Review #762: 'The Raid 2' (2014)

After 2011's The Raid, in which a plot of blissful simplicity plays out in completely barbaric fashion as hordes of sharp instrument-wielding criminals go head-to-head with a small group of mainly inexperienced cops in what was one of the most thrilling action experiences I've ever witnessed, Welsh director Gareth Evans attempts to answer his fans question of just how he could possibly top that with it's sequel, The Raid 2. While The Raid was just over 90 minutes of heart-pumping, wince-inducing entertainment, it's sequel attempts to actually develop a plot.

Starting just a few hours after the events of the first film, Rama (Iko Uwais), strikes a deal with Bunawar (Cok Simbara), the leader of an anti-corruption task force, to infiltrate the criminal gangs overrunning the city. After assaulting the son of a politician who opposed the family of crime-lord Bangun (Tio Pakusodewo), Rama is sent to prison, where Bangun's unpredictable and ambitious son Uco (Arifin Putra) is currently serving time. Rama saves Uco's life in a prison riot and earns his trust, so when he is released, Rama goes to work for Bangun as an enforcer. But with Uco growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of opportunities given to him by his father, he is drawn into a plot with Bejo (Alex Abbad), another criminal, to set up a war between the two rival families and prosper from the chaos.

Like many Asian mob movies, The Raid 2 is littered with scenes in which indistinguishable overlords talk in dark rooms, talking in riddles and beating round the bush in scenes of heavy exposition that do little but over-complicate what is a rather simple plot. The film is confusing when it really shouldn't be, concentrating more on atmosphere rather than just getting to the point and letting the movie play out. It leads to a pretty exhausting 150-minute running time, and makes us wait a long, long time before unleashing a wholly satisfying, 45 minute blood-stained climax.

If you thought the fight scenes in the first film were brutal, then Evans unleashes a whole new world of painful deaths and maiming. It's also more cartoonish, introducing a female assassin who carries two hammers, and another who seems to know every possible way you can bash a man's head in with a baseball bat. CGI blood is everywhere, and also facial burns, shattered jaws, and protruding bones. Evans also gives us his first attempt at a car chase, and it instantly becomes one of the greatest chases ever. He has a real gift for violence, and it's actually quite unnerving just how much enjoyment I got out of watching the mayhem unravel. Although it struggles to tell an interesting story, especially with Rama going AWOL for large chunks of the film, there is really nothing else like it out there.


Directed by: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra, Alex Abbad, Oka Antara, Tio Pakusodewo, Julie Estelle
Country: Indonesia/USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #594: 'The Raid' (2011)

Released amongst a flurry of post-Expendables 80's action homages, The Raid arrived to be met with almost universal acclaim from audiences and critics alike. So while Stallone and his crew have wetted audiences appetites for big guns and corny dialogue again - that coincidentally coincided with the return of the original oiled-up arse-groper, Arnold Schwarzenegger - The Raid took action back to the hand-to-hand delights of Asian action cinema and created what is undoubtedly the finest collection of fisticuffs that has ever been committed to film. Made with little budget, an inexperienced cast, and a director from Wales (the movie itself is Indonesian), the result is simply mystifying, blowing away all pretenders.

The plot is simple. Expectant father Rama (Iko Uwais) and a 20-man police squad led by Sergeant Jaka (Joe Taslim) and Lieutenant Wahyu (Pierre Gruno) are sent to an apartment block run by crime lord Tama (Ray Sahetapy). Made up mainly by rookies, the team intend to sneak in undetected, taking Tama and his two henchmen Andi (Donny Alamsyah) and Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian) alive. Things don't go to plan when they are seen by a spotter and are quickly confronted by a small army of the apartment block's residents. With the squad separated and quickly getting smaller, and Lieutenant Wahyu's intentions becoming increasingly unclear, Tama announces that any man that kills a policeman will be allowed to live there free of charge, causing even more cronies to descend on them.

While the plot sounds distinctly similar to that of Die Hard (1988) (and one copied by Dredd a year later), the set-up is a simple platform to allow director Gareth Evans to unleash a near-endless orgy of fists, feet, knives and, well, more fists. Had the action been anything less than spectacular, The Raid would be a massive bore, but thankfully, it is jaw-dropping. Every fight is a lightning-fast array punches and kicks with spatters of black humour and squirm-inducing deaths. Yet there are no bone-snapping close-ups or time-altering impact accentuations that plague action movies with lesser scope and respect for it's audience - this is fast, brutal, almost real. Sure, the characters simply defy the limits of the human pain threshold, but it's the realism of the punches and stabbings that give the fights their impact.

You will need to leave your brain at the door however, as beyond the action scenes, there is very little going on in terms of story and believability, which makes the film somewhat shallow in terms of what it could have been given a little more thought. Every resident in the apartment complex is a master of some martial art or other. But that I can easily forgive, as it just offers the chance to make every single fight memorable. If you loved the famous fight scene in They Live, then you're in for a treat towards the end, where we get a truly nasty extended three-way face-off, that displays some fine martial artistry that will surely put pencak silat on the movie map. The Raid is destined to be the film that all action movies are compared with, and undoubtedly silenced by. Sadly, with the absence of any real plot developments, The Raid will always be a great action movie to me, rather than a great movie.


Directed by: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Pierre Gruno
Country: Indonesia/USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie