Writer: Elaine Ewe

Writer Ratings:
Overall:
Cast:
Plot:
Effects:
Cinematography:

Watch this if you liked:

Like its namesake, "Sepah The Movie" is a confusing mess of events, even if the phrase 'Sepah' is derived from a similarly named band.

Jepp Sepah, Shuib Sepah and Mamat Sepah star in this film as three bumbling motorcross racers who are best friends that also work in the same electronics manufacturing company. Of course, like all unusually close male friends, they are also single, which sets up the stage for conflicts when the trio fall for their beautiful new trainer named Ayu Sofea (Anzalna). To make things worse, the trio face tough competition in the form of their new manager, Based (Jehan Miskin), who is not only rich, educated and good-looking, he is also the head of a shady motorcross gang.

It is not good form for a movie when the antagonist turns out to be much more likeable than the main protagonists, much so when there are three protagonists. Jepp, Shuib and Mamat, in their similarly named characters, are not delightful or endearing to watch as they fumble and stumble their way through scene after scene. While for some films, blame can be heaped upon either the writing or the acting, but in the case of "Sepah The Movie", it is hard to distinguish which for there is hardly any plot or dialogue to comment upon while ad-libbing can hardly be construed as acting. In short, the film feels like an outing with your most embarrassing family members or friends, where they drone on and on about their experiences that you neither want to know or tell jokes that only they themselves find funny. Then again, maybe it is MP Roslin Md Sharif's feeble direction.

The main issue is the shallow and sexist nature of the film. Jepp, Shuib and Mamat fall for Ayu Sofea not because she is kind and gentle or appealingly flawed, but because she is beautiful. There are no scenes that further develop her interactions with Jepp, Shuib or Mamat other than her occasional praise for them, which the trio take to be flirtations or indications of her interest in them. If that is not bad enough, Ayu Sofea then falls for Based, for no other reasons that he is the right one for her, due to his ties with her family and his superior background. It is worrying that Malaysians find these themes to be nothing but criticise violence and gore at every turn they can, when the latter are so much more difficult to commit as opposed to shallowness and sexism.

On the contrary, the film's cinematography and special effects are not any better. Scenes are stitched together a la "The Human Centipede", which results in their disjointed narrative flow. For example, after Jepp is rejected by Ayu Sofea, he is seen walking aimlessly along the beach, with the film's theme song playing in the background. The mournful sequence then stops abruptly to cut to a Shuib and Mamat, who are worried sick about their friend. The motorcross race scenes are equally disjointed, if not even more poorly done. There is no sense of excitement or fast-paced action, the despite the fact that it is a dangerous speed race, since Jepp managed to break his back and leg very severely after their first match against Based and his team. If anything, the film serves as the ultimate detractor for anyone who feels like taking up motorcross racing.

In conclusion, "Sepah The Movie" is yet another poor addition to the list of local comedy-action films that is unfunny and delivers the wrong kind of messages entirely.

Cinema Online, 16 November 2012