The film captures the highs and lows of a military soldier from an elite force, carefully packaged in a high-octane action feature that keeps you at the edge of your seat.
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Malaysian military movie ‘Paskal The Movie’ showcases the life of a Paskal operative, through the eyes of Lieutenant Commander Arman Anwar (Hairul Azreen) and his teammates as they go through highly-dangerous missions that require help from the country’s elite force.
Inspired by true events, director Adrian Teh definitely did a great job in dramatising the film’s narrative and creating a believable character journey for the main leads, at the same time not going overboard with its patriotism and cheesy one-liners. Making an action movie is never easy, what more with a rather tight budget compared to our Hollywood counterparts where car explosions could happen every few minutes.
Friendships were forged among Arman, Jeb (Ammar Alfian) and Joshua (Henley Hii) during their trainee days in the Paskal unit. Upon graduation, they were handpicked to train with the US Navy Seals, and were deployed as peacekeepers for the United Nations. During a shootout, Jeb’s impulsiveness caused the death of Joshua and killed a surrendered gunman at point-blank, which caused him a dishonourable discharge from the force. Instead of reflecting on his actions, Jeb joined the notorious pirate, Rudi, who harbours a plan to take down the Paskal team.
Teh, whose past credits include comedies like “King of Mahjong” and ‘Goodbye Mr Loser” proves that he is able to helm a large-scale action film like “Paskal”, on top of his feel-good romantic comedies. He manages to balance the amount of action versus drama - from close combat sequences to extensive explosion scenes.
The story builds to a final showdown at an oil rig off the coast of Sabah where Rudi and Jeb have designed a considered plan to wipe out the Paskal team with booby traps and hostage standoff. The anticipation grows as Jeb’s knowledge of Paksal’s SOPs would threaten to foil the rescue mission, but with Arman’s quick thinking, he redevises a plan that eventually leads to a one-on-one fight with Jeb.
The narrative follows an uncomplicated storyline about the two leads who have a different mindset on what’s good for the country. While this generic storyline has been used in many other films, “Paskal” shows that it can be interpreted differently (and wonderfully-crafted) while not be seen as a ‘copy-cat’.
Apart from showcasing the regime and missions of Paskal, be enthralled at the use of actual military assets like KD Tunku Abdul Rahman submarine and the Super Lynx 300 helicopter. The film captures the highs and lows of a military soldier from an elite force, carefully packaged in a high-octane action feature that keeps you at the edge of your seat.
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