‘Blood Brothers: Bara Naga’ Continues To Slay The Box Office & We Totally Understand Why [Review]

This is one beautifully cinematic bloody mess of a movie.

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“Brother tetap akan ada belakang brother,” Jaki says. Although Jaki (Syazwan Zulkifly) and Ariff (Syafiq Kyle) are the real blood brothers in this film, when he recites this line he’s hardly talking about themselves – but the bond between the Naga brotherhood, the one Ariff becomes a part of thanks to Ghaz (Sharnaaz Ahmad), who’ve been looking out for each other since their poverty-stricken, abuse-riddled childhood.

The Naga organisation are elite bodyguards working for Dato’ Zul (Wan Hanafi Su), the apparent ‘Godfather’ and the one with all the ‘cable’ to keep things afloat.

Business is one thing this movie nails, both in narrative and technique.

It’s a 2-hour film, but it hits all the story beats in time and doesn’t drag unnecessarily. The plot ties up neatly at every twist and turn, leaving no room for questions and a very welcome, satisfying resolution.

Ariff and Ghaz have been living high-roller lifestyles ever since they started working for Dato’ Zul. So much love Dato’ Zul has for Ghaz that he even gives him the blessing of marrying his daughter, Sheila (Amelia Henderson).

But of course baller mafias bodyguards can’t live peaceful lives (otherwise we all jadi gangster already).

At first, everything seems perfect – like nothing could go wrong. Then tragedy strikes, and Ariff ends up getting blamed for something he didn’t even do.

That’s when the strong bond between Ariff and Ghaz starts to fall apart. Ghaz, consumed by rage and hatred, slowly loses sight of what’s right. Ariff, on the other hand, has to do whatever it takes to clear his name.

Ironically, the only person who might be able to help him is his biological brother, Jaki, who he hasn’t spoken to in donkey years.

The entire cast deserves so much praise, including Shukri Yahaya, Zamarul Hisham, Andy Teh, and Irfan Zaini. (Also did I mention that almost everyone on screen is literal eye-candy?)

Hats off to Defenderz Malaysia for engaging audiences in stellar combat choreography. Syafiq Yusof and Abhilash Chandra give us a storyline that is so punchy that when the actual punches land on screen, it’s able to resonate with audiences on an emotional level.

Nicholas Chin’s broody cinematography is excellent, and it brings out a strong noir vibe – that gritty, shadowy feel that successfully pulls you in and retains your attention.

We can totally see why this movie is firing up at the box office, and we hope it continues to.

It’s got the hallmarks of an excellent action flick – the world of the story is built with intention, the characters have enough backstories to justify their actions, the stakes are high enough for us to believe that sh** will go down if things go wrong, plot twists that make you go OMG no way, and a climax that will leave you satisfied.

There’s a scene where Jaki – who’s also the film’s comic relief, and does it so well that I didn’t cringe at the jokes – references John Wick. This isn’t about drawing a comparison between local and Hollywood films, but Blood Brothers is so well-made that it did have that John Wick vibe to it – and it’s local films like these that excite me about the future of our cinema.

The capacity that we have to bridge our films and those that are more commonly accepted globally is becoming more and more evident, and it’s so important that we champion Malaysians that are at the forefront of this revival.