The Siege at Thorn High2025

hadeh. where do i start? this film wants to talk about something big, something painful. it’s clearly pulling from the ‘98 tragedy, but instead of treating that history with the weight it deserves, it throws it into this made-up dystopian version of jakarta that feels like a cheap excuse to go full edgy. either tell the real story or build a new one that justifies its own world. this one does neither. it's just awkwardly in between. gak jelas pantek. the writing’s rough. characters speak in ways no one speaks. scenes drag. things happen for no clear reason. and then come the weird, forced moments, scenes that are trying to be shocking but just feel... off. ugly, even. antagonists so fucking cringey too. just angry teens with melees. no backstory, no depth, just yelling and cursing. they just exist... to hurt people? and that’s supposed to be enough for us. but akschoully ☝️🤓vin! kids are supposed to be dumb like that! ☝️🤓 yes but this film and its theme owe us clear context. especially when you're dealing with this kind of subject. without context, without care, it feels like trauma turned into spectacle. it makes the racial violence feel like a cheap plot device. exploitative. and the "action" scenes. oh. good action, like The Raid, has clear motives and real weight. this is just loud, messy "fights" with no heart. the violence is way overdone. gore and all but they don't hit deep or mean anything. yeah yeah i get it joko. you love blood. i guess. what really gets to me is how unnecessarily triggering the whole thing is. and not in a way that serves the story. it’s fiction, after all. joko anwar could’ve chosen to handle this topic with more intention. malah jadi capek dan pusing nontonnya. i don’t mind dark stories. i don’t mind violence when it’s earned. but this? this feels like using real-world suffering as an aesthetic. now i dare to say that joko anwar is overrated.