Writer: Peter Chai

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Watch this if you liked: "Hantu Kapcai"

Directed by veteran Ahmad Idham, "Apa Celop Toqq" is another mischievous yet inspiring comedy that follows Hazama (Hazama Azmi), a young motorcycle foreman who ambitiously dreams of becoming a well-known singer in Malaysia. However, he does not have enough time to pursue his goal as he spends most of it working at a motorcycle service center during daytime and preparing vehicles for his long-time buddy Tapai (Taiyuddin Bakar) to participate in illegal races around the city of Kuala Lumpur at night. During a particular race, Tapai loses to his foe, Black (Azad Jazmin), and has to run from the latter to avoid having to pay his debts. Meanwhile, Hazama is eventually fired by his boss but in a twist of fate, he meets a mysterious loner called Abang Samad (Hasnul Rahmat), a former famous local composer who has hid himself from the public for years. Without the knowledge of Abang Samad, Hazama steals the composer's pieces and uses them to begin his singing career. Unfortunately, the instant success that Hazama gains become questionable in the eyes of the media, including a reporter named Laila, Hazama's crush.

Those of you who had a great time watching Ghaz Abu Bakar's successful directorial debut "Hantu Kapcai" not too long ago, do not expect a lot of racing scenes in Idham's comedy. Instead, the director focuses more on how to bring youngsters out from the ugly world of 'rempit' and lead them to a brighter future. However, the racing scenes between Tapai, who is portrayed by comedian Taiyuddin Bakar, and Black, played by Azad Jazmin, in the early stages of the story are the highlights of the film. Their interaction before, during and after the race brings a lot of hilarity to the story. Although there is no fancy 'rempit' racing poses between these two characters amid busy traffic, the combination of Tapai's sly personality on the road and Black's Indian accent in Malay is good enough to tickle our funny bone.

Despite having a role with the same name as himself, local singing sensation Hazama Azmi has given an average performance in his movie debut, but most of us would have expected so. Idham could have found another singing artist or some other more experienced actors to play the main character but it is understandable to see such move made by the director because fresh faces tend to be more appealing in terms of movie marketing. Moreover, people can empathize to the character's determination to become a popular singer as Hazama Azmi is that of a winner of the reality singing show "Akademi Fantasia".

Hazama should be thankful to have a co-star like Taiyuddin Bakar, who plays a crucial role in lighting up the singer's role along the movie. Bakar's mad and amusing portrayal as a fake composer with a 'rempit' attitude reminds us of his performance in Namewee's "Hantu Gangster". Honestly, Hazama's performance would be extremely dull without a helping hand from Bakar.

The loner Abang Samad's first appearance in the story does not make much sense to the reviewer. It is not logic to see him bringing an unconscious Hazama back to his premise after a car accident. How can he bring a stranger back to his house and caring about his health without even knowing his background even though he was hit by a car?

The cinematography of the film is badly managed and poorly presented. The blurry quality of some of the scenes is just too distracting for our eyes.

In conclusion, "Apa Celop Toqq" is an entertaining comedy and has the potential of becoming a great so-called singing documentary for the collection of Hazama fans but it is not qualified to become one of the best "dreams come true" type of films we have watched.

Cinema Online, 02 November 2012