Fritz, a Tongan entrepreneur returns to his old neighbourhood and inadvertently causes the theft of his late father’s valued pro wrestling title belt by some ruthless gangsters led by ‘man-mountain’ Tahu. When negotiation and diplomacy fail to get it back, he is forced to embrace his father’s legacy to reclaim the title.
From the producers of the Pacific Island portmanteau film, Vai, and Māori portmanteau film, Waru, comes the directorial feature film debut for Kiel Mc Naughton. The Legend of Baron To'a has a cast made up entirely of Pacific Islanders and Māori such as Uli Latukefu (Alien: Covenant), Nathaniel Lees (The Matrix Reloaded), Jay Laga'aia (Star Wars: Episode II & III), John Tui (Fast and Furious presents: Hobbs & Shaw), as well as Shortland Street alumni Shavaughn Ruakere, Fasitua Amosa, Duane Evens Jr, and Lotima Pome'e aka General Fiyah.
The Legend of Baron To'a is an intriguing film. As far as action-oriented comedies go, the premise sounds like a generic "progressive vs traditional" film, however there is an inconsistent tone that becomes increasingly apparent by the third act. The style of humour and the breadth of the story actually could be seen as reaching for comparability to the likes of the cult classic, Hot Fuzz, but The Legend of Baron To'a is hampered by its odd tone and conflicting character elements.
Its characters are as one-dimensional as they get, with only two having any form of development arc. Protagonists and Antagonists are so clearly demarcated and static that there is little to draw the audience in with. Nothing to make us want to care about what we are seeing on screen. To an extent, it is this over-the-top cartoonish style of character that helps the film achieve the extent of humour that it does. With an ever-present sense of hostility and danger on display throughout the film's runtime, these rather bizarre interpretations and impersonations of cultural stereotypes are what prevents the first two acts from becoming too "real".
It is this third and final act that loses the comical exterior and reveals the real tense and concerning reality of what is on display. The climax of the film involves fighting to regain the wrestling belt, but it does not come in the form of a wrestling belt. It comes in the form of highly organised and premeditated aggravated assault. With a nation that is widely known to have increased domestic violence call outs when we lose a rugby game, the way in which it is portrayed in a film is highly important. To have our protagonist using weapons to attack people in the street in a clearly not defensive manner, and to go further by involving children in the ruckus, the amount of glorified violence can become somewhat unnerving.
The fact that the majority of the film takes place within a single cul-de-sac poses difficulties in keeping the scenes feeling fresh, and the cinematography is well-executed taking advantage of as many angles as possible, with a colour palette that keeps the visual element well-grounded.
With the level of acting class involved in the film, the end product does seem to place responsibility on the direction and screenplay. The lack of character development leaves little in the way of an emotional connection for the audience to engage with; the only exceptions being some great performances from Shavaughn Ruakere and Duane Evens Jr. I wanted to know more about why Baron To'a was the symbol that he was, and how this history affected the community, but the plot is only skin deep and does not explore this further.
The end result is a mediocre film that will still get some laughs from the audience but does raise concerns over how it displays its violence. The cast is great, but the choice of story and message is more than a little questionable.
The Legend of Baron To'a is in cinemas from February 20, 2020