After Black Hawk Down (2001), the casual moviegoer would have thought that the rescue operation was only conducted by American soldiers. In reality, it was a multinational effort, and Malaysia’s side of the story has finally been depicted in MALBATT: Misi Bakara. Surprisingly, it doesn’t play out as a straightforward, action-packed rescue mission– writer-director Adrian Teh does deliver the action, but the film also contemplates about the team itself: how they made sense of their opposition towards a country they shared religions with, and how they experienced the ignorance from American soldiers that didn’t even know where Malaysia was. While some introductory sequences falter, and the film fumbles certain green screen moments, MALBATT: Misi Bakara brings both the spectacle and the drama that makes it stand out from other depictions of the rescue mission.

Made in response to the inaccuracies of Black Hawk Down, what makes MALBATT: Misi Bakara stand out is its commitment to accuracy. Reportedly, the film’s production consulted military advisor Paul Biddiss, who has been previously consulted for Hollywood military depictions, alongside several Malaysian Army soldiers, to train and prepare the actors before filming. They also filmed on set in certain locations in Somalia, as well as bases in Turkey. Even some of the cast were involved in the incident– Abdalle, their Somali interpreter, was portrayed by Musa Aden, who actually experienced the Somali Civil War. While the film did rely on CGI for specific moments, and certain choices were made to preserve the privacy of the real soldiers, it’s decisions like these that make MALBATT: Misi Bakara feel more grounded in a way Black Hawk Down hasn’t been.