Courtesy of Starvision

The motto for Indonesian firefighters '€” '€œPantang Pulang Sebelum Padam'€, which means '€œwe will never go home until the fire is out'€, is at the core of their lives and outlook on life.

The film Air dan Api (Water and Fire) pays tribute to this spirit. However, with its strange blend of slapstick comedy and serious drama, it is awkwardly delivered.

Raymond Handaya directs the new movie, which a sequel to the Iqbal Rais-directed Si Jago Merah (The Red Fire, 2008). Iqbal passed away in 2013.

In Air dan Api, which hits theaters on March 26, Raymond eschews the comedic appeal of Si Jago Merah in favor of more action and more drama.

The sequel follows two young firemen, Gito (Deddy Mahendra Desta) and Rojak (Judika Sihotang) '€” two characters who also featured in the first film '€” as they set out to train-up a new batch of firefighters.

Gito and Rojak are joined by a new character, Abdur (Abdur Arsyad), whom they met while saving an old home from a bomb.

Courtesy of Starvision

In the sequel, Raymond broadens the scope of the firefighters'€™ tasks from extinguishing fires to helping police maintain order during rallies, as well as conducting rescue missions.

Among the new recruits are the new film'€™s three main characters '€” Radit (Tarra Budiman), Sisi (Enzy Storia) and Dipo (Dion Wiyoko). Each comes from a different background, but each shares a natural instinct to help those in need.

Radit is the clown character. He is forced to become a firefighter by his father following a fight in a restaurant where he works. The fight is triggered by Radit'€™s intention to rescue a beautiful girl from an abusive relationship.

Initially, Radit is reluctant to sign up because his uncle, the quick-tempered Dicky (Bucek Depp), is in charge of the new recruiting process. However, once Radit sees the beautiful Sisi among the new recruits, he forgets his reservations.

Sisi, meanwhile, has daddy issues. She is the daughter of a fallen fireman and finds a father figure in Dipo, an heir to a business empire.

Dipo'€™s father (Ferry Salim) disapproves of his career choice, while his nagging girlfriend (DJ Una) constantly asks him to resign.

The love triangle between Radit, Sisi and Dipo is the central theme of Air dan Api.

The idea of a romantic comedy focused on firefighters might sound interesting, but it is poorly executed in Air dan Api.

In most scenes, the camera angles are uninspired, evoking the sinetron style, with actors are always facing the camera, creating rigid and stiff performances.

In terms of comedy, the only actor who succeeds is Abdur, a stand-up comedian whose witty one-liners always trigger laughter. Unfortunately, his is a minor role, and he'€™s only on-screen for a few short moments.

Judika and Desta, both musicians in real life, struggle to match Abdur'€™s performance.

The three main characters, meanwhile, were also not given enough time to display their comedic side.

Tarra'€™s humor is far too slapstick before he somehow transforms into a serious character midway through the movie. Giving Dion more jokes to deliver could have been interesting, but instead he is constantly disgruntled. The same is true for Enzy, who spends most of her time crying.

Scenes that could have been memorable suffer from a lack of attention to detail. An exciting underwater rescue scene, for example, depicts floodwaters, usually a murky brown, as crystal-clear.

The firefighters, meanwhile, always look professionally groomed, no matter what dirty, harrowing task they just carried out. It is hard to buy in to the movie when the firemen look so charmingly clean all the time.

The short production period of 22 days might have hindered Raymond from directing a better film.

But one thing is for sure, his intention to pay tribute to firefighters deserves a thumbs-up.

During rescue scenes, Raymond takes pains to show that while firefighters are ordinary people, when the job calls for it, they will put on their game faces and do their best to save others, even with their own lives at stake. In Air dan Api, a respect for their professionalism is clear.

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Air dan Api

(Starvision, 99 minutes)
Director: Raymond Handaya
Cast: Judika, Desta, Dion Wiyoko, Tarra Budiman, Enzy Storia, Abdur Arsyad, Bucek Depp, Marissa Nasution, Girindra Kara, Joe P Project, DJ Una, Ferry Salim