This is a movie that from a military point of view is very, very well done. Yes, some of the characters are a bit wooden and the general characterization was not exactly great - but the film is clearly intended as a propaganda/recruiting piece, so the cheesiness of that part is really no surprise.
93 Reviews
It's a descent movie.
namie-981937 March 2021
It's actually really good compared to other local movies that usually runs among gangsterism and dumb comedies. Malaysians are their own worst critic unfortunately. It's actually a huge quality jump from the normal flicks we have. Yes, it felt like an old HK police movie, and that my friend, is already better than anything so far. keep it up.
The Unit
wjosephjorob20 March 2019
A very good action flick based on true events,Didn't go into this thinking of how well made this film was,I was surprise at the level of expertise that went into this particular rescue mission, I focused on the pacing of the film, it moved along quite well, as far as character development or lack there of was unimportant to me, I got what I was looking for an entertaining film, I have a lot of respect to all soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect us all ,the film displayed a segment of that with this incident, way better than Triple frontier...IMO.
good product considering the low cost budget
ops-5253519 March 2019
It has a lot to offer, but the roller coaster ride between heavy rough action to mediocre family atmosphere makes the mind dizzy and your body screams for more to maintain the 10 stars you have on hand in the start of every movie.
the cast are too tough and rough according to my perfect military action hero, and the somalian pirates armed like a battle ship, flies up and around and shoots like duracel-rabbits on khat or some other steroids. the music though nourish the excitement , and i realized that i could close my eyes waiting for the big drums entering the scenes of action and suspence and thereafter close the till next round of hefty rythms starts again.
by all means, do watch the movie , its good considering being made on a 2.5 mill $ budget.
the cast are too tough and rough according to my perfect military action hero, and the somalian pirates armed like a battle ship, flies up and around and shoots like duracel-rabbits on khat or some other steroids. the music though nourish the excitement , and i realized that i could close my eyes waiting for the big drums entering the scenes of action and suspence and thereafter close the till next round of hefty rythms starts again.
by all means, do watch the movie , its good considering being made on a 2.5 mill $ budget.
10/10 if compared to our local standard
jamaloogy12 October 2018
Definitely this movie set a new standard for Malaysian movie scene.
Acting could be better by a bit, and wish more twist and turn for movie plot - on not the based on true story scene.
Anyway, it does leave me feel proud and motivated. Hopefully more movie like this being produced in the future.
This would be 8/10 from me.
Acting could be better by a bit, and wish more twist and turn for movie plot - on not the based on true story scene.
Anyway, it does leave me feel proud and motivated. Hopefully more movie like this being produced in the future.
This would be 8/10 from me.
Good Military Action Flick
Pille199221 March 2021
So, best Malayan movie I have ever seen, but in comparison to the world of Military action flicks, it is definitely only in the Top 100.
The character development is not really distinctive and the characters' motivation does not reach beyond honour, believe, tradition and greed.
Nonetheless, if you are a fan of the display of military equipment and apparently kind of realistic combat scenarios of elite military units, I can definitely recommend this movie - but the knife fight at the end was not really necessary to be honest.
But I always enjoy military action movies where the soldiers do not act like Rambo and stay calm and composed during fire fights - and use their vast variety of awesome equipment.
So definitely worth a watch - simply do not expect a breathtaking experience!
Weak story, awesome tactical & military showcase
kill_the18 March 2019
Putting aside the main actors and their ability to act; this unique gem of a Malaysian movie stands out as one of the best to break the generic genres plaging Malaysia cinema.
The strength of this movie lies squarely on their faithful interpretation of military tactics and deployment. Which was beautifully done.
It started strong showing a glimpse of how PASKAL operates and its internal culture. However, I suppose it may be their undoing to introduce personal vendettas making it look like an 80's B rate action movie that would make Jan Micheal Vincent blush. That is the weak link in this movie and killed off a great momentum.
The strength of this movie lies squarely on their faithful interpretation of military tactics and deployment. Which was beautifully done.
It started strong showing a glimpse of how PASKAL operates and its internal culture. However, I suppose it may be their undoing to introduce personal vendettas making it look like an 80's B rate action movie that would make Jan Micheal Vincent blush. That is the weak link in this movie and killed off a great momentum.
Best Malaysian Movie ever
prostreet_faris946 October 2018
Wow this was good.
juzer0321 March 2019
Seriously?
cheeftanz16 March 2019
Apparently if one is Malay, this movie is a 10. Otherwise it plays out like a 1970 TV movie. At the bowie knife fight I gave up. I cannot recommend if you are used to higher quality fare, it is clear that team Malay voted this way up... yet this is substandard otherwise.
I want to be PASKAL!
jpsanjayresume9 October 2018
You know, when you watch movies and sometimes think that you wish you could be the hero. Like watching Iron-man, we wanna be Tony Stark, when watching X men, we wanna be wolverine or sometimes watching american war movie, we wish we could serve our country like them. Watch PASKAL, I bet you will also have the same feeling.
An Irony free (Patriotic) look at Malay SEALs
tomgoblin-4462027 March 2019
Very well done on many fronts. A Navy with WW2 values fighting in the 2st century, This is a major country in one of the major hot spots of the world.
PASKAL is faced with all the contradictions of that. Good action (more realistic than most Hollywood crap) and superior realism. PASKAL training looks a lot like USMC Force Recon and SEALs combined.
Less compelling than "Act of Valor" but worth a look.
I have feeling they soft pedaled it a little bit for an international audience.. My gut tells me the real PASKAL trains major league tough. Maybe more like SPETSNAZ.
In any case it is a superior military action-er with a unique point of view.
PASKAL is faced with all the contradictions of that. Good action (more realistic than most Hollywood crap) and superior realism. PASKAL training looks a lot like USMC Force Recon and SEALs combined.
Less compelling than "Act of Valor" but worth a look.
I have feeling they soft pedaled it a little bit for an international audience.. My gut tells me the real PASKAL trains major league tough. Maybe more like SPETSNAZ.
In any case it is a superior military action-er with a unique point of view.
flashy asset display. bad character development.
AziziOthmanMY18 March 2019
The movie boasts TLDM awesome asset that were used to carry out their past missions and operations. However to my dismay the characters in this movie is so bad i couldn't keep my ass laughing in some scenes . serious character flaws had reduce this movie a cheap 80's action flick.
Realistic
werewolfesmamoths19 March 2020
The movie is a bit slow, antagonist voice and firing scene still need improvement. However, this is almost same as real situation. Most of the people comment here issuing race voter for this film. UDT also doing same SOP during their rescuing mission.
2cents
hidayahraazak5 October 2018
Great Southeast Asian Military Movie
tabachoi24 March 2019
I can't recall seeing a Southeast Asian movie like this one, especially with skydiving stunts and submarine scenes. Effective showcase of Malaysia's current military prowess. Story-wise, it's as predictable as action movies from the 1980s.
Dont be fooled by rating
amsyaralazmi19 March 2019
A Film worthy of Hollywood
akmalmatin20 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
In this day and age where the Malaysian Film industry is filled with nothing but Slapstick Comedy/Gangster Flicks/Over The Top Horror movies, Paskal The Movie is like a breath of fresh air.
Right from the get go, the audience is taken on an action filled ride, with enough guns and army lingo to make the men satisfied, and hunks to keep the ladies happy. The film explores the journey of Leftenan Arman and his journey as a Paskal. Here we see him struggle as he contemplates between his duty to his nation, or his responsibilities as a son. The film's villain, Jeb, kinda reminds me of Michael B Jordan's Kilmonger in Black Panther; evil, conniving and full of swagger.
The film also showed the audience a peek behind the rigourous training every Paskal has to go through to earn the right of wearing the coveted red beret. All in all, this film does a fine job in shedding a light onto a subject matter that many do not know.
Many a times during the movie I caught myself falling under the impression that the movie I am watching right now is made in Hollywood. I am constantly amazed by just how much production value this film has. The stigma that Malaysian films are just Low-Budget and non Creative is thrown out the window with this film. Hopefully Paskal The Movie becomes the standard by which future action films in the region should be working towards. If you are a fan of films like The Raid, I highly recommend Paskal The Movie.
Right from the get go, the audience is taken on an action filled ride, with enough guns and army lingo to make the men satisfied, and hunks to keep the ladies happy. The film explores the journey of Leftenan Arman and his journey as a Paskal. Here we see him struggle as he contemplates between his duty to his nation, or his responsibilities as a son. The film's villain, Jeb, kinda reminds me of Michael B Jordan's Kilmonger in Black Panther; evil, conniving and full of swagger.
The film also showed the audience a peek behind the rigourous training every Paskal has to go through to earn the right of wearing the coveted red beret. All in all, this film does a fine job in shedding a light onto a subject matter that many do not know.
Many a times during the movie I caught myself falling under the impression that the movie I am watching right now is made in Hollywood. I am constantly amazed by just how much production value this film has. The stigma that Malaysian films are just Low-Budget and non Creative is thrown out the window with this film. Hopefully Paskal The Movie becomes the standard by which future action films in the region should be working towards. If you are a fan of films like The Raid, I highly recommend Paskal The Movie.
6/10 for International Rating. 10/10 for Malaysian Standard
deltalogix27 October 2018
This movie sets new par for Malaysia made movies. There were no unnecessary jokes or scene, no unrealistic plot, pretty well developed main characters, good cinematography and many improvement compared to other local movies. Simply a movie that dare to take new direction and step out of the usual mundane.
Compared to International Holywood movies, there still a lot that can be improve. Still its quite a good movie to watch and I am proud of it.
Expendable film, in every terms meaning...
searchanddestroy-19 April 2019
The basic scheme, though inspired by actual events, reminds me an American action feature from 2003 titled SWAT, where an ex cop belonging to the police elite force, decided to get thru the boundary between good and bad. This Malaysian film can be seen as a kind of propaganda, docu fiction stuff about the Malaysian special forces. Not bad at all, a pretty good time waster. But that's not CAPTAIN PHILIPS either. The final scènes are a bit too cheesy for me; too much predictable. You can easily live without it.
Great local action movie beyond expectation.
nizam-jakpar12 October 2018
No doubt one of the best ever local make movie that i have ever watch. Base on true story it shown beyond my wildest expectation on how this movie can captivate the heart of movie lover on par level with the Hollywood movie. Really salute and respect the cast and crew team that had created the movie. Kudos to PASKAL the movie.
Its a great movie for local of Malaysian
upensyafiq25 February 2019
Not awful, but too flat and predicatable to really work
Wizard-830 March 2019
This is the first Malaysian movie I have seen, and after watching it I would be willing to watch more Malaysian movies, even though this particular effort didn't quite make it in my opinion. The movie is fairly well made on a fraction of a Hollywood budget, though I will admit some scenes look more like a glossy made for television production than a big screen movie. And the cast is decent and works hard, though when they speak English, their accents make some of their words hard to understand. The main problem with the movie is the script. If you have seen any other movie about a country's special forces, then this story will be extremely familiar for you, from the domestic problems of the special forces members to the bad guys' activities. You'll be able to easily predict what happens long before it actually unfolds. That might have been forgivable had the movie been more exciting and action packed, but there is less action in the movie than you might think. And what action there is doesn't really get about a routine level. Still, I will give the movie this: It's a LOT better than practically every movie my country (Canada) turns out!
GOOD ACTION, MEDIOCRE ACTING
nizzambaharuddin13 January 2020
Cringey dialogues, wooden acting from some of the actors, and cliché plotline, however that's probably not where Paskal need to shine anyway.
Paskal shines where it needed the most; its action scenes. Whenever there's giant spectacles, it delivers. Sure it's not Hong Kong or Korean action film level, but it's a good try. Definitely a step in the right direction for Malaysian action films.
Paskal shines where it needed the most; its action scenes. Whenever there's giant spectacles, it delivers. Sure it's not Hong Kong or Korean action film level, but it's a good try. Definitely a step in the right direction for Malaysian action films.
Superb and Awesome
hairolanuar-4524217 October 2018
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