adi putra

Streaming Sleepers: Syamsul Yusof’s MAT KILAU Bolsters With Nationalistic Fervor, Martial Arts Action And Gallantry

I started following niche film sites roughly eighteen years ago, which is eventually how I came to learn about filmmaker Syamsul Yusof upon the release of KL Gangster 2 back in 2013. That film, even though I haven’t seen it to this day, put Malaysia on the map for me as I aspired to keep up a little more with the goings-on of action cinema around the world at the start of FCSyndicate, which makes it all the more interesting now to see streamers like Netflix finally take notice and bring forth more Malaysian action cinema to global audiences, and to their credit, launching Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan following its Malaysia Day rollout in September. Based on a true story, the film is set in the late nineteenth century in the lands of Pahang as the British and its East Indian army look to colonize the country, levying heavy taxes […]

MAT KILAU: Meet The Legendary Malaysian Warrior In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Malaysian filmmaker Syamsul Yusof has been on the climb with local hits like actioners KL Gangster 1 & 2, KL Gangster spin-off Abang Long Fadil and horror thrillers Munafik 1 & 2 to name a few. Indeed though, he’s got a third canon installation of KL Gangster on the way but not for staking his claim with the long-awaited release of period action drama, Mat Kilau, starring Adi Putra in the title role. Yusof penned the script with Shahruddin Dali to adapt the story of the legendary warrior known for rebelling against the British in the late 19th century. The Studio Kembara production also stars Fattah Amin, Beto Kusyairy, Johan As’ari, Dato Jalaluddin Hassan, Dato Rahim Razali, Ellie Suriaty and action star Yayan Ruhian who also designed the action sequences. Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan (otherwise known via Google translation as “Mat Kilau: Awakening of the Hero”) opens in Malaysia beginning […]

Meet Malay Warrior MAT KILAU In The First Poster And Character/BTS Reels

Lee B. Golden III

Crossing over to Malaysia for bit, we’ve got a handful of behind-the-scenes character reels and an official poster for Mat Kilau, the latest from director Syamsul Yusof who is best known for the first and second KL Gangster action thrillers, as well as the award-winning horror Munafik and its 2018 sequel. Production actually took place roughly four years ago and from a few online reads, it wasn’t an easy shoot. According to Yusof himself, Studio Kembara reseached the legendary hero for two years and eventually tried its own incarnation of “Mat Kilau” but failed to make headway with just fifty percent of it completed. When Yusof was tapped to take over the project, he suggest a redo with his own touch, and from that point on, production still hit a few snags, sans details. Nonetheless, four years in and with random photos all but standing as the only evidence of […]