Foxtrot Six

I am an old school action fan of films from the 80´s and 90´s. There were so many good action films made during these years, and i could easily mention at least 20 titles that you have to see. But the thing is that after the year of 2000, and up until 2010, there were just a few really good action films released. Why is that ? To be honest i think that the action genre was in a crisis, with very few director´s who dared to make action films just like the old days, and focused too much on CGI effects. But all of that was about to change in the year of 2011, when director Gareth Evans brought us the fantastic Indonesian martial arts action film The Raid: Redemption. Now this is what i call a real action film. This might be one of the most violent films in modern day cinema, and there are so many fantastic martial art scenes to enjoy. Martial arts actor Iko Uwais proved that he is one of the best in making martial art action scenes, and he must have hurt himself a lot during the filming of The Raid. Some of the fighting choreography is so well made, that i guarantee you will be impressed. If you have not seen The Raid: Redemption, you should be ashamed of yourself. This is a film that you have to see, because this film shows you how you make a film look beautiful. 3 years later Uko Uwai returned with the sequel The Raid 2, and i have to say that this is a worthy sequel. Director Gary Evans returned to direct this sequel, and he managed to deliver another delightful action feast for everyone to enjoy. There are plenty of fighting scenes in The Raid 2 that look so good, that you will be applauding infront of the TV. If you think of other Indonesian films, there are some other great choices as well to check out. One of the titles that came to my mind is the 2012 Indoniesian horror film Modus Anomali ( also known as Ritual ). My advice is that you know as little as possible about this film, because that´s the best way to experience this film. This film is directed by Joko Anwar, who clearly wanted to give us a horror film that stood out from the ordinary releases. Earlier this year, i was hearing some positive reviews on an Indonesian action film called Foxtrot Six. A film that takes Place in the future, and includes martial arts, lots of guns, i just had to check this film out. Is this the best action film of this year, or is Foxtrot Six as forgettable as Victoria Beckham´s solo album back in 2001 ?

The world is suffering from overpopulation and have pushed the global food supply to the breaking point. In Indonesia, one of the few fertile regions left, the Piranas Party have used this to rise in power. But as things gets worse a rebel group known as The Reform has risen up. Angga ( Oka Antara ) an ex-special forces officer turned politician is captured by the rebels. It turns out that The Rebels are led by his presumed dead ex Sari ( Julie Estelle ). He also finds out that he have a daughter. Angga joins The Rebels and will do what it takes to help them. He put together his old team, Oggi ( Verdi Solaiman ), the slightly psycho Bara ( Rio Dewante ), Tino ( Arifin Putra ), hacker Ethan ( Mike Lewis ) and sniper Spec ( Chikko Jerikho ). When an operation goes wrong, Wisnu ( Edward Akbar ) and his soldiers threaten to kill his whole family. Angga have no other option, he and his team must infiltrate the government´s stronghold.

Have you been waiting for an action film that does not focus on acting, and rely more on great looking action scenes, including some nice fighting scenes as well ? Then i have some good news for you. Foxtrot Six is the film that will scare all the Sex And The City fans away, and make old school action fans feel like they have come home. This is an action feast that is clearly made of passion, for the action films we grew up to love. To be honest, in a film like this, you don´t really care about the acting. Because it is the action scenes that matters, and i have to say that this is a film in my taste. But let´s get into the characters that i do enjoy for a bit. Let us begin with the evil character Wisnu, played by actor Edward Akbar. Since there are not many strong villain characters in action films these days, i have to say that Edward surprised me with his character Wisnu. He is heartless, rough and do not give a shit about how many people will die. And as a villain in an action film like this, i have to say he did a really good job portraying such an asshole. The next character that comes to my mind is Spec, played by Chicco Jerikho. The thing about Spec is that he is not a big talker, but he will kick ass. And this is one of the reasons why i enjoy this character, because Spec is not here to be friendly, he just wants to empty his ammo and let the bullets talk instead. Oka Antara in the lead role as Angga, is actually not that bad either. One of the things that i appreciate with Foxtrot Six, is that this film is trying to combine martial arts with futuristic action. Everything may not be perfect, but i do enjoy the production of this film. The only negative i can say really, is that this film might be a bit too long, landing at almost 2 hours. Other than that, i have to say that Foxtrot Six gives hope, that we can still get films like this one made in the future. Director Randy Korompis have made his first full feature directorial debut film in a surprisingly good way. If he keeps doing more action films like this one, i know we will get something really special in the future. Foxtrot Six may turn out to be one of the better action films this year. I suggest you pick it up on DVD or Blu Ray and show your support to everyone who is involved in making this film, that we appreciate all the hard work they did to make this film become reality.

Rating: DDD