[Review XN] Film 25: STUBER

"So, how do you know my dad?"

"He kidnapped me. We killed some people. "

I have several times stated, "going to the movies without carrying expectations and it turns out that the film being watched is very pleasant is the best surprise that can be received by film lovers." This year - or better I narrowed down to summer vacation in Uncle Sam's country - I found some sweet surprises that make the heart more and more proud every step of the foot into the cinema. First from Aladdin who turned out to be tumultuous, then Crawl who apparently was not a cheap horror with his ability to give a high enough power, and the most recent was Stuber, who at first I was lyrics solely because it was starring by Indonesia's proud action actor, Iko Uwais. Never more. But as with the two other titles that I have mentioned, Stuber makes me feel bad. It is true that the film directed by Michael Dowse (Take Me Home Tonight, Goon) which is in the realm of this action comedy has a very formalized tangle of narration. You can immediately remember a series of shows with a buddy cop movie concept such as Lethal Weapon (1987), Bad Boys (1995), Rush Hour (1998), until 21 Jump Street (2012). Which then makes it (very) can be enjoyed is the casting team's clamor in choosing players.

Yes, juxtaposing Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) who has great comic timing with Dave Bautista (Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy) who gave an intimidating impression was the most appropriate decision made by Stuber. They present life chemistry that makes the 93 minute ride on Uber feel exciting. But, wait wait ... why should it be Uber? There is no special reason besides, well, this film puts a Uber driver as the main character named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani). Following on the buddy cop movie formula, he is the implementation of a "little kid" with a cheerful mouth with perfunctory fighting skills. Stu himself has no background as a law enforcement officer. During normal working hours, he earns a fortune from a furniture store. While in his spare time, he supplemented his income by driving an online taxi under the auspices of Uber. Stu's association with the criminal world is synonymous with "illicit goods", gunfire, until the speeding starts after he receives a request to hitch a ride from Vic (Dave Bautista). His blurred vision made the Los Angeles police force forced to "hold hostage" Stu to take him to apprehend the supplier of illegal drugs, Tedjo (Iko Uwais), who had a past with Vic.

Inevitably, Stu was involved in a hunting mission run by Vic. Since the day was very bad where every passenger gave him a score below 5 stars (a nightmare for ojol!), Stu could not help but comply with Vic's requests in the hope that he would give him a perfect score. Since these two characters have opposite characteristics - Stu tends to be celestial while Vic is always on the same side - and their world is very different, so it can be guessed, friction for friction continues to color throughout the journey. They argued with each other, blamed each other, to one another thumping in one of the funniest and most hilarious fight scenes this year. Although there are times when Dowse also provides viewers with a number of action scenes, some of which are exciting, such as the opening scene in the form of an ambush in a hotel which is a venue for Dave Bautista's reunion with Karen Gillan (Nebula in the Guardians of the Galaxy) or shooting in the hospital animals that are fairly brutal, small commotion that accompanies the interaction between Stu and Vic is the main selling put forward by Stuber. For me, the film does show the power it has here when the director turns on the "comedy mode" which means listening to Stu's complaints and Vic's moans and occasionally making comments about toxic masculinity that can be delivered unexpectedly.

Well, Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista agreed to Dowse's request. They formed life chemistry as an unimaginable duo that could be compact in working together. Kumail often blurted out about his inability to face the rigors of the world of law enforcement, while Dave who was described as a tough man was reluctant to compromise because his goal was only one: conquering Tedjo. The excellent performance of the two actors where Nanjiani also had the opportunity to show off in the action scenes and Bautista occasionally joked (well, the police on duty with blurred vision clearly had the potential for humor, right?), Compensating for Stuber's weakness in the scripting sector which tends to be thin and thin the unwise decision to give rations appeared as little as Iko Uwais. Judging by its position as the main villain, I was surprised at how wasted Iko's presence in the film was. Not only rarely speak dialogue, his expertise in fighting was not highlighted. When Vic finally met Tedjo again, I thought there would be a big fight going on. But apparently, the scale is no bigger than a fight in a furniture store nuanced comedic. It's a disappointment, but (again) thanks to the cool performance of the main duo, I can forgive him. At the very least, I still found a lot of fun when watching Stuber whose narration made me feel nostalgic about this buddy cop movie in the 80-90 era.

Exceeds Expectations (3.5 / 5)