The Night Comes For Us had always been in my movie watch list since it's been announced in 2014 after Mo Brothers released Killers. It planned to involve some of "The Raid" series veterans like Joe Taslim as the main character, Arifin Putra seemed to be the main antagonist, and Yayan Ruhian as an undisclosed role. The project was then somehow put to halt for some reasons and Mo Brothers went on another project which's Headshot (2016) and there's a plan of The Night Comes For Us being adapted into a graphic novel instead.
After the release of Headshot, it turned out only 1 of Mo Brothers, Time who's gonna continue and direct The Night Comes For Us and it seemed Iko Uwais & Sunny Pang're replacing Arifin & Yayan.
It's a well known plot formula about a bad guy/henchman who seeks a redemption after meeting an innocent child. Many interesting characters, the small ones as well. Particularly are the main characters, Ito played by Joe. Joe did a good job to be the lead bad-ass protagonist but quite standard, i must say. Arian played by Iko is definitely the most interesting character, he has the most thorough back story that gives him a moral questions, which surprised me. Clearly not your usual villain type of character.
And there's the Operator played by Julie Estelle the badass babe, a mysterious female character who can kick some serious butts. I'd agree wholeheartedly with some other viewers who suggest that The Operator must have her own movie. Just off the top of my head, i think it's my most favourite female character from action films with gore. I want to see the character again with more screen time.
The action is very bloody and brutal, it has a good usage of some of the stuff that we usually see around and they're being well implemented to add more pain. The plot's good enough, it has a 50:50 balance between dialogs and action scenes as the main highlights. It has plenty of great "Ouch" & "Wth" moments for the viewers, however i must say there are some bits that are just too appropriate & convenient for a film. And i'm not talking about the use of weapons and firearms but some of the approaches that the goons use to attack. I'd assume that it's typical in films when there are multiple attackers but somehow it's just too comical and laughable for me. The amazing choreographed fights, love them. The final fight gets very technical, 100% a real treat for martial arts film fans.
It's also rather refreshing to hear more Indonesians not only use Indonesian language but also foreign languages such as English, Chinese, & a bit of French too and they're not so forced but rather fitting for the plot. It might be a little nuisance to some of the native speakers to understand what they're saying but subtitles always help. This film is definitely set to have a sequel, just by mentioning things that can be explored more such as "Old Tiger", "Six Seas", and for sure, the ending.
I'd say this movie tops Timo's previous action film and it is recommended especially for those who are familiar & interested with contemporary Indonesian action films, even those who are just big fans of action slasher films may appreciate it.
A very well done action film.
7/10
