Iko Uwais looks like an Indonesian Daniel-san, especially with his hairdo, but that's where the comparison stops. The filmmakers are smart enough to maximize the natural environment as a setting, from the terraced farms in the tropics to the gritty alleys of Jakarta. It's very colorful and lush. The film starts slowly and somewhat stereotypically, but hang with it. It builds nicely with the intensity of the fight scenes and delivers some great the climactic ass-kickings.

Iko rocks. He's got moves like Tony Jaa, albeit not so aerial, which of course means he echoes Jackie too. Like Jaa, he also has a country-boy sensibility that gives him an earnest feel, if not a little amateur, but it's really all about the fights, not the acting. There are some awesome stunts and some beautiful one-long-extended-shot fights.

The story takes a few unexpected turns, nothing totally mindblowing, but satisfactory, just enough to step outside the mold a bit. The filmmaking is good - definitely a cut above the standard martial arts film fare - some nice cinematography and composition - much nicer than the B-films so prevalent in the bulk of the genre.

But it's really about Iko's choreography. He's the new young turk to watch in martial arts films. Silat is an exciting style for film that blends some kung fu sensibilities with other Pac Rim styles like Muay Thai and Kali. I don't even know how to properly pronounce Iko Uwais yet, but I will soon.

His next project is Berandal. I very much look forward to it.