mat kilau movie review essay spm

Mat Kilau (2022), A Step Ahead For Malaysia’s Film Industry

Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan (2022) , Malaysia’s current highest-grossed blockbuster film with almost 100 million collection since 23 Jun 2022. Read more to read our movie review on this piece!

Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan (2022)

This film is about the crusade of Mat Kilau, a very prominent historical figure known for his freedom fighting against the British in Pahang, Malaysia. It successfully captures people’s attention to the point that the discussion about this film can be seen on every social media platform.

Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan (2022) Main Cast

Movie Review: Why This Piece Is A Must Watch Movie 

Mat Kilau Movie Review: Understanding its essence, Mat Kilau (2022) covers the struggles of the locals during the British colonial period which became the ground of the movement. The exploitation that is perpetrated upon the locals caused them to fight for their justice, and Mat Kilau (Adi Putra) along with Wahid (Beto Kusyairy) and Awang (Fattah Amin), decided to lead their people. 

Since this film is a biographical historical film, it serves as a visual depiction of what happened during that time. Malaysians learn about Tanah Melayu’s warriors in highschool namely Mat Kilau, Dol Said, Datuk Maharaja Lela, and etc.

With this film, it helps in giving a bigger picture of the situation and catches people’s attention to explore deeper within the warriors’ perspective. At the same time it has become Malaysia’s catalyst in the rise of patriotic and nationalistic values.

The Wave This Film Created

The director, Syamsul Yusof, uses this film to cherish Malaysia’s tradition and culture by including fighting scenes highlighting “Silat”, the nation’s martial art.

Mat Kilau and his friends utilised the Silat martial art along with “keris” (dagger with a wavy blade) and “sabit” (curved blade) in all their fights against the British. This spotlights the importance of preserving Malaysia’s cultural elements for the next generation. 

Netizens’ reaction in social media shows how effective this strategy is in raising awareness on our tradition and culture. Some of them even wear Malaysia’s male headgear made of songket, best-known as “tanjak” or “tengkolok” to the cinema. This contributes to the encouragement that wearing traditional garments are not restricted to traditional and formal events. 

@sofyank96 Keris yang mengilau, aku dipanggil Mat Kilau ? w/ @theabyl_ #9forstvid #matkilau #jalexrosa ♬ original sound – Sofyank96 – Sofyank96

This is one of the example, posted by Sofyank , Malaysia’s rising talent, jumping into the trend paved by Mat Kilau (2022). More can be seen throughout social media platforms, namely Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, etc..

About The Real Mat Kilau

Mat Kilau is a native of Kampung Pulau Tawar in Jerantut, Pahang, who is said to have been born in late 1980s. He is known as the most important Malay warrior, fighting against British colonisation in his state. He fought together with his father, Tok Gajah (Imam Rasu), and other warriors namely Dato’ Bahaman and Mat Kelubi. 

The struggle started in the 1890s, when people in Pahang were revolting. They went against the British who took over their government’s power; collected taxes and revenue from appointed local authorities. Due to the raging protest by people, the British then declared war against several Pahang nobilities. They ordered for their arrest and punishment. Thankfully, Mat Kilau and other several leaders managed to escape to neighbouring states namely Kelantan and Terengganu.

Going through his nomadic life, Mat Kilau was once thought dead by his friends in 1895 at Kelantan. 

However, 74 years after that, on 26 December 1969, Malaysia was perplexed with a shocking declaration made by an old man living in Kampung Pulau Tawar. He claimed that he is Mat Kilau and had been hiding his identity for decades. Unfortunately, on 10 August 1970, 4 days after the then Menteri Besar Pahang announced that he is indeed Mat Kilau, he died due to an illness. He was believed to be 122 years old at that time.

Mat Kilau is the warrior that will always be respected and looked up to by Malaysians. It is such a shame if we are not proud and amazed by our history. The effort in the making of Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan (2022) film should be praised and celebrated. Maybe we can hope that this film is also going to the Oscars 2022, like Prebet Sapu .

Since this film is still in cinemas, Malaysians are recommended to go watch and support our local film. Run to your nearest cinema now!

Nur Sharmimi

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[REVIEW] Mat Kilau: A Movie That Should Have Went Out On Merdeka Day

Before I start this review, let me just formally apologise for being late to the party.

I know the hype of this movie is long gone by now but I feel like they should have just released it during Merdeka Day since it’s such a historical piece of film with a historical meaning behind it. Am I wrong? I don’t think so. 

As such, I took it upon myself to post this a few days before Merdeka day. You’re welcome. 

Anyway, the real reason I put the movie off for so long was because it’s RM24 for a ticket.

Now, I am lots of things, and a cheapskate is definitely one of them. Also, I’ve heard so many mixed reviews about this movie that it kind of made me procrastinate watching it. With some people saying it’s too overrated and others straight up pleading for you to “ got to go see this masterpiece! ” 

So here I am. Months later and completely up to date with all the Mat Kilau hype. I have seen it, I have quite a lot of thoughts about it. I also feel the need to say that I only saw this movie once so I’m doing this review based on memory only. Because there’s no way I’m paying another RM24 to get any of the facts right so bear with me. 

I’m also not going to mention that the movie broke records by being the highest paid movie of the year or something like that. That’s not the point of it. I’m just here to tell you my thoughts on the movie, that’s all.

Disclaimer: Spoilers ahead. Some , at least. So watch out and take care, folks!

The Beginning

The whole premise of this movie revolves around our main character, Mat Kilau (played by Adi Putra), who’s apparently deemed the best warrior his village has ever seen. Along with his other warrior friends, Wahid (played by Beto Kusyairi) and Awang (played by Fattah Amin), they try their hardest to defend their village and their people against the evil powers of the British colonists. 

The movie starts off with a bunch of villagers minding their own business until a group of British soldiers ambushed them and demanded tax payments for their land. But since the villagers refused to pay them they get shot one by one, with the last person ruing their existence and pledging revenge. 

After the screen fades to black, we move onto a Naruto-esque scene in the woods with a bunch of Malayan warriors practising their martial arts on each other, jumping through trees and attacking each other with keris and hand-to-hand combat. Here is where we first get introduced to the Mat Kilau gang. 

And despite the sound effects of their martial activity completely busting my eardrums, I’d say it’s a pretty cool scene altogether. It shows the ways of Malayan martial arts that I’ve only ever heard of but never before seen properly. So it’s super interesting to watch and had me give my undivided attention to. 

After the fight scene, we see that there’s conflict between the warriors. Especially a one sided conflict between Awang and Mat Kilau. It’s pretty basic in a sense that Awang thinks he’s the best warrior to ever live when everyone’s eyes were already on Mat Kilau since the beginning. So it makes sense that he has that sort of animosity and jealousy towards Mat Kilau and all the attention he’s getting.

The movie progresses with a lot more characters introduced. We see which characters would be the bane of our existence and we see ones that really didn’t matter in the first place (like that Chinese merchant man that played as the British’s confidant and those old men that are the village heads). 

Annoying Characters Are What Makes A Movie Memorable

This is the part where I tell you that I despise the mere existence of Awang in this film.

You know in every movie there has to be a character that just can’t and won’t listen to anybody but themselves and in the end gets everyone killed? Well, that’s Awang for you. This little loser just had to go out of his way to “prove himself worthy” and in the middle of his self-titled mission got a whole bunch of people killed. 

And he wanted to fix that mistake he made by saying that they can take his life as repayment? Boy, please . You were reckless and your friends suffered the consequences of your actions. Do more than offer yourself as sacrifice. 

If there’s one thing that I took away from this movie is that there were a lot of them that were annoying and unnecessary to start off with.

The village heads and even the Sultan in the movie did absolutely nothing to help their people fight off the British army invasion. They just sat there in their brooding frowns and serious faces and talked bad about Mat Kilau (who was the only one that actually did help!). It’s actually amazing that a movie can have so many unlikeable characters and still make you pay attention to it.

Mat Kilau ni pun satu . Never have I seen such a trusting and well-meaning person. Sometimes his husnuzon behaviour (always thinking good of people) gets on my nerves. But he redeemed himself in the end when he gave into his anger and just full-on massacres the army. It’s very satisfying to see.

I’m not going to get into the British army soldiers and the leader of the gang, Captain Syers (played by Geoff Andre Feyaerts) because an overwhelming feeling of anger for that character just takes over my body and I feel like this review would just be a 10-page rant on how annoying that British man is. The guy that plays him isn’t even British. But kudos to him for being able to pull it off — even though the bleach dye was a dead giveaway. 

Another thing is that Captain Syers had help from someone that’s from Borneo named Toga (played by Yayan Ruhian) and there’s something weirdly homoerotic going on there because I don’t know anyone who would lay down their own life for just a singular person. A person that doesn’t care if you lived or died, in fact. But I have to admit, he was actually the most interesting character in the movie.

Worded Poetry Can Only Get You So Far

Moving on, the script could have used a little help though. All those flowery and poetic words just feels like a pep-talk before a big game. The characters are all very patriotic, that’s definitely something that’s not sugar coated at all. But sometimes, the words don’t hit as hard because they’re just said to make the viewers angry at certain characters. 

Like the British were given dialogues that either make your vein burst from clenching your jaw so hard in anger or they make you roll your eyes at every entry. It almost seemed comical how blatantly racist and ignorant their words are. 

The lines between the warriors, although said in a language that’s old and beautiful and filled with flowered poetry, sometimes lacks context and character. They’re just said very robotically and I feel like the only character that emotes well was Wahid — even though his dialogues are said in anger half of the time. 

This is definitely one movie that embodies “action speaks louder than words”, where we have a bunch of characters just brooding at each other throughout the whole two hours.

It’s also uncomfortably in your face about how patriotic they were. Is that alright to say? There were a lot of words like “ semangat Malayu ” thrown around but we’re not going to get into any of that. That seems like another article altogether.

This is also the part where I’m going to be completely honest and say that I don’t remember much of the movie. The parts that I do take away from it is that it has pretty good pacing and it doesn’t really dilly dally on one part of a scene for too long so it’s easy to watch. I’ve heard complaints of the movie being too fast-paced and gives the characters no room to grow but to me, it was alright. I like fast-paced films, it keeps me focused for the most part.

I do have complaints about the sound effects though. It’s so loud. And the exaggeration of the sound effects grates on my ears after a while. 

But overall, I’d give the movie a 7 out of 10.

I took points off of some plot holes, weird one liners and the ending but otherwise, I’d say this movie was pretty good. It’s a great movie to watch with family and to invoke a sense of pride and appreciation for your Malaysian heritage and the sacrifices your ancestors went through to make the country into what it is today. It also helps you learn history in a more… fun setting, I would say. 

There’s More To Come… Probably

So the movie ended in sort of like a cliffhanger. The bad guy got away while the good guys suffered injuries and deaths on their side of the fence. There wasn’t a definite ending, I would say. Definitely not an ending that people (read: me) are pleased with. It just leaves you hanging and forces you to make up your own conclusion. I don’t know, it just feels like there should be more to it than just death and cowardly escape plans, you know?

Or are they relating this to how real life actually is? That sometimes there’s just no happy ending at all and filled with cliffhangers. Who can really tell?

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, I’m sure it’ll be up on Netflix later this year or something. So there’s no need to feel any FOMO. A movie like this isn’t going to just fade away in time. There will also be sequels in the future, probably. 

Anyway, it was fun. That’s it. It’s not a movie that you’d take too seriously, in my opinion. It’s just a very good one to watch when you’re in a patriotic mood.

If you’re in for a more comedic Merdeka movie, we have another Malaysian hero that you might find more interesting:

[REVIEW] Badang: The Merdeka Movie No One Asked For

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Our review of the mat kilau movie.

By Asia Samachar |  Malaysia  |

All set to scramble to catch the movie Mat Kilau? Sikhs are keen to see how Sikh soldiers, working for the British, were portrayed in the action movie which is breaking grounds on collection count. The movie is making money. After 17 days, the collection is said to have crossed RM61 million. It has certainly turned into a local box-office phenomenon.

Take a breather. We went to watch ‘Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan’ to help you decide whether you want to part with your hard earned money.

The movie is pitched as a ‘film inspired by the epic Malaysian historical figure Mat Kilau who had fought against the British colonists in Pahang before independence.’

There is Mat Kilau, the Malay warrior who fought the British colonialists in the Malaysian state of Pahang. He was the son of Pahang chieftain Tok Gajah. And there is Mat Kilau the movie, a fictional presentation around the times of the Pahang uprising (1891-1895).

Let’s get the politics out of the way. There are two things at work when we try to understand the world surrounding Mat Kilau at that point of time. There is the rivalry between the Malay chiefs, and their anger with the British for snatching away their income. In her monograph on Pahang’s history, Prof Aruna Gopinath noted that the major threat which (Pahang ruler) Sultan Ahmad and his chiefs faced was the British establishment of the State Council in 1889.

“With the creation of the this institution, the individual powers and privileges of the Sultan and his chiefs were defined and regulated….Paradoxically Sultan Ahmad and his chiefs were affected by the new regulations passed with regards to two sensitive issues – slavery and forced labour. These had constituted an essential part of wealth in the traditional government for Sultan Ahmad and his chiefs, but the new laws were to act against their interests,” she writes in the monograph entitled ‘Pahang, 1880-1933: A Political History .’

So, it’s not all about yanking out the British. Self-preservation and self-interest is very much at work.

Now, back to the movie. Turbaned Sikhs were very visibly present throughout the movie. These were the British-employed policemen. How did they end up there? Here are two entries in the ‘Sikhs In Malaysia Series (Volume Two) – Highlights of A Century (1873-1973) ‘ by Malkiat Singh Lopo-Dhaliwal and Mukhtiar Kaur Rattian-Sandhu.

“1888: Sikhs from Selangor Police volunteered to follow Captain Cross to start a new force in Pahang. On reaching Singapore the party sailed to Pekan. In the following year the British Resident Mr Rodger established the Pahang Sikhs after recruiting more men from Selangor, Perak and Singapore. In this way Sikhs became the pioneers to start the police forces in Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Pahang. By 1892, there were 200 Sikhs in the Pahang Police.”

“1891. A detachment of 53 men from the Selangor Sikh Contingent, under Captain Syers, rendered their services in Pahang.”

The audience are quickly drawn in the thick of action. The movie begins with Captain Syers, accompanied by Sikh soldiers, rounding up a group of Malay villagers, looking for some rebel-rousers. It does not end well for the villagers. Some cold blooded shooting ensue.

The British officer comes across as arrogant, displaying haughty contempt of others. He describes the Malays as ‘ bangsa yang berpecah-belah, bangsa yang mudah dibeli ‘ (a divided race, easily bought). More on the scripting, later. He is made out to be almost a comical figure. Okay, you cannot mistake enemy number one!

One of the Punjabi-Sikh soldiers speaks Malay, and is pretty good at it, too. Nothing like the Punjabi kid in the Upin & Ipin series who speaks funny Malay, mimicking the ways how some Sikhs used to speak in pre-Merdeka days. Syers sidekick is a Chinese taukey. He, too, speaks fluent Malay.

But there’s a huge problem with the scripting. Many a time, it ends up sounding like a school play. There is too much of in-your-face preaching of Malay unity and Islam. “ Di mana ketuanan orang Melayu di mata British ?” asks one of the chieftains at a meeting. Nothing wrong with wanting to push the Malay agenda. But do it more gracefully. It should weave effortlessly in and out of the dialogues, not pushed down your throat. When writing, remember this dictum: show, don’t tell.

Take the scene when Mat Kilau is talking to wife and kid. They are about to go separate ways for a while due to the intense situation. Behind them is a waterfall, a beautiful scenery. But the dialogue falls flat, and the acting is miserable. All through the movie, they tried to deliver Yoda-like lines, but failed.

When it came to the brutal murder of a very pregnant woman, is it possible they had confused British harshness with the Japanese brutality in Malaya during World War 2? Perhaps the producers took liberty of the creative license. No one is suggesting the British are do-gooders, not capable of harm. Sikhs recall the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in 1919. In 2019, British Prime Minister Theresa May described it as a ‘shameful scar on British Indian history’. [Year corrected].

So, is there an issue with the way the Sikh soldiers were represented? These were soldiers, not civilians. You give the movie producers the bandwidth to portray them a little bit on the ruthless side. Despite the intense fighting, with some fierce silat moves, their turbans stayed in tact. Bravo!

In real life, though, there is little documented proof that Sikh soldiers were barbaric.

When preparing his book years ago, Malkiat had combed reams and reams of material. Did he find anything to the opposite? “I have never came across a news report or complaint of Sikhs being brutal to the public. They were helpful, they helped the poor, they were the trusted by the community,” Malkiat told Asia Samachar .

So, if you have nothing really to do, then go and enjoy this Malay flick. Otherwise, keep drilling into your Netflix or whatever other platforms you have at your disposal.

RELATED STORY:

Action film Mat Kilau can promote hatred towards minorities, says Sikh organisations ( Asia Samachar,  9 July 2022)

ASIA SAMACHAR is an  online newspaper  for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. Facebook  | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: [email protected] |  Twitter  |  Instagram  | Obituary announcements, click  here

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FILM REVIEW: MAT KILAU KEBANGKITAN PAHLAWAN.

Who is Mat Kilau?

Synopsis of Film Mat Kilau : Kebangkitan Pahlawan.

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Mat Kilau – Kebangkitan Pahlawan (2022) Review

At the time of writing, Syamsul Yusof’s highly-anticipated Mat Kilau – Kebangkitan Pahlawan a.k.a. Mat Kilau has already made RM7 million in just three days since its Thursday opening on June 23. Having finally managed to watch the movie in the cinema over the weekend (it was almost full house even for the morning showtime), I was curious to see Syamsul Yusof’s first stint directing a historical genre loosely based on the eponymous Malay warrior who famously fought against the British colonists in Pahang during the late 19th century.

In this dramatic re-telling credited to co-writers Shahruddin Dali and Syamsul Yusof, the story is pretty much straightforward. To sum it up, it’s all about Mat Kilau (Dato’ Adi Putra) and his fellow warriors (Beto Kusyairy’s Wahid, Fattah Amin’s Awang and Johan As’ari’s Yassin) uniting to fight against the British army led by the ruthless Captain Syers (Geoff Andre Feyaerts), who has exploited the locals in their Pahang homeland long enough. There are conflicts involved, mainly between Mat Kilau and Awang, who don’t see eye to eye on how things are done.

Syamsul Yusof isn’t interested to delve deep into Mat Kilau’s life story, where he eschews the biopic details in favour of focusing solely on the titular warrior’s battle against the British army. In other words, it’s more of a fast-paced action-packed drama from start to finish. With lots of killing, violence, explosion and of course, pencak silat sequences.

The latter sees Syamsul continues to embrace fast shutter speeds with herky-jerky camera work and frantic editing similar to the ones seen in his first two KL Gangster . Such a visual approach is meant to evoke a heightened sense of chaotic and dramatic effects. The fights are both brutal and visceral and some of the elaborate martial arts choreography is worth mentioning here, notably the climactic duel between Mat Kilau and Wahid against the hired British assassin, Toga (Yahya Ruhian). But I kind of wish that Syamsul would pull back his camera more often to allow us to appreciate the beauty of the choreography. Other times, the dizzying camera work makes it hard to decipher what’s going on during the fight, particularly during the nighttime scene.

Back to the story, the movie is unabashedly operatic that (most) characters tend to shout their lines. Lots of battle cries and recurring dialogues involved how Malays are being constantly oppressed and looked down upon and they have to stand up to fight against the British. I get that the movie is trying to deliver a clear-cut message about patriotism and defending honour. But is it really that necessary to keep repeating such dialogues again and again throughout the movie?

The acting, in the meantime, is a mixed bag. Dato’ Adi Putra’s no-nonsense portrayal in his lead role as Mat Kilau does have his moments. But it’s kind of odd that his co-star, Beto Kusyairy steals most of the show with his engaging performance as Wahid. And the thing is, Wahid turns out to be a fictional character created specifically for the movie. Here, Wahid’s character arc is surprisingly given a significant emotional stake that I care more about him than Mat Kilau, who is supposed to be the main focus in the movie.

As for the rest, Fattah Amin and Johan As’ari deliver respectively solid supporting turns as Awang and Yassin. Geoff Andre Feyaerts’s scenery-chewing antagonist role as Captain Syers is rather a letdown and so does his unconvincing British accent. By comparison, Yahya Ruhian’s Toga fares better in his role as a vicious assassin.

Over the course of the movie’s nearly two-hour length, I can’t help but notice the sound effects are cranked up way too high and some of the costume designs, notably Captain Syers’ red army uniform look too distracting.

Interestingly enough, the filmmaking journey of Mat Kilau isn’t smooth sailing, to begin with. It was first announced in 2007 but the shooting only commenced in 2014 when it hits a snag with the studio (Studio Kembara) replacing its original director with Syamsul Yusof. But instead of picking up where the production has left off, Syamsul decided to start anew and reshoot the movie in 2017.

Despite some of its shortcomings, Mat Kilau remains an entertaining historical drama with enough action to keep you occupied throughout the movie.

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2022 ‘Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan’ Directed by Syamsul Yusof

The rise of a Malay warrior named Mat Kilau and his friends against the British colonialists who came to Pahang in 1892. The greed of British officials and policies, which have imposed excessive taxes, confiscated land belonging to the Malays to reap the treasures of Pahang and disrupted the Islamic way in Pahang has caused dissatisfaction among the rulers and the Malays. The patriotic spirit of Mat Kilau and his friends who rose up against British violence had caused Captain Syers to launch an attack on Mat Kilau. Witness the heroic spirit of Mat Kilau, Tok Gajah and Mat Kilau's best friends use their wisdom to fight in the jungle against the British soldiers. Did Mat Kilau and his friends succeed in driving out the barbaric and greedy British army to reap gold and tin in Pahang?

Adi Putra Beto Kusyairy Fattah Amin Johan As'ari Ali Karimi Yayan Ruhian Geoff Andre Feyaerts Wan Hanafi Su Khir Rahman Farid Amirul A. Galak Zarina Zainoordin Farah Ahmad Jalaluddin Hassan Dato' Rahim Razali Namron Shaharuddin Thamby Ellie Suriaty Mubarak Majid Harith Haziq Mark Gregory David Abraham

Director Director

Syamsul Yusof

Producers Producers

Shahruddin Dali Abdul Rahman Dali

Writers Writers

Shahruddin Dali Syamsul Yusof

Editor Editor

Cinematography cinematography.

Rahimi Maidin

Composer Composer

Santosh Logandran

Studio Kembara Skop Productions Sdn. Bhd.

Releases by Date

23 jun 2022, 31 aug 2022, 16 sep 2022, releases by country.

• Digital 16 Netflix
• Theatrical 13+
• Theatrical P13

Netherlands

• Theatrical PG13
• Digital 15 Netflix

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Popular reviews

Review by Amir Daniel ★ 2

bising nak mati

Review by Syaheeda ★★★

Quite a loss this film does not highlight the beauty of Pahang and its people. That's the first thing I hope for in this movie. I have to praise Syamsul Yusof's attempt. But the Islamization of a historical character continues to throw away our special Malay culture and it is very disappointing.

I understand the sentiment that the director brings. But I will not necessarily be attracted to that sentiment. The overly preachy dialogue writing from Mat Kilau’s character, Toga all the way to Byers spoils this storyline. Malay cinema needs to learn the importance of "silence" in character. Not everyone needs to talk to convey a feeling.

For me, Syamsul Yusof chose the safe path to make this film…

Review by rajaadam ½ 2

Ok we get it you’re all melayu, palawan melayu and faith in religion is the strongest weapon we can have in battle you do not need to SCREAM IT OUT LOUD EVERY 4 scenes

Review by Eddie The Plankton ★½ 1

Malaysia Cinema Watch #4

Pros: • Brilliantly choreographed fight sequences. • Excellent acting especially from Beto Kusyairi, who gave one of the most nuanced performance I've seen in a long while.

Cons: • Convulated plot that is further pulled down by its overly preachy tone. • Unbearably obnoxious and unnecessarily loud sound design throughout the movie. • The constant shaky camera made me nauseous. • Fight sequences sometimes went on for way too long that it drowns the story. • The non-existent ending is the cherry on top for me.

To summarize the whole film, it's kinda like the shittier version of RRR (2022) but with no songs and a little sprinkle of religious preach every 5 seconds.

Review by qream ★★

kenapa perut si rokiah tu sampai ke dada 😭

Review by Hilmy ★★

Could appreciate it more if it wasn't edited like a kl gangster movie. Also the sound design guy should be fired.

Review by Ariff Ismael ★★

Imust confess that the first 5 minutes is one the best scenes in it. They keep on giving and i admit i cant even breath, kudos to that. If only the momentum stays throughout the whole film. Im a big fan of silat and i can say the fight choreography doesn't dissapoint me, but the camera work did, BIG ISSUE. Im totally okay if they want to implement the 'shaky camera' technique, but it was overdone. I cant fully enjoy the fight and sometimes i felt dizzy watching it. At one time i didn't even know what's happening and who's fighting at that exact moment. The next issue i had is the repetitiveness especially in the dialog. The idea of…

Review by nabila ½ 1

Everything about this was annoying pretentious n highly stereotyped I literally stopped gaf after 30 mins of watching plus fighting scenes made me dizzy n the sound is just shitty. Editing lvl bohemian rhapsody

A good attempt but just sad that this is the standard that we put onto local films cause we can do better than this I think

Review by g0ldrv5h ★★

editor: so how many sound effect do you want for mat kilau? 

syamsul yusof : yes

Review by Ed Küpfer ★★

British imperialists wreak havoc in 1890s Malay, the titular warrior tries to get his fellow citizens to rise up in rebellion. For me, bad movies in English are much more difficult to sit through, because bad dialogue that I can understand is painful to hear—shitty dialogue in other languages is normally much easier to tolerate. This movie is the exception that tests that rule: usually bad dialogue is awkward and cringy, but in this movie the dialogue is bombastic and monotonous. Nobody in this movie talks, they speechify; literally every line is religious platitude or nationalistic sloganeering. It's an endless barrage of this shit. There are no characters, there are just socratic archetypes arguing for one position or another. It's…

Review by lymphaticsewage ★★

Perasan je…orang melayu kaitan dengan islam bukan selama selamanya dalam sejarah kita. Silat was not always tied to islam, acting like agama kita is our one and only asset and strength is hurtful and preachy. I know the muslims got off to this, hell me and my family liked it but some subtlety and silence would have been appreciated. Syamsul Yusof has always been explicit with his themes but the violence against women and children in his films to push up his male characters feels like they’re just props. Isteri Wahid was right. She died because of him, it was selfish of him but that was all overlooked because they wanted to make him seem noble.

Review by LaresPares ★★

Actionfilm über den Kampf malaiischer Dorfbewohner gegen britische Besatzungsmächte,Neu auf Netflix.

Überragende Martial Arts-Choreographien, auch wenn die Soundeffekte und die Shaky Cam oftmals drüber sind, werden leider von schwülstigem, oft fundamentalistisch religiösem und plump patriotischem Dauergeschwafel und -geschrei und schwachem Schauspiel unterbrochen. Zudem basiert dies auf historischen Ereignissen aber auch abgesehen von Dörfern voller Stuntmen stimmt hier historisch (vermutlich) überhaupt nichts. So sind auch einfach alle britischen Soldaten mit indischen Darstellern besetzt, wahrscheinlich aus Budgetgründen und damit die Kampfszenen besser umgesetzt werden konnten. Ziemlich lachhaft.

"Mat Kilau" macht stellenweise wahnsinnig Spaß, aber so viel Hirn ausschalten, um den Rest zu ertragen, geht gar nicht. Daher am Ende komplett unentschlossene zwei Sterne und keine Empfehlung. Bei Spaß am Subgenre einfach auf das Best of der MA-Szenen bei Youtube warten.

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Mat Kilau - Kebangkitan Pahlawan [Movie Review]

Mat Kilau - Kebangkitan Pahlawan [Movie Review] | I am not a big fan of a biography movie, but that doesn't mean that I don't watch them. 

Why not a fan? I don't like crying while watching it as you know that incidents in the film are based on true event.

So, I was invited to watch Mat Kilau - Kebangkitan Pahlawan last Thursday at Starling Mall. Since it has been ages that I got invited to movie premieres, I quickly accepted the invitation. And of course I was excited to see a huge budget movie - how it fares in the hands of Syamsul Yusof as the Director. 

Mat Kilau - Kebangkitan Pahlawan (2022) Trivia  

• Starring: Ady Putra , Beto Kusyairy , Fattah Amin , Johan As'ari , Rahim Razali , Nam Ron , A. Galak , Wan Hanafi Su & Jalaluddin Hassan
• Directed by: Syamsul Yusof
• Production Companies: Kembara Studio, Skop Productions
• Release date: June 23, 2022
• Running time: 120 minutes
• Country: Malaysia
• Language: Bahasa Melayu
• The movie is inspired by Mat Kilau's resistance and not based entirely on facts .
• There were bumps since the idea conception, way back in 2017 when Syamsul first announced that he is interested in directing a biopic movie of a Malaysian historical figure. 
• In 2018, he announced the movie would revolved around Mat Kilau and started filming in April 2018, before stopped due to a few reasons.
• The filming continued later in 2018. In 2020, he announced that the filming is nearing the end.
• The filming completed in Feb 2021 but the release was postponed due to Covid. 
• The overall cost is RM8 million with 100 days of filming in Perak, Pahang, Melaka and Selangor.  

The movie starts with the British attacking a village, looking for three young men who were accused of rebelling against the British. When the group refused to disclose the whereabouts of the men, Captain Syers instructs the Gurkha army to kill everyone in sight, women and children included.  

This action worries the Malays - from the village people up until the royals. They decides that it is time for them to stand up against the British and agrees that the pupils of Tok Gajah should be considered to lead the resistance. 

Even siblings face the test of jealousy when one feels that he deserves better. So is the situation between Kilau, Awang, Wahid and Brahim, the pupils of Tok Gajah. When Kilau was elected to lead the resistance, Awang feels like he was being sidetracked as he thinks he is better than Kilau. 

He acts on his own and causes some trouble, not only to himself but to the community too. 

Meanwhile, Capt Syers sees his opportunity to continue driving the wedge among the Malays - it's like to continue pouring gas on an open fire. He continues to widening the unity gap among the people, and even have his own spies inside the community.

Some are pro-resistance whereas most are afraid for their lives and believe that if they keep to themselves, the British will not interfere with their daily lives. 

Tuan Haji Abdul Rahman Mt Dali, the Managing Director and Director of Kembara Studio shares his gratitude with the masses just as the premiere ended. 

He is especially grateful that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad attended the premiere, the takes it as a recognition for the movie. YB Senator Datuk Seri Hajah Zurainah Musa (FINAS Chairman) and YBhg Prof. Dr. Md Nasir Ibrahim (CEO of FINAS) were among present during the premiere. 

He hopes that Mat Kilau - Kebangkitan Pahlawan , that will start airing in local cinemas from June 23 onward, will be an added value to the local's film scene and will further enhances the industry player to keep on producing great quality films. 

Some famous quotes (not directly taken) from the movie:

Biarlah aku gugur mempertahankan hak daripada melihat tanahair aku dilapah penjajah: Wahid (I would rather die while protecting my land than letting it being colonized)

Salahkah bangsa kita sendiri kerana memberi ruang kepada mereka untuk jajah tanah kita ini: Usup (Is it wrong for us to let the British a little space, even if it means letting them colonizing us?)

Kalau kita tak ganggu mereka, mereka pun tak akan ganggu kita. Maka, janganlah kita ganggu mereka di bumi kita: Awang (They will leave us alone if we do not interfere with whatever they are doing)

Orang melayu mudah dibeli dan tidak bersatu: Syers (The Malays are easily swayed and not united)

How will Kilau manages his relationships with his Silat brothers? And how will Kilau bring the people together to rid off of the British?

Plot: 4.8/ 5.0 I am pleasantly surprised by the plot of Mat Kilau - Kebangkitan Pahlawan. It was compact and full of history pieces. 

And it is a straight to the point kind of movie. 

The scripts are great, character development is enough and the fighting sequence is flawless.

But if some dialogues were in Pahang dialect, it would be much authentic. 

Perhaps could enhance the camera works - too much camera movement during the fighting scenes makes me dizzy. Perhaps it was meant to make the movement seems 'fast and fatal' but it made me dizzy - it seems shaky. But perhaps it is just me. 

Another thing, but perhaps this is only me too, the costumes colours are perhaps too striking for that era.

Other than that, YOU SHOULD WATCH  this movie. You'll be proud of our history after watching it. 

Cast: 4.9/ 5.0 Great job to all actors. Even the supporting actors are great! Good job for casting the right actors!

Will I Watch It Again: Yes, I don't mind watching it again.

The pictures are taken from multiple s ources on the Internet. Thank you .

 #MatKilau #KebangkitanPahlawan #FilemMatKilau #Action #Drama #Adventure #RawlinsGLAM #RawlinsLifestyle  #MovieReviewbyRawlins

Posted by Rawlins GLAM

You may like these posts, post a comment, 11 comments.

Tak banyak filem macam ni. Tapi sebenarnya menarik cerita macam ni..yang pasti pelakon memang hebat2 semuanya

Heard many praises regarding this movie as well, makes me want to watch it myself too! 😁

Filem yang di nanti-nantikan semua... lagi dua hari ajaa.. Sis pun nak jugalah tonton di panggung...

cerita ini membangkitkan semangat terutama orang mudah bagaimana kepayahan orang dulu mempertahankan kedaulatan negara

Suka tengok cerita bersejarah macam ni. Nampak macam best je layan kat panggung ni

seem like a good movie kan. Can plan to bring my kids to watch together this weekend

This is a good movie with history value , with your rating of 4.8, definitely worth to check out. Thanks for sharing this. Cheers Siennylovesdrawing

Bagus cerita macam ni ditayangkan. Teringat balik sejarah dulu kan. Ramai kata best,haishh nak pergi tengok tapi takde teman

Dah tgk preview Mat Kilau mmg best giler, sedih bila tgk kita org Melayu dulu2 ditindas British, mmg patut bdk2 skrg tgk filem MAT Kilau

the director is great, the line up of actors is great, and the story line is even greater. definitely need to catch this at the cinema!

Banyak nama-nama besar dalam filem ni. No wonder, but then pengarahan Dan penghayatan watak tu sangat mainkan peranan

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Review on Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan (2022)

Mat Kilau : Kebangkitan Pahlawan / 2022

Director : Syamsul Yusof

Language : Malay

Genre : Action/Drama

Written by : Eswandy

The film was loosely inspired by the real historical figure, a Pahang-born Malay warrior named Mat Kilau who fought against British colonialists in the late 19th century. Directed by the successful young local director Syamsul Yusof, whose previous films KL Gangster and Munafik film franchise enjoyed extensive popularity and likings amongst audiences. These films of Syamsul had broken numerous local box office records and won him many prestigious awards in the local and international arena. For the record, before the release of Mat Kilau , Munafik 2 (2018) was the highest grossing local film with RM 48 million ticket collection leaving Hantu Kak Limah in second place. Today, five years after Munafik 2 ’s release, once again Syamsul has taken the Malaysian film industry by storm with his latest film Mat Kilau where by the time I’m writing this article, Mat Kilau has collected a staggering amount of RM 96 million from ticket selling and still going strong in Malaysia cinema. An unexpected achievement beyond the director’s imagination gave not just a lifeline and hope to our local film industries which suffered over the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic caused movement control orders (MCO), but most importantly, someone had might have found a perfect formula to draw greater number of audiences who before this have only been attracted towards films mainly from Hollywood such as those from Marvels , Fast and Furious creating a belief that Malay film is inferior and can not compete against other films. And as it happened, whether you like it or not, that guy that managed to put a stop to that myth was Syamsul Yusof. Although he always knew how to sell his films, his filmmaking technique had always been heavily criticised by professional film critics and normal audiences alike. So, with RM 96 million in collection, does it mean Mat Kilau is a ‘good movie’, an Oscar-worthy film to represent Malaysia in the academy awards next year? 

Aside from a “Malay” centric space where the characters of Mat Kilau lived in this film (which I kind of appreciate because it has been a long time since local films had this kind of national hero and propaganda sentiment where it has been pretty common in countries such as USA and China) along with the non-stop action sequences (which I believe to be the crowd-puller), Mat Kilau from my eyes is a film that the director somehow forgot to put a full stop. It feels rushed without a proper build-up in the storyline (like other Syamsul Yusof’s films; KL Gangster , Munafik ). Sometimes as an audience I felt like I was watching the Malaysian investigative so-called reality television series, 999 on TV3, with the overly shaky camera approach, the overuse of music and the fast-cut editing. It has also reminded me of Gerak Khas, the longest running local TV series produced by Skop Production which is also owned by the Syamsul Yusof family. Coincidence? Maybe yes.

The constant use of tight shots shrinks the world and space of Mat Kilau to look narrow. I believe that this is a wasted opportunity as the director failed to create and capture the landscape of Pahang, in particular Pulau Tawar, where Mat Kilau grew up and then fought bravely against the colonial rule to defend his land with blood, sweat, and tears alongside his friends. As a result, I refused to admit that this is a period film. In period films, scenery, landscape and setting besides costume are very important to signify the time of events that happens in the film which Mat Kilau failed to present. On top of that, I felt annoyed with how the actors communicated their dialogues, 80% of them are shouting. From another perspective, this might be Syamsul’s directorial trademark as what you can see from his other films, his characters are prone to shouting despite being sad or happy, let alone angry. He will definitely pump up the volume to even higher to maximise the impact. To add to the injury, the background music/soundtrack/sound effects that play constantly from the beginning to the end are not to my liking (I remember the horror movie Jwanita that also manages to annoy me with the ridiculous amount of background music that sometimes does not add to the atmosphere). Music should be placed at the right moment, according to the scene, emotion, and situation. These three elements, the shot, the style of dialogue, and also the music causes the world of Mat Kilau to become narrow and crowded, busy and messy. The world that Syamsul created is rather small and limited. Not to mention the editing, which does not represent the ‘Malay’ characteristics and architecture where this is supposed to be the main thing as this film is gratifying towards Malay culture. Of course, the content is indeed Malay but deep down the outer layer, the skin is still Hollywood. This also applies to the visual graphics of the opening and closing montage of Mat Kilau which I think does not suitable for the historical film and instead feels more like a fantasy film such as Harry Potter or Lord of The Rings , and from the local context, Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa . In terms of creative storytelling, there are things that I don’t like, especially in the 2nd act of the story where the main character Mat Kilau, who is played by Dato’ Adi Putra, in my opinion, has not been given the same challenge and treatment as to Wahid who played by Beto Khusyairi whose only the supporting character in the movie. Wahid in the story has to go through a lot of obstacles and challenges that made him the better character in Mat Kilau . Unfortunately, the character development of the main character Mat Kilau is absent. Other than his strength, Mat Kilau does not shine above Wahid. And that for me is the biggest weakness in Mat Kilau . In the film, the main character should be the main attraction, not the other way around.

However, I admit that Syamsul Yusof is very good at manipulating shock value in his films. He used that to trigger the local audience’s emotions which he has done in all of his films to date. Mat Kilau for example, the film begins with the scenes of British soldiers brutally executing a bunch of children to shock the audience right from the start. Similar techniques have been used by the director in his film KL Gangster , where a group of thugs are shown destroying a police car, an unlikely depiction in local films. In Munafik , Syamsul was critical of those abusing religion for personal benefits. A rape scene in Munafik by a character named Abuja depicts a fake religious leader who is a devil in disguise using religion for his exploits. Syamsul has however managed to include these sorts of scenes in his films. Syamsul is also good at using issues or appeals that are popular with the local Malay community. For example illegal street motor race ( rempit ), gangsterism, superstitions, and most recently in Mat Kilau , the ‘Malay’ persona, and because of this, many of his films are able to sell beyond millions of ringgit, following his father’s footsteps, the popular actor and director Dato’ Yusof Haslam who also dominated the local cinema in the ’90s.

Overall, I do agree that the existence of this Mat Kilau film in our local film industry is important since we have been devoid of a historical film for a long time even though this film has many flaws and is argued for its historical inaccuracies. The latest was Hanyut which was released in 2014 and was a commercial flop. Although I see this movie as more of an action film rather than a period film, where I put Mat Kilau under the same category as other movies, the popular example would be IP Man from Hong Kong and the latest phenomenon in India, RRR which leans more towards fiction. The multitude of people that celebrate Mat Kilau in the cinema comes from different age groups, backgrounds, and social economy has become proof that the Malay community still loves our local films. They are just waiting for the right film that is able to draw them to the cinema. Amid political struggle where race has always been a trump card for all parties, Syamsul is brave enough to carry the dream of the new production studio, Studio Kembara to give the Malay community the hero that they always wanted, Mat Kilau . Mat Kilau is what Rambo was meant for Hollywood, Yip Man for Chinese, Asoka for Indian and many others. To be honest, I feel grateful that I am alive to see the phenomenon where our local film runs amok in our cinemas where before this has always been dominated by Hollywood movies. Congratulations to the Mat Kilau team for a good marketing strategy. I finally see a shining light on the commercial value of Malay films to compete with foreign films. I also hope that this would become a starting point for better and good quality movies in the future. But then again, as we go back to the most important question, do I think that Mat Kilau is good enough to represent Malaysia in the Oscars like how Roh (year) , and Prebet Sapu (year) have represented us recently? I failed to see any logic in that idea. Besides the box office success, Mat Kilau is just an ordinary action movie that does not add anything new to the genre. 

*This article is written based on the reflection of the writer’s own personal view and expression towards the subject matter.

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16 thoughts we had while watching mat kilau.

Dept. of Bangsa dan Agama

1. First up, a quick PSA. We feel that it’s important to note that no actual bhais were harmed in the making of this movie. But in all seriousness, the imagery of Mat Kilau and his followers only fighting and killing Sikh soldiers is incredibly problematic given the piss poor state of our education system and the understanding we have of our past. There is a complex and nuanced history with regards to the Sikhs in Malaya and this movie’s two-dimensional and cartoonish take on it is both unfair and incredibly dangerous.

2. The most interesting experience we had at the cinema while watching this movie had nothing to do with the movie itself. We were sitting in the twin seats at the back row of Hall 5 at TGV 1 Utama when the lady next to us leaned over and asked Uma if he was there to watch Mat Kilau . He said “yes” and then proceeded to continue doomscrolling on his phone. A few seconds later, she leaned over again and said, rather apologetically: “Minta maaf ye, tapi you orang India kan? Why are you interested in watching this movie?” It was a fascinating exchange. And one that speaks volumes. The fact that this lady genuinely could not fathom that an Indian person would be at all interested in watching this movie speaks volumes about where we are as a society and as a nation.

3. Were British soldiers just killing Malay people for sport back in the 1890s? Is this why Mat Kilau was so pissed off?

4. #BangsaDanAgama #HidupMelayu

5. Do we learn anything about the inner lives of these freedom fighters? Do we know what their motivations are? Is there any character development at all in this movie? (The short answer is no.)

6. Why is the British Captain Syers speaking with a strangely Dutch sounding accent? (In fact, where did they find all of the low rent white actors in this movie? Changkat?)

7. Of course the only (only!) Chinese character in this rah-rah-Malay movie is a weaselly sniveling turncoat who will sell his services to the highest bidder. Which feels like exactly the kind of badly written cliche you’ll find in a movie like this.

8. #BangsaDanAgama #HidupMelayu

9. Hmph! Pregnant women are so unreasonably emotional. Why doesn’t Wahid’s wife understand that he is an important man who is doing important work in service of bangsa dan agama? Maybe she’ll get it once she’s brutalized and murdered by British soldiers and mercenaries. Yup. There you go. Now she understands.

10. Does Adi Putra ever blink?

11. How are Mat Kilau’s followers, who haven’t been trained in the use of guns and rifles, so proficient in the use of guns and rifles. I mean, there isn’t even a montage sequence where they learn how to use them.

12. #BangsaDanAgama #HidupMelayu

13. In a production that reportedly cost eight million ringgit, was no one asking why all the kampung folks had really clean clothes? It practically looks like a Hari Raya ad!

14. Does the movie insult our royal institutions? The last lines in this movie are incredibly subversive. After a climactic third act battle, Mat Kilau proclaims that it isn’t culture, or customs, or Sultans, that will save the Malay race, but rather their faith and adherence to the teachings of Islam. It’s a brave proclamation. More so given how treasonous it sounds.

15. What happened to Mat Kilau after that final battle? Why were there no title cards explaining why he allegedly faked his own death and disappeared for over 70 years? Now there’s a story that would make for a great movie.

16. #BangsaDanAgama #HidupMelayu

Click here to listen to our review of Mat Kilau on The Goggler Podcast. The movie is now showing in Malaysian Cinemas.

• Ali Karimie
• Khir Rahman
• Yayan Ruhian
• Wan Hanafi Su
• Rahim Razali
• Jalaluddin Hassan
• Syamsul Yusof
• Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan
• Beto Kusyairy
• Fattah Amin
• Johan As'ari
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• The film is inspired by the epic Malaysian historical figure Mat Kilau who had fought against the British colonists in Pahang before independence.
• The rise of a Malay warrior named Mat Kilau and his friends against the British colonialists who came to Pahang in 1892. The greed of British officials and policies, which have imposed excessive taxes, confiscated land belonging to the Malays to reap the treasures of Pahang and disrupted the Islamic way in Pahang has caused dissatisfaction among the rulers and the Malays. The patriotic spirit of Mat Kilau and his friends who rose up against British violence had caused Captain Syers to launch an attack on Mat Kilau. Witness the heroic spirit of Mat Kilau, Tok Gajah and Mat Kilau's best friends use their wisdom to fight in the jungle against the British soldiers. Did Mat Kilau and his friends succeed in driving out the barbaric and greedy British army to reap gold and tin in Pahang?

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