The new Malaysian action blockbuster, “Coast Guard Malaysia: Ops Helang” managed to make RM2.5 million at the box office in just four days. This is undoubtedly good news but even more so, if you consider that military action movies are not a familiar genre in Malaysia. Renown mainly for romance and horror movies, the local cinema industry and audience have been witnessing a shift in taste (and consequently production) towards big-budget, big-heroes, big-weapons action extravaganzas, especially after “Paskal: The Movie” (2018) that can easily be identified as the trendsetter. Late director Pitt Hanif, who penned amongst others the Malaysian success “Crossroads: One Two Jaga”, chose Coast Guard as his ambitious directorial debut. Sadly, his premature passing in 2019 and the beginning of the pandemic tribulations, forced the film to sit in the editing and postproduction rooms for years. Thanks to producer Muhammad Hady who took the project in his own hands, the it is finally released in theatres.
Coast Guard Malaysia: Ops Helang is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
A short prequel introduces the audience to the dangerous life of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) unit, with Lieutenant Hafiz (played by Saharul Ridzwan) leading an operation against drug-smuggling pirates, led by Samat (Adlin Aman Ramlie); it's a risky business and it doesn't end well for the pirates. Fast forward a year, Hafiz is about to celebrate his engagement with fiancée, Nurul (Jaja Ilyes), their family and few friends and fellow officers, on a romantic beach resort, when a a group of heavily-armed pirates attack them and end up abducting Hafiz, Nurul, her family and some of the guests. They are following a well-planned scheme and they don't hesitate to coldly execute all the party guests that are not relevant to the plan.
Hafiz manages to escape almost unscathed but surely furious and the hunt for the pirates and a hostage rescue mission begins, with the help of the mothership crew, including the stern and loyal Lieutenant Melati (Julia Farhana). However, a series of unexpected twists makes the “mission: rescue” an almost “mission: impossible”.
Considering that Malaysian filmmakers haven't got a rich history of Hollywood-style military action films, “Coast Guard Malaysia: Ops Helang” shows off a confident approach to the genre. The story – although nothing we haven't seen before – is well written and effectively paced and the three acts provide an alternation of surprise, catharsis and relief that manage to sucks you in. Twists are abundant, some manage to retain the “I-didn't-see-that-coming” effect, some have a touch of silliness, which is rather welcome in such a full-on heroic parade, and the 90-minute running time is fully enjoyable, with no rhythm plunges.
The film's impressive visuals and camerawork take full advantage of the beautiful locations, not only the natural ones like islands, caves, sea, but also a great showcase of ships, helicopters, and in general, military gear. It might sound like a recruitment advertising from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and in parts it is, but the sympathetic, believable characters and the dedicated acting counterbalance and soften what it could have been just a cold display. Moreover, in all this, some kind of social commentary can be found in the revealing of the hard work the coast guards have to do against piracy (as the U.N. recently declared, the most perilous seas are those of Southeast Asia, offering rich pickings for criminals), and corruption in the high ranks.
In this high-testosterone exhibit, the actors have done a great job to stand out. There is a great selection of villains and, on the goodies' side, Saharul Ridzwan as Hafiz and Julia Farhana as Melati underwent a diligent preparation in a military boot camp and a strong physical training, resulting in Hafiz's incredible physique and Melati's enjoyable kickass spot of martial art fight.
In conclusion “Coast Guard Malaysia: Ops Helang” is a solid and enjoyable piece of entertaining that is opening opportunities to a new genre for the Malaysian public, and – sideway – also new roles for actresses that are often limited to play corny romantic targets or damsels in distress. The film ends on a twisty cliff-hanger; no sequel is planned as yet, as the sequel was in the late director's mind, but it leaves an intriguing inspiration for scriptwriters to come.
