The Raid 2
Starring: Iko Uwais, Yahan Ruhian, Arifan Putra, Oka Antara, Tio Pakusadewo
Director: Gareth Evans
Rating: 4.5/5
It was back in 2012 when director Gareth Evans and actor Iko Uwais burst onto the big screen with the uber violent, action packed, and totally fantastic The Raid: it really was one of the best action/martial arts films that I had seen in some time.
This week the duo is back with The Raid 2: it really is one of the most anticipated sequels of the year as Evans ups the stakes and the anti.
He thought it was over. After fighting his way out of a building filled with gangsters and madmen - a fight that left the bodies of police and gangsters alike piled in the halls - rookie Jakarta cop Rama thought it was done and he could resume a normal life. He couldn't have been more wrong.
Formidable though they may have been, Rama's opponents in that fateful building were nothing more than small fish swimming in a pond much larger than he ever dreamed possible. And his triumph over the small fry has attracted the attention of the predators farther up the food chain.
His family at risk, Rama has only one choice to protect his infant son and wife: He must go undercover to enter the criminal underworld himself and climb through the hierarchy of competing forces until it leads him to the corrupt politicians and police pulling the strings at the top of the heap.
If you are expecting the fast-paced movie that The Raid was, think again, as this is an altogether different beast: the characters and the universe has been expanded. This is a much slower, complex, and drama driven film than the first. However, when it comes to the action sequences, they are more ferocious than ever.
The movie’s story may be bigger, there may be more character, there may be more character development, but it is still the action moments that take front and centre stage - they are brutal and totally breathless.
From the fight in the prison toilet, the prison courtyard to the fight Rama gets stuck into in a car, you feel every punch, kick, and wallop of a weapon. They are violent, bloody, glory and totally fantastic: if you are a fan of the martial art genre, then this is absolutely the movie for you.
Evans could have so easily delivered a movie that was a carbon copy of the first, but has really stuck his neck out to give us something completely different… and he really pulls it off.
Evans has to be applauded for his sharp and involving direction: he really does put the audience right into the heart of the action all of the time. The action is bloody and brutal and is shot in a way that makes the audience experience the total impact of every blow. If you are a little sensitive to that sort of thing, then this is not the movie for you.
Obviously, The Raid 2 is a movie that will not be for everyone’s taste, but for fans of this genre, this is a film that delivers on every level and takes on you on a fast and furious ride.
For me, a run time of two hours and twenty-eight minutes was a little long, but that is really the only fault that I have with this film.
The Raid was one of my favourite films of 2012, and I was excited about this sequel from the moment that I heard that it was being made. It is a film that did not disappoint, and I cannot wait to see the third instalment.
The Raid 2 is released 11th April.