Sandi Kecil (Farell Akbar) is a member of the Preman, a group of Indonesian gangsters who claim to be motivated by seeking justice, but really just use this an excuse for their bullying tactics and violent behavior. Sandi got involved with the gang a long time ago, and it ultimately caused his marriage to collapse. As much as he would like to get out, he is now stuck in this way of life. Sandi has been deaf ever since a tragic accident when he was just a boy, but he has become very skilled in the art of Monkey Fist fighting, and using his homemade high-velocity flail—a ball tied to a string—which he wields with deadly force.

A wealthy businessman/politician, Mr. Hanoeng (David Saragih), has been trying to buy up all of the land in Cipaloh Village, and has enlisted the services of crime boss Pak Guru (Kiki Narendra), the new leader of the Preman, to help threaten and force the residents to sell or leave their homes. However, the former, ousted founder of the Preman, Pak Haji (Egy Fedly) steadfastly refuses to leave. This doesn’t sit well with Guru, who orders his men to eliminate the problem by any means necessary. When Sandi’s young son Pandu (Muzakki Ramdhan) witnesses something he shouldn’t have, he and his father go on the run for their lives. Sandi tries to get help from the police, but even the Komandan (Gilbert Pattiruhu) is afraid to go up against the Preman. So it’s up to Sandi to make a stand in order to protect his son, facing off against a sociopathic assassin sent to murder him, his former allies and gang members, and the evil crime boss he used to work for. Can this one man really take on this army all by himself?!

Preman: Silent Fury tells the story of one man facing the ghosts of his past, trying to correct a wrong from his childhood, while also trying to break away from a gang and his life of violence to give his son a better life. The film can go from being humorous one second, to all-out bloody and brutal the next. The Preman may be a viscous gang, but many of its members aren’t really the sharpest tools in the shed. Some of these include the overly-ambitious barbed wire bat-carrying Bang Bang (Emil Kusumo) who lets his desire for power cloud his judgement, the axe-wielding Dani Tejo (Didi Gondrong), and “Fatty” aka Paul (Paul Agusta), who has dreams of becoming the star of his own musical. At one point, Guru even angrily exclaims “One dead man, one little boy. You all really are an army of imbeciles.” One character (possibly my favorite of the film) who really epitomizes both of these tones is “The Barber” aka Ramon (Revaldo), a flamboyant, French-speaking assassin hired by Guru to hunt down Pandu and Sandi. Ramon is a hair stylist who moonlights as a skilled assassin, utilizing his scissors and other styling tools to murder his targets. Despite being a ruthless killer, Ramon also has manners and a proper way of doing things—he always talks about himself in the third person, and makes it known that Ramon doesn’t approve of cussing. Ramon is able to sweet talk his victims, luring them in with a sense of safety and calm before slicing their necks with his scissors.

Throughout the film, we get these odd flashbacks to Sandi as a child, and these strange glimpses of people in blue bunny and red fox furry costumes. While this initially feels bizarre and doesn’t appear to make any sense, the filmmakers do a nice job of bringing it all together by the end of the film in a way that not only makes everything clear, but also packs an emotional punch. We get a better sense of how Sandi ended up in the situation he is in, and why he wants to correct things. Despite the fact that Sandi doesn’t speak, Farell Akbar does an excellent job at conveying the emotion and pain this character is going through. The fight scenes are also action-packed and intense. Though the action sometimes feels a bit toned-down, and not as graphic as it could have been, cutting away for the more brutal parts. Each of the characters has their own unique weapon and fighting style, which adds some variety to the action. At times, the film plays out a little like Die Hard, with Sandi taking out the various named Preman one-by-one—though we also see him take on large numbers of more generic gang members all at once.

While I quite enjoyed the film overall, there were also some moments that didn’t really work, or felt a bit dated in today’s world. One of these is a long scene with Bang Bang harassing Ramon, calling him Sherlock Homo, pantomiming him sucking a dick, and saying all kinds of other slurs about him being gay. There’s also a really odd scene where, out of nowhere, Bang Bang and Fatty have a frank conversation about erectile dysfunction (though, maybe this is the real reason why Bang Bang was harassing Ramon).

Well Go’s Blu-ray release includes both the original Indonesian audio as well as an English dub. I usually try the English dub first on these foreign Well Go releases as it allows me to more fully enjoy the visuals of the film rather than concentrating on reading the bottom of the screen. I was pleased by the English track, which was well-performed and sounded quite natural. The audio track makes excellent use of the stereo and surround channels to put the viewer into the action and provide a more immersive experience, whether it’s the chaos of an all-out brawl, or the ambiance of a storm or bustling factory, or the film’s score filling the room. The track also occasionally muffles and drowns out the dialogue to allow the viewer to experience things from Sandi’s perspective. The video presentation is also very good, remaining clear and detailed throughout. There are some scenes with a more hazy look, but this felt more like an aesthetic choice rather than a limitation of the presentation. The film features some creative camera work, playing with speeding up and slowing down the camera for some fight scenes, or shrinking and expanding the aspect ratio.

Like many other Well Go Blu-ray release, this is pretty much barebones, only including the film’s trailer, along with some previews for three other Well Go releases. The disc comes packed in a locking HD keepcase, and doesn’t include a digital copy. Our review copy included a glossy, slightly embossed slipcover.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:31:41)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: Indonesian DTS-HDMA 5.1, Indonesian Stereo, English DTS-HDMA 5.1, English Stereo
• Subtitles: English

Extras:
All remaining trailers play back-to-back after starting playback for one item.

• Trailer (2:30)
• Previews
  • Baby Assassins (2:10)
  • Ip Man: The Awakening (1:34)
  • Death Knot (2:10)

Final Thoughts:

Preman: Silent Fury is an entertaining, action-packed drama about one man trying to protect his son and get away from a dangerous gang, while also coming to terms with demons from his past. In the process, our deaf hero comes up against a variety of quirky and sometimes humorous foes, though the humor doesn’t lessen the danger, or change the fact that they can be vicious and brutal. The Blu-ray presentation looks and sounds great, but the disc lacks any bonus material. The release comes recommended based on the quality and entertainment value of the film itself.

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