Ben and Jody Review: Filosofi Kopi Goes to the Jungles

Ben and Jody, or Filosofi Kopi 3, is an action-adventure film directed by Angga Dwimas Sasongko and stars Chicco Jerikho, Rio Dewanto, Hana Malasan, Aghniny Haque, Muzakki Ramdhan, Luna Maya and Yayan Ruhian as Aa Tubir, the leader of a vicious gang of illegal loggers, alongside other cast members. The movie is the third instalment of the Filosofi Kopi franchise and has a runtime of 114 minutes.

Netflix describes the movie as:

Two best friends band together with a group of villagers to fight back against trecherous illegal loggers attempting to take away their land.

– Ben and Jody review does not contain spoilers –

It’s weird how different Ben and Jody feels from Filosofi Kopi, the 2015 movie on which its characters are based. Grimy, muddy and dreary, Ben and Jody is a buddy tale that proves how far friends can go for each other. In the third instalment, which is honestly more of a standalone film and doesn’t have much bearing to the plot of the first movie other than, well, Jody owning a coffee studio, the themes are different but you realise how the characters get to this point in the film.

The film starts off with Ben getting abducted thanks to him protesting for the villagers of his hometown against a corrupt logging kingpin. Jody, realizing that his friend is nowhere to be seen, goes searching for him and gets abducted as well, but at least they are able to find each other. What happens from there though? Do they get out? Can they get Tubir out of the village?

At 114 minutes, Ben and Jody is far too long. It’s an escape film, one that tries to discuss various environmental issues as well as how the police literally do nothing to help the people they are getting paid to protect. The themes that the movie tackles are things we have seen many times before. Thus, if you’re someone who has seen the previous entries of this Indonesian flick, you’ll have more luck being interested than first-time watchers – maybe.

It’s not to say that the movie is bad, it’s not. But, Ben and Jody doesn’t do anything new. It’s more things that we have seen many times before with the two friends trying to get themselves out of a precarious situation. There’s no mystery or intrigue because we essentially know what’s about to happen. Plus, the fact that everything in this movie happens only too easily and comes to the protagonists conveniently takes away the very small amount of fear that we have for them.

Like, the fact that Tubir’s coffee obsession makes him trust barista Ben resulting in them being able to escape with ease. Many such instances make this film drag out so much. Some interesting scenes and situations are followed by such boring and dialogue-heavy scenes that the movie shifts from action to slow-paced drama, weighing down the watching experience in turn.

The action sequences, however, are the ones that keep this movie alive and these are the parts that will make you want to keep watching the movie. The score during these moments is thrilling and goes well with the scenes, making watching it absolutely thrilling. However, the best parts come from Aa Tubir, who does a phenomenal job at kicking ass. The others are ok, but they are often not realistic.

There are also certain emotional moments that work very well for the movie and since the characters have such a long history together, you understand where they are coming from. Also, at one point, Ben tells Jody that this isn’t an action movie – that made me laugh, weirdly! Also, in spite of all these great fighters and whatnot, the real MVP turns out to be Musang, a literal child!

Summing up: Ben and Jody

For fans of the series, this is going to be an interesting and oftentimes emotional watch. Although it is slow and boring for long stretches of time, it has its heart in the right place. The film could’ve really benefited from a shorter and crisper runtime resulting in a short, thrilling watch. The points of farmers’ rights, the importance of environmental issues and police injustices get lost behind getting the villagers out of prison and making the film action-rich. But, no matter, it’s still fun.

Either way, this is a great popcorn flick if you fast forward during the denser moment and is quite entertaining and dramatic, especially with the action sequences in the midst of the beautiful jungles.

Ben and Jody is streaming on Netflix.

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