Java Heat Review: Mickey Rourke challenges Kellan Lutz (but not himself)

“Java Heat centers on Jake (Lutz), a reckless American tough guy who becomes embroiled in the turmoil ensuing the attacks that killed the country’s much beloved Sultana. Jake is bent on vengeance but quickly finds the world a more complicated place than he can solve with violence alone. Lost among labyrinths of religious, political and cultural havoc, Jake must ally with cerebral Muslim detective Hashim (rising Indonesian star Ario Bayu), who handles Jake more like a suspect than a partner. The uneasy friendship leads to a treacherous man-hunt for the attack’s real instigator, a new breed of klepto-terrorist (Rourke), who is even more twisted and terrifying than the Jihadist terrorists he hides behind.”

Mickey Rourke has returned to small projects after winning his deserved Academy Award for The Wrestler and being featured in high profile movies like Iron Man 2, The Expendables and Immortals. But instead of looking for personal Indies that could help him showcase his amazing talent, the actor is back in the straight-to-DVD market with action titles like The Courier and Dead in Tombstone with Danny Trejo.

In Java Heat Rourke is once again an exotic villain, throwing lines in French, wearing Elton John-like sunglasses and having -like in Iron Man 2- a cacatua for pet. It is evident that he had a lot of freedom and input in the character. Injecting color into a cardboard stereotype is always appreciated, but knowing what he can do with small roles (his emotional scene with Stallone in The Expendables alone deserved an award) I wished he would have been challenged to step out his comfort zone.

As the protagonist, Kellan Lutz proves that he is way more believable as an action hero than his Twilight co-star Taylor Lautner. Ario Bayu is solid and we would probably see him in future Hollywood films. The exciting thing in this buddy-cop formula is the setting: Indonesia is a character full of cultural richness, beautiful and unsettling vistas.

The movie is more of a guilty pleasure than a redefining entrance in the genre, something that last year’s Indonesian export The Raid clearly was. But it showcases the work of Conor Allyn, a promising young director that manages to create interesting atmospheres and sequences with a low budget. Another positive note is that it breaks racists stereotypes having strong Asian heroes and a Caucasian villain. Something refreshingly new in an otherwise old-school B-action movie.

Java Heat is available today May 13 On-Demand (Comcast, Cox, Cablevision, Time Warner, DirecTV, iTunes, Xbox, Sundancenow.com).