least it gives us a little sense of pride on the true stories of the sacrifices made by our Malaysian army.
My rating for this movie is 5/10.