An official selection of Fantastic Fest 2023, Sri Asih: The Warrior, had its North American premiere in Austin, TX, and is now available for viewing on various platforms. The Indonesian film is the 2023 winner of the Best Picture in the Next Wave Award at the festival. The screenwriters, director Upi Avianto, and co-writer Joko Anwar (Gundala) won the Best Adapted Screenplay award at the Festival Film Indonesia (based on the comic book by RA Kosasih).
The superhero action-adventure stars famous overseas action icon Pevita Pearce (“Katarsis” TV series, Gundala). Sri Asih: The Warrior is the second installment of the Bumilangit Cinematic Universe, a series of superhero films based on the more than 500 comic book characters in the Indonesian publishing company Bumilangit Library. The series was launched in 2019 with Gundala.
Sri Asih: The Warrior is a highly entertaining action-adventure story featuring a female superhero and one that I needed to familiarize myself with before this year’s Fantastic Fest. Sri Asih: The Warrior follows Alana (Pearce), a young woman who became an orphan at birth and then adopted by a wealthy woman. The adoptive mother has a gym, and Alana trains to be an MMA fighter. There is plenty of crime and corruption with a rich yet sleaze young adult, Mateo (Randy Pangalila), leading a gang of thugs. He thinks he can do no wrong as he is the son of powerful businessman Prayogo Adinegara (Surya Saputra).
Alana has an encounter with Mateo that does not go as he anticipated and thus retaliates. After this, she is led on a path to learn her connection to the reincarnated Goddess Asih, protector of the masses, and is tasked with preventing a demon spirit commander from releasing the Fire Goddess from captivity inside a volcano.
The action sequences are great as they show this actor’s talent, especially the fantastic fight scenes captured so well and highlighted by the cinematographer Arfian.
The story can garner fans of drama, MMA fighters, action-adventure, and mythology. It is worth watching through a streaming platform, and then consider adding it to your film collection with a physical copy.
Sri Asih: The Warrior will premiere on VOD, digital, and national home entertainment shelves on October 17, 2023. The DVD contains a spectacular movie presentation in English, the original Indonesian audio track, and a behind-the-scenes featurette. More information is available via ShoutFactory.com.
The runtime is 133 minutes, and there are scenes of violence that can be disturbing to some viewers.
Source: Shout! Studios