Ejen Ali: The Movie

Muhammad Usamah Zaid's 2019 Malaysian animation is the feature version of the television series of the same name. Ali is a young agent of a secret organisation; while it upgrades all its agents' devices he is assigned against a plot targeting the city and begins to question his loyalty. The film follows the familiar template of the child-spy story but places a question about technology at its centre: whether a system that sees everyone's data is protection or control. That is an unusual question for its audience. The animation is Malaysian-made and technically ambitious for the country's cinema. The action sequences are fast and the cutting keeps the rhythm of the television series. Who it's for: family audiences who have watched the series and those curious about Southeast Asian animation. Who it's not for: viewers who do not know the series; the film begins without introducing its characters or its organisation.