There aren't too many movies that left me sitting in my chair shaking from excitement. The Raid: Redemption was one of those movies. It was a complete surprise for me, filled with crazy shootouts, awesome martial arts sequence and a tone that felt claustrophobic, like you were trapped. It was creepy, exciting, hilarious, and the perfect movie to put a smile on your face. If you're into martial arts and action, that is. It's silly.
When I heard of The Raid 2, it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. I wasn't expecting a rehash of the original, but I was hoping for a similar approach. And in some ways, it was there. In more ways, though, the movie was bigger, becoming less of a compact action movie and becoming a much larger crime epic. I liked it a lot, don't get me wrong, but I definitely missed the smaller scale of the first Raid film.
The Raid 2 picks up where the first Raid ended, only now having Rama going from being a rookie SWAT officer to being an undercover agent, infiltrating himself into a crime family in order to uncover police corruption. Already, the story is much larger. The original Raid focused on the SWAT team attack on a small building, resulting in the worst case scenario for a single cop. This sequel focuses on an entire city, jumping to many locations and tons of environments. The Raid was refreshing in its approach to keep interest with only one environment type. But the sequel manages to keep it interesting with generic appearing locations in constantly fun and silly ways - a night club, a kitchen, an office. It keeps you on your toes in the same way, but with more variety in its general simplicity.
The action is once again astounding. The film utilizes stationary camera positions to highlight the amazing fighting choreography, but also uses a new, quicker jumping style. It's fascinating that this style succeeds at what so many other action movies utterly fail at doing - keeping it easy to follow while still complimenting the choreography. At no point do you ever misread how moves were held or misinterpret the action. It's crystal clear, and it's an absolute joy to watch.
The Raid series is definitely not one for everyone. But for me, it's everything I miss in action movies. A story that's exciting, action to keep you on the edge of your seat, characters that you love for their brutality and style, just enough blood to keep it significant, but plenty for the gore lovers to really get into. It's just a brilliant movie. I can't wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.
Rank - 5/5
The action is once again astounding. The film utilizes stationary camera positions to highlight the amazing fighting choreography, but also uses a new, quicker jumping style. It's fascinating that this style succeeds at what so many other action movies utterly fail at doing - keeping it easy to follow while still complimenting the choreography. At no point do you ever misread how moves were held or misinterpret the action. It's crystal clear, and it's an absolute joy to watch.
The Raid series is definitely not one for everyone. But for me, it's everything I miss in action movies. A story that's exciting, action to keep you on the edge of your seat, characters that you love for their brutality and style, just enough blood to keep it significant, but plenty for the gore lovers to really get into. It's just a brilliant movie. I can't wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.
Rank - 5/5
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