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‘The Experts’ tells Malaysia’s first heist film as a family of ex-thieves embark on a dangerous mission
KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — Prepare for a family heist film unlike any before!
The Experts will bring a distinctly Malaysian twist to the genre complete with family drama, thrills, twists and tango dancing.
The action-comedy features an all-star cast including Datuk Aaron Aziz, Remy Ishak, Syafiq Kyle, Ray Dapdap and Mini Lana.
The stars play five siblings of ex-thieves, each with their own unique ‘expertise’, who have to steal an heirloom ring after being blackmailed by a vicious gangster.
Tony Eusoff, Maya Karin and Wan Hanafi Su also star as the film's antagonists, a powerful crime family who are the keepers of the ring.
The siblings must work together and face their past grudges to pull off a seemingly impossible theft or risk losing it all.
The stars and executive producer Raja Jastina Raja Arshad spoke on the ‘freshness’ of the Malaysian heist genre at the film's recent gala premiere at TGV Cinemas, Sunway Velocity Mall.
More than just another heist film
“The Experts is more than just a heist-film involving a jewelled ring,” Raja Jastina said.
“It is an original and fictional cinematic account with local elements like family matters and action comedy that hit home with local audiences.”
Writer and producer Joel Soh, who is also the mind behind the Polis Evo franchise, said that the challenge was to make something completely different from before.
“We came from Polis Evo which featured the army and the police heavily, so with The Experts everything about the action scenes had to be different,” Soh said.
“Normally, a heist film would just be centred around the heist itself but we felt that our local audiences would be more engaged with drama and emotional twists.”
Raja added that aside from the hilarious banter between the siblings, the film will also explore their relationships and grudges with themes of forgiveness and betrayal.
Co-director Andre Chiew said that the five main stars of the film were ‘professionals’ similar to their on-screen counterparts.
Chiew and co-director Nazir Shah told Malay Mail that the cast were ‘a dream’ to work with and that the script gave each of them their own special scenes to shine.
One of the highlights Chiew mentioned was a car chase and a crazy stunt involving Mimi and Ray’s characters in a parking lot.
Another scene to look forward to is a sizzling tango dance between Remy Ishak and Maya Karin that was shot in one night.
A family affair
Aaron, who plays Farid, the eldest brother of the group, said he chose the role because he had never played a ‘mastermind’ before.
“Andre told me that he is not a gangster or fighter, which I liked because it was something different,” Aaron said.
"Usually in an action film, the male characters are always looking for a fight but Farid is more of a thinker and a meticulous planner who can fight when he has too.”
He told Malay Mail that the family bond between the five siblings was built through extensive rehearsals which led to a natural chemistry.
“We had a lot of rehearsals together and we practised everything to the most minute details, even the way my character smoked,” the actor said.
“So after rehearsals, classes and training together, it just came naturally when we arrived on set.”
“I think this is one of the few films that I got involved with where everything from top to bottom was fully prepared, which I believe we (the cast) are grateful for.”
The Experts is set to hit cinemas nationwide May 23.