Karl Urban….remember him? The dude in LOTR : 2 Towers which insulted a dwarf. Ok so…not all of us watched the movie or is an avid fan. But LOTR Trilogy was really good. Pathfinder? Hmmm….. The tag line goes “Two Worlds, One War. The Ultimate Battle Begins.” And it is a battle alright….a battle in my mind with the nagging question “Why have a movie with Red Indians and Vikings?”. That does not make sense….unless I might have missed something in my lifetime thus far.

It is rated as 18SG….well….to me the censorship board here is always a bit off when it comes to rating. But….violent it is. But not really 18SG violent. Like I mentioned….It’s Red Indians against Vikings. And the story is so called a legend. Where from I have no bloody idea. The script must have been like only 10 pages thick because there is no decent dialogue at all. It’s slash, whack, groans and shrieks and galloping horses….urmm…..slash, whack, groans…baah~! You get the idea don’t you?

I was expecting something like Braveheart. Or at least The Patriot. But it was really low man….even my girlfriend slept right thru a whole scene while I nearly dozed off if not for some dumb girls as king stupid questions about the movie to each other.

Anything good about the movie? Well it makes you feel bloody cold….as it only rains and snows and rains and snows….like duh~! Ok so fine that was not so good…let me find another…urmmm. Slashing vikings? Well ok…..perhaps not that, how about Karl Urban’s acting….errr….not much on that except for the exceptional sword skills.

Really…I don’t really have anything good to say about it. It’s practically a blind no holds barred slasher movie of Red Indians and Vikings. Which again like I have mentioned….where is the sense in that? Need a rating? Half a star…bad cast…no story…effects are only just so.

http://www.pathfinderthemovie.com/

Before you people read on….remember this movie is rated 18PL in Malaysia. So don’t tell me that I didn’t tell you. Let me tell you what this movie is not in the first place. It’s not littered with cute chicks or guys or it is the normal teen flicks we get from “seberang“. This is purely an adult movie and is best watched with open minds and heart.

Directed by Nia Di Nata (producer of Janji Joni and other highly acclaimed movies), she has a knack to direct or produce movies that touches stark reality. When Janji Joni is a story about a day as a film delivery man, this movie is about 3 women’s predicament and polygamy. Naturally this movie too has won the 26th Hawaii International Film Festival. Feminist out there will undoubtedly shout about the so called mistreatment that women in Indonesia go through but reality check, it’s their culture.

Honestly I find this movie quiet entertaining as in littered with punch lines and sarcasm not forgetting the nuances of family living in polygamy (iMDB lists this one as Comedy/Drama). Its sad too and women out there will surely want to bring their husband to watch this. This is not a family movie but more for married couples as well as those who are still doing the dating game.

Warning to the guys…get ready to be pinched a lot for no particular reason just because you are the male of the species. I certainly got that and my left arm is full of bruises after. The actors and actresses are not probably well known outside of Indonesia but I have to tell you this, damn they are good~! Owh and each story (there are 3) is intertwined by these 3 women are connected or crossed each other’s lives at one point or the other. A good case of very different people but with a common situation (some how this technique is catching on somehow).

A good thing is that this movie really takes the audience into the lives of of the 3 women’s lives and tackles social and political issues to the hilt. I was really smacked literally by the girlfriend…if we were not watching this at the movies I would be man-handled~! Women activist can give a good cheer for this movie because all three women won their right and ambition at the end.

Cinematography is no revelation….the script is good….characters are very strong and believable. Its a 4 3/4 and believe me I can’t find any reason to give it any less a rating.

Dex~! Quit peeing on me~! I need to do this review here…

Now I would really love to visit our National Museum after watching this one. Its a super cool effort…A few tiny stories, a bit of history, throw in a fair amount of animals, some broken family politics…Ben sure made the museum seem cool again. And it is~!

Yes Dex? Yes…yes, you are cool too…now go pass this here gum-gum to that Dumb-dumb at the end of the hallway…Thanks.

Where were we? Owh yeah…This movie tells a story of Larry wanting to keep his son. The ex-wife is not the mean sort and everything is very civilised. He just can’t seem to hold a permanant stable job….which is stipulated in the joint custody thing. Anyhow yadda-yadda-yadda….Ben’s character got this job as a night guard at the local museum. Boring….but it pays the bills.

Gimme…a sec….Jed~!!!…stop looking under Octavious’s skirt~

Sheeshh…minatures….so…but there is a plot to rob him from keeping his son. Well, at least the old guards want to ruin Larry and make away with the loot but more importantly this ancient egyptian tablet which is actually the cause for everything in the museum to come to life everynight.

Nothing comes to a tragic end but how he get about into saving his job and the museum at the same time is classic a Disney plot with Ben’s funny bones. It’s not new but its a whole lotta fun. Ben Stiller makes really good comedies…and this is a classic family friendly one. How it seamlessly blends history into the equation is a big plus too…now if only our museums here puts a bit more marketing effort.

Now would you excuse me please…apparently the Neanderthals are stealing Rexy’s bones for tools.