JAVA HEAT DVD (2013)

SYNOPSIS: A mysterious American Marine/FBI agent Jake Travers teams up with a Muslim cop Hashim to hunt down a dangerous international jewel thief Malik who kidnaps a Sultan's daughter Sultana in a plot to steal the royal treasury: exotic intrigue amid ancient palaces, mosques, temples, subterranean labyrinth and stone pyramids in the heart of Java.

MOVIE REVIEW:

How many cheesy villains can one play? Apparently it’s limitless in the case of Mickey Rourke. The Wrestler actor once again plays a forgettable, mumbling bad guy in Java Heat. He is not just a greedy bastard yearning for some jewels from the Royal family but he is also a disgusting pedophile.

But the attraction here is not Rourke. The limelight belongs to Indonesian actor Ario Bayu who plays a local cop named Hashim who is investigating the death of the Sultan’s daughter. With an ex-Marine Jake Travers (Kellan Lutz) in tow, the two must team up to uncover the mystery and the motive behind the killings.

Despite a topic that touches on the sensitiveness of Jihad bombings and religion on the whole, Java Heat deviates from all the seriousness to deliver a gritty, action packed straight-to-DVD title in the end. There are occasional jokes between Travers and Hashim involving their different cultural background especially with one a swaggering American and the other a conservative Muslim though these moments are few and far.

Most importantly, director Conor Allyn knows how to shoot and direct a fun, entertaining movie. There are a couple of explosions, plenty of shootouts and a motorcycle chase that took place behind some dark alleys. If not for all the unnecessary quick cuts and shaky cams, it would have made a far satisfying viewing experience. In addition, Allyn keeps the pace fast and energized without resorting to gratuitous violence and nudity, a common problem in straight-to-DVD flicks. The death of a hooker clad in bra and undies during a shootout don’t really count.

Twilight star Kellan Lutz for once is not out of his league here. It doesn’t take an ounce of his acting capability to deliver a believable masculine looking marine looking for revenge. Like I mentioned earlier, Ario Bayu is excellent in the cop role. He articulates well, fights like a convincing pro and he has the charisma to light up the screen. As for Rourke, with a role named Malik and a muddy character that simply summed up as ‘international jewel thief’, we don’t really expect much from him. Cut him some slack, he probably needs the money to pay his rents. 

Richly filmed in Indonesia, Java Heat is a surprise gem. Just forgive the horrendous misleading DVD cover. Like the tagline says, nothing is as it seems. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The imaging and visual is serviceable while the Dolby Digital 2.0 is a tad soft when it comes to the more aggressive action sequences.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee