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New Straits Times
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Futuristic adventures of a brave, 'unloved' boy hero
MALAYSIA'S animated superkid Ejen Ali is back for another explosive science-fiction adventure on the silver screen. And while he is still 12 years old, he now looks a little stronger and taller, thanks to the harsh training that he undergoes in order to be a superspy. Everyone's favourite battle-hardened boy wonder of the future has embraced espionage technology that is more advanced and faces a most formidable foe whose actual form he is not sure of. Welcome to 'Ejen Ali The Movie 2' (EATM2), which once again sees the "unloved" youngster take on a phantom menace by the name of Ciro. As compared with 'Ejen Ali The Movie' in 2019, this sequel has more explosive action and a deeper, more immersive narrative experience. Enhanced physical appearances too, as viewers get to see Ali's more muscular frame and sharper face, as well as the lines on the faces of the older characters. Once again set in the futuristic city of Cyberaya, EATM2 sees Ali become the pilot for a high-stakes mission under Satria, an elite programme powered by an AI-assisted mecha suit. The mission takes a darker turn when the renegade Ejen Rizwan enlists Ali's help to uncover the true mastermind behind escalating threats in Cyberaya. Meanwhile, the mysterious hacker Neonimus resurfaces, driven by a personal vendetta against Ali. As Neonimus weaves a dangerous web of deception, every choice Ali makes becomes critical, determining not only his fate but the future of the city. Ali's Satria Project is aimed at producing a new generation of Mata agents who are able to combine the skills of all four Mata Cores, namely Techno, Neuro, Inviso and Kombat. Satria is a dynamic armoured suit equipped with combat pattern data from Mata's greatest agents and can be modified using ferrofluid technology to form special weapons according to mission needs. Ali's best friend Ejen Alicia has now been given a new role as the Iris user. Both of them are made to team up once again to confront Neonimus, who reveals that he is working for the insidious and mysterious Ciro, the deadliest enemy of Cyberaya to date. As for Rizwan, he is now teaming up with one-time baddies Dos and Trez to fight Mata's leadership for the sake of old grudges. Meanwhile, Mata's leadership is also facing a crisis, as the head of Cyberaya Datuk Othman has brought in Ejen Amir and Ejen Elle to work with the more senior Ejen Dayang and Ejen Ganz, and they don't see eye to eye. This opens up the opportunity for Ciro to penetrate Mata. Viewers might need to read up a little about Ejen Ali's characters and his animated TV series which has been on the small screen for almost a decade now to follow this movie effectively. This is because, the appearance of one-time regular Mata agents such as Rizwan and General Rama as renegades might not make sense unless one is aware of the developments that took place in the series' now-concluded Season 3. Nevertheless, if one has not been following the series, EATM2 can still be enjoyed on its own as its computer-generated special effects are world class. This is evident in the design of Iris and especially Satria, and when Ali and Alicia enter Satria to battle Ciro, the programme readily transforms them into upgraded versions of themselves. A lot of this echoes Disney's iconic science-fiction adventure in a computer, 'Tron', and its less-known sequel 'Tron Legacy', but EATM2's computer graphics are actually more crisper and clearer. While EATM2's scientific magic is a marvel to look at, its storytelling is loaded with emotions and one can really feel what the boy hero feels. Yes, our hero is brave, strong, fast and competent, but his world seems to be endlessly sad and threatened by unfortunate events. For a 12-year-old Ali lives a pretty harsh life, often barked at by his superiors with the notable exception of the motherly Ejen Dayang. He may have buddies like Alicia, Viktor and Sasi who share his love of video games, but in school he is often tormented by a fearsome teacher named Cikgu Munah. Nevertheless, viewers do find her rather cute and, in one scene, she even helps Ali batle evil Ciro! Perhaps, Ali's creators want to show kids that working life can be pretty cruel and unforgiving, and all of the "bashings" we get turn ordinary men into supermen. The friendship between Ali and Alicia, two cutesy but formidable teen agents, is interesting and comparable with that of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger in JK Rowling's famous novel series. Their dynamic combination as team mates gradually evolved from competitive frenemies into something more meaningful. As for the high-level politicking in Mata, it does reflect the real world too. As director Usamah once said, a large organisation like Mata cannot have everyone on the same page, and different groups within the organisation are bound to have different agendas. All this helps make Ali's world colourful and believable, thatwhich was exactly what Hogwarts was in the Harry Potter novels. Ejen Ali may look like a children's animated adventure on the surface, but its stories contain lots of deep and "adult" plots. NOW SHOWING EJEN ALI THE MOVIE 2 DIRECTOR Usamah Zaid Yasin
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cook review: Lock in to ‘4×4' for gritty thrills, action
Sometimes, a film sticks with me so much that I want to find out more about its origins. So it was with the recent 'Locked,' 'a thriller that got lost in the swarm of movies that hit the big screen in the last few weeks. I really liked the idea of the film because I thought it was so original. But then I discovered it was based on the 2019 '4×4,' which is just a smidge better. Director Mariano Cohn expertly keeps the action scene-by-scene and second-by-second in this wonderfully simple setup. The action begins instantly, when Ciro (Peter Lanzani) sees a car sitting on a street in Buenos Aires. Ciro is a thief, and he gets into the car because it's unlocked and may provide him something to steal. But when he tries to open the door, he finds himself locked in. And what begins as an annoyance turns into a fight for survival. The owner of the car, a doctor who wants to avenge himself on thieves, has set a trap for Ciro. The owner (Dady Brieva) can lock the car doors and disable the car's power remotely. The vehicle is soundproof and, Ciro discovers quickly, bullet-proof. No one can see inside as Ciro begins to realize he will last only so long in his vehicular prison. The doctor calls Ciro through the car's phone system, so the two can talk to each other. This isn't so much a man-against-nature tale as a man-against-technology story. The leads in both movies resemble each other. But because so much of the American film fills the viewer in on the background of the thief, it took me longer to sympathize with Ciro, about whom we know nothing when he gets into the car. I like the details that remain intact, such as each thief's moment with a pair of sunglasses and a lipstick lady. They're similar bur not the same. '4×4' has a little more edge. It, too, should delight action fans who enjoy thrillers – they'll want to take this wild ride. 3 1/2 stars Running time: One hour and 30 minutes. Rated: R for foul language, gore and violence. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video and other platforms. Watch the trailer here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
