[Review XN] WARKOP DKI REBORN (2019)

"This is our chance. We have to fight like ... Puputan War! "

Falcon Pictures' efforts to pay tribute to the legendary comedy group, Warkop DKI (Dono Casino Indro), in the form of a Spanish film titled Warkop DKI Reborn: Jangkrik Boss (2016-2017) drew responses that were considered divisive from the public. Many are entertained by him, but not a few are criticizing him. Behind all the pros and cons that accompany it, the production house itself smiled with excitement because this two-part film contributed to the formation of history: Indonesian films most watched all the time. In fact, this financial success led to the birth of a new trend in the country's film industry to "revive" the legend of cinema. What a sweet victory for Falcon Pictures, right? Given how enthusiastic the audience's response to the film directed by Anggy Umbara is, naturally it would be natural if they then gave the green light for the filmmaking to be continued or in other words, the third volume. In an effort to comply with the initial vision and mission when deciding to work on the series of Warkop DKI Reborn series, which is not replacing but preserving, then a massive overhaul in the ranks of the crew and the players was held. There is no longer a trio of Abimana Aryasatya-Vino G Bastian-Tora Sudiro, neither is Anggy. Instead, Rako Prijanto (Friends But Married, If You're Happy) was recruited as a director while the trio Aliando Syarief-Duke Dolken-Randy Danistha commanded the acting department. Which then becomes the question is, whether the decision to do this reshuffle will give a positive or negative impact on the franchise?

In the latest volume of Warkop DKI Reborn - no frills and subtitle figures - the trio of Dono (Aliando Syarief), Casino (Adipati Dolken), and Indro (Randy Danistha) no longer work as security officers in the CHIPS organization. Now, they are radio broadcasters whose types of stations and shows they have never specifically explained. Although their profession no longer intersects with law enforcement missions, the three of them are still dragged into one complicated criminal case when Commander Cok (Indro Warkop) recruits them as secret police agents. The main task that this trio must solve is money laundering in the Indonesian film industry. In order to thoroughly resolve the issue, Dono, Casino, and Indro were also prepared as film players. They are trying to get involved in a film project prepared by a production house owned by Amir Muka (Ganindra Bimo) who is said to have been implicated in a money laundry case. After going through quite a winding journey as extras, they then get an offer to become the main player side by side with a rising star, Inka (Salshabilla Adriani). For a moment, the trio felt that they were getting closer to the evidence that could get Amir to jail. But when they let their guard down and underestimated Amir's ability, even bigger problems confronted. They suddenly woke up in Morocco, in the middle of the desert desert. In an effort to find their way home, the DKI Warkop group met a local resident named Aisyah (Aurora Ribero) who asked for their help to save her village that was being threatened.

Compared to its predecessor volumes, Warkop DKI Reborn actually has more biting storytelling material. Dive into the dark side of the Indonesian film industry where money laundering is indeed common. Interestingly again, the filmmaker helped to utilize references from popular films to provoke audience boisterous laughter. The moment in which the Warkop DKI Reborn paroded to the Devotees of Satan, the Earth of Humans, to the title of Verses 2 of Love is one of the best parts of this volume. I chuckled, so did the other audience members. During the first half, I still believed that Rako could create the same insanity as the version of Anggy that I actually liked. Moreover, the performance of the main players ranks in the same class as their predecessors. Aliando who even though sometimes seems difficult to say dialogue because of wearing false teeth, is the most valuable asset owned by the film. He incarnated like the late Dono when he acted and when he said to the point that the audience next to me blurted, "eh, is that really Aliando? It can be different. Really makes you look away. ”Randy Danistha, who resembled Indro more than Tora Sudiro, appeared safe and comfortable, while Duke Dolken, who had not completely removed the bad boy image he carried, needed a long time to completely dissolve with the Casino character. The turning point of the play was when the film decided to leave Jakarta, then tossed the characters away to Morocco in order to give the impression "this is an expensive film, you know".

Besides the neat acting of the trio of main players, unfortunately there is almost nothing more to be proud of from Warkop DKI Reborn. Starting convincingly, the film slowly but surely begins to lose its allure when the absurd barrage of humor it launches repeatedly misses its target. Indeed, there are still funny things, like the parody I have mentioned above and the use of Arabic which is eccentric. But considering that this 100 minute film is less likely to set foot in the comedy genre - plus, the main character is a humorous legend in Indonesian cinema - then of course two or three hilarious moments are not enough. The audience needs more. The decision to apply sound effects for the sake of creating funny sounds and jokes with sensual connotations like Warkop DKI films in the Soraya Intercine Films era also only made things worse. Sadly again, the filmmaker did a repeat of these types of humor to the point that I finally said, "I'm tired of all this." When the line of jokes almost no one worked, the fabric of the narrative also failed to fulfill its potential. The intrigue about money laundering is simply ignored in the middle of the duration in order to bring the film into a more bombastic direction whose appearance actually makes the forehead wince: a battle in Morocco. I understand, this plot is intended to make the narration look complex so that the film has good reason to invite the players to sing with the lyrics saying, "ahaaayyy ... the film is divided in two, the film is divided in two ...", at the end of the duration. However, why does it have to be divided into two parts? Why not create a new volume with an entirely new narrative? As an audience, honestly, I feel less comfortable. Moreover, the narrative offered by Rako together with Anggoro Saronto was not enough to make the heart moved to witness the sequel. All I want is a solution, not a feeling of being hung like this. Kzl.

Acceptable (2.5 / 5)