The Gutter’s own Carol watches Upi’s Sri Asih: The Warrior at Fantastic Fest and thought it was a fun time! “We are awash in superhero movies now. They make up most of the action movies in theaters and while the digital effects are state-of-the-art, the action is, well, often bland and repetitive. I prefer good fights and shaky effects to current state-of-the-art digital effects and listless action, because effects always age, but a good fight is a good fight forever. Sri Asih‘s Alana is a champion of underground Mixed Martial Arts. Pevita Pearce is absolutely believable in these fights. The action is choreographed thoughtfully and a pleasure to watch before and after Alana gains her full powers. There’s even a fun fight scene that didn’t involve Sri Asih, but rather her friends Tangguh (Jefri Nichol) and Kala (Dimas Anggara) trying to rescue a whole housing complex worth of people who were about to be exploded by the villain. Tangguh and Kala’s fighting style seemed so familiar to me and then I saw in the end credits, the action choreography was by the Uwais Team, founded by Iko Uwais (The Raid).”

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