Mission to save the planet
AONE-TIME child star, director Aziz M.Osman made history 27 years ago when he came up with Malaysia’s first sci-fi adventure on the big screen, XX-Ray. The best-seller which also starred Faizal Hussein, was followed three years later by the equally popular XX-Ray II.
In both movies, Aziz played young science wizard Amir Hamzah Othman whose obsession with cutting-edge inventions created unintentional yet hilarious situations involving himself and his best buddies.
First, he came up with a helmet that enabled him to view things beyond walls, but his housemate accidentally damaged it, and turned him into an invisible man.
Second, he invented a time machine which transported him back to the Melaka Sultanate but he accidentally released a vicious witch from captivity and she threatened his very existence.
Backed by popular demand, Aziz decided to shoot a third Amir Hamzah adventure, set in the present time, early last year.
Amir Hamzah is now a successful scientist in his 50s, and once again has to save the world from a scientific catastrophe unwittingly caused by individuals who abused his latest invention.
However, the veteran filmmaker has chosen to take a back seat, appearing only towards the end of the story, and for the most part, his earth-shattering discovery interacts with new, youthful characters.
They are university students Rayyan (Izzue Islam Mazlan) and Sam (Adam John), and science graduate and multi-national company researcher Lana (Nonny Nadirah Zainuddin).
Rayyan and Sam are conducting research into a strange wormhole in the sky that is affecting global weather patterns.
They soon learn that the wormhole first appeared in August 1996, and resulted in a (real-life) nationwide blackout, by absorbing energy from the Sultan Ismail Power Station in Paka, Terengganu.
Rayyan and Sam meet Lana by chance, and she informs them that her own investigations revealed that the wormhole released hundreds of strange devices known as probes, sent to earth from another dimension.
Meanwhile, Lana’s father and company chairman Tan Sri Ismail (Datuk Rahim Razali) has been gathering some of the probes which fell to earth like meteorites, to create new technology for the nation’s benefit.
Her elder brother, the ambitious and arrogant Rosnan (Dazrin Kamaruddin) is desperate to take over the business from his father. The probes, including those in the hands of Ismail, slowly begin to affect the sun, as they absorb a great deal of its light. This leads to more unpredictable climate change, and the future of life is at stake.
Rayyan, Sam and Lana bump into Amir Hamzah, who is no longer working with Ismail.
With his help, they steal one of the probes and help Amir Hamzah taps its energy to destroy the other probes and save the planet.
A mysterious man who looks after the Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum (Datuk Jalaluddin Hassan), but who knows Amir Hamzah well, also joins in their mission.
While XX-Ray III is touted as an up-todate sci-fi adventure, its CGI seems to “trail” behind that of Cicak-Man, Cicak-Man II and Desolasi, major titles that emerged in the last decade.
In fact, the probes look cartoonish, likewise the wormhole, rays of light emanating from it, and the explosions which the probes cause.
As for the plot, it leaves a few things “blowing in the wind”, at least until Aziz comes up with XX-Ray IV, which he has also promised.
The glaring question marks are the alien force which released the probes, and how quickly Amir Hamzah got to know about Rayyan, Sam and Lana. Izzue, Nonny and Adam carry their roles decently, though Adam occasionally over-acts as the motor-mouthed and bumbling Sam.
Dazrin is a typical, two-dimensional brat found in countless Malay drama series, while Rahim’s millionaire character is also cliched.
Ardell Aryana and Ashraf Muslim conduct themselves with dignity as a couple who work with the Malaysian Embassy in Jordan, while Jalaluddin speaks and gestures like his two-dimensional Laksamana Hang Tuah in the second XX-Ray outing.
Saiful Apek has an interesting cameo as the man who first witnessed the wormhole in Paka, but his character is largely wasted, and could be developed a lot more.
The only good thing about him is the CGI successfully made him look young in a flashback scene.
Aziz’s Amir Hamzah is no doubt the best actor, and is a Yoda-like figure to the investigative trio. It is good that Amir Hamzah retains his clumsiness of youth, because that humanises him, and anchors the story firmly to its predecessors’ timeline.
The cinematography is impressive, with lots of panoramic views of Melaka City and its star tourist attractions, and it is great that Aziz and friends spent 10 days in Jordan at the archaeological wonder Petra (he first visited Jordan to help Syrian refugees two years ago).
In fact, the crew specially set foot at the place where Harrison Ford filmed Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade and where Autobot Bumblebee stood in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen.
XX-Ray III has lots of parodies of popular culture, from the present day as well as the 1980s. This is vintage Aziz, who shares a love of retro stuff with Hantu Kak Limah director Mamat Khalid.
Just as Hantu Kak Limah gave us the iconic 1990s song Srikandi Cintaku made popular by Datuk M. Nasir, XX-Ray III also has a Nasir gem, Mentera Semerah Padi.
And just as Hantu Kak Limah reintroduced the jingle of a popular TV advertisement from the 1980s, XX-Ray III has done the same for a major government campaign song from the same decade.
XX-Ray III may not be the best sci-fi adventure, and is full of loopholes, but it is entertaining all the way. Fans of Aziz’s first two XX-Rays should not miss it.
And they should also watch out for a cameo appearance by Amir Hamzah’s former housemate.