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DVD The Raid 2: Berandal
 Run time: 150 min Rating: 8.4 Genres: Action | Crime | Thriller Director: Gareth Evans Writers: Gareth Evans Stars: Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Arifin Putra |
| Storyline 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. And so Rama begins a new odyssey of violence, a journey that will force him to set aside his own life and history and take on … Written by Sony Pictures Classics |
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| Plot Keywords: gangster, violence, fight, prison, two against one | |
| Details: Country: Indonesia, USA Release Date: 11 April 2014 (UK) |
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| Box Office Opening Weekend: $165,292 (USA) (28 March 2014) Gross: $2,625,803 (USA) (13 June 2014) |
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Okay so where do I begin I saw the first one and It blew me away. I watch so many movies no matter the genre. So while I was watching this sequel my heart was beating very fast and the adrenaline was pumping. It takes place 2 hours after where the first one ended. Swear to god every time there was a fight on I felt it and I kept shaking. The scene that had me pumped was the train scene and the prison fight. There is a lot of martial artist involved in this film which makes me love it even more because they use real stunt men and this movie just requires skill. This is by far the best action movie sequel ever produced and I hope it gets noticed by everyone around the world. Best one on one showdown in the end. If you love action movies and would love to turn your brain off for a moment then this is your candy. My favorite action movie ever, sorry Bruce Lee. 10/10 MUST SEE!
The Raid 2: Berandal (2014) (Indonesian Action).
Viewed on March 28th at the Regal E-Walk cinema in the heart of New York City.
After surviving the apartment building raid, Iko Uwais goes undercover to take down an Indonesian crime syndicate that is feuding with an invasive Japanese yakuza clan in Jakarta. Things get out of control and everything goes to hell. That's the plot in a nutshell.
The fighting is the main draw of this film. Martial arts films are frequently under-appreciated because critics tend to downplay the artistry of orchestrating a fight sequence. In some ways it's like staging a complex dance with extremely difficult performances by physical talents who have spent their entire lives perfecting their craft. In many cases it can be even more challenging than executing a good dramatic moment. With that said, "The Raid 2" is an exquisite ballet of death with an incredible variety of expertly crafted action sequences that have a grounded, realistic feel to them. It's hard to describe, but despite the insane action there's very little outrageousness present. The choreography here is some of the best ever put on film.
There is no question that Uwais is currently the premiere martial arts star, and there is certainly no question that Gareth Evans is the greatest action director on the planet. This man is a genius in terms of visually expressing action through vivid, mind-blowing camera-work. This guy never directed a car chase sequence in his life, and yet his very first attempt is impressive. I did notice a bit more shaky cam in this film when compared to its predecessor, but one can see everything so it's not a problem. Evans is also a pro to create a crescendo of action where every fight seems to outdo the one before it. This generates an absolutely thrilling final hour that will go down in history.
The gory violence of "The Raid 2" is a big "screw you" to PG-13 action movies. Some critics are already whining about the graphic bloodletting, but these are the same guys who hand out 90% approval ratings to movies with incompetent action and no edge – *cough* "The Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire" (2013) *cough*. The gore in "The Raid 2" isn't just randomly thrown in either. It's a logical consequence of the situation and characters, and it is applied in very creative ways. I have heard that Evans was only coerced to cut a few "frames" due to the MPAA review, but I have no idea which frames those were because the now infamous shotgun kill is present in its full, unadulterated glory.
The $4.5 million budget is an even bigger "screw you" to mega budget Hollywood blockbusters. "The Raid 2" has more thrilling action than every $100+ million superhero movie I've ever seen . . . at less than 4.5% of the cost. It's almost unbelievable what these guys can do with a limited budget.
Given the exceptional quality of the action, the 148-minute runtime puts some pressure on the story to maintain its momentum between the violence. The first "Raid" received much criticism that asserted a generic story and undeveloped characters, but I felt that it nevertheless established a "feel" for the characters without the need for long-winded exposition. That "feel" can add quite a bit to an action film. "The Raid 2" spends more time setting up its premise, which results in some genuine plot and character development. It attempts to do this by taking a generic gangster template and infusing it with a sprawling crime saga that implements many characters. This is essentially a "chess board" setup where numerous pieces are first put into place, allowing for many possible confrontations. The viewer is therefore able to relish the moment when a particular piece attacks and takes down another, revealing the actual outcome amidst the countless possibilities.
I really liked some of the supporting characters in this, and actually felt a bit sad when they died (even some of the villains!). I am a bit disappointed that both "Hammer Girl" and Baseball Bat Man" are only given a few scenes, but they are certainly memorable. I really liked that brief moment where Hammer Girl picked up her hammers on the bar shelf. It was slightly child-like and innocent, like she was going out to play with friends. This brief, split-second moment can communicate a lot about her character.
I suppose it helps to already be a fan of the actors and actresses here, since there are a number of familiar faces from both Indonesian and Japanese film industries. Needless to say, the performances are top notch. The Japanese actors have their little moments, but they could have been given more to do in this. Maybe "The Raid 3" will give them more time in the spotlight.
Overall, "The Raid 2" is a very satisfying action film that justifies its hype after just one viewing. It's simply spectacular.
((From: http://thinmanmoviereviews.wordpress.com/)) In 2011, Welsh director Gareth Evans gave us "The Raid: Redemption" – one of the best pure action films of the last decade – and hinted at his potential to be a new and exciting presence in the writer/director realm. The action was hard-hitting, lightning fast, supporting a simple, contained story of one man fighting against an entire tower of enemies in a way that was reminiscent of classics like "Die Hard". Well, if "The Raid" was one of the best action films of the last ten years, Evans' follow-up film "The Raid 2″ has now set the standard for the next twenty. In fact, I'm going to make a bold statement that you can feel free to quote me on:
"The Raid 2″ is the best action movie ever made.
Where sequels are concerned, this film does absolutely everything right. It takes the frenetic energy of the original, contained within the twenty-story drug den in which it took place, and lets it loose across the urban sprawl of an entire city teeming with warring crime syndicates, corrupt police officers, and the civilians often caught in the crossfire. No longer contained to just one address, the fight scenes in "Raid 2″ cover car chases, cramped subway trains, muddy prison yards, night clubs, and city streets, and every action set piece hits all the right notes. Every punch thrown and bullet fired is made even more effective by the fact that all of the action is done practically. In an era where so much of the action that we see on screen is dominated by the CGI-centric explosion extravaganzas of Michael Bay and the like it's incredibly refreshing to see highly trained stunt professionals being pushed to their limits to deliver a collection of the best action scenes in modern memory. Much of this work is shouldered by the film's lead, Indonesian-born Iko Uwais, the returning star of the first "Raid". Uwais is reminiscent of a younger Jet Li or – dare I say it – Bruce Lee; moving with such self-assured speed and practiced precision that every move deserves multiple looks to take in all the details. The comparison to Lee is bolstered by "The Raid 2″'s finale, which plays out like the final gatecrashing act of "Game of Death", in which our hero has to slug his way through opponents of increasing lethality. Unlike "Game of Death", "The Raid 2″ lets us see our villains in action almost as often as our hero, and it's a credit to Evans as writer/director that each of these characters is absolutely dripping with charisma and cool. There are no wasted characters here; we love every hero and love to hate every villain.
The script is, with few exceptions, always on-point. What could have simply been a straight-forward action flick with minimal plot to carry us from one action set-piece to another is instead a mad whirlwind of conspiracy, murder, and double and triple-crosses, steadily ratcheting up the tension to the film's explosive conclusion. From a technical standpoint, the impressive cinematography matches the action stride-for- stride and, looking back, there are a dizzying number of wildly choreographed long-takes that put every nuance of the environment, characters, and action on display. Combine this with a pulse-pounding soundtrack and some absolutely superb practical makeup effects accompanying every injury, no matter how small, and "The Raid 2″ is the complete package. With a third film already in the works, making this a trilogy, Hollywood has been put on notice: Gareth Evans has arrived; he's just dramatically changed the landscape of action films and shows no signs of pulling any punches. [10/10]
Being said, this is the Sundance Edition; extremely brutal and uncut violence. It was amazing to hear how the editing had just finished (on Sunday) only a couple days before the first screening (on Tuesday)for Sundance. The level of expectations of surpassing the Raid: Redemption will not disappoint any action junkies. A barrage of set-action sequences from a muddy prison (uncontrollable chaos) to several people being decimate with the use of a baseball bat and a pair of claw hammers (with close-up gore that can only rival horror movies), a fantastic car chase that might have been the one of the very best choreographed sequence in recent memory and a final fight scene that will leave you breathless from its intensity and insanity.
The plot is of a familiar "storyline", yet there are somber moments from a few characters that help drive the emotional aspect (especially from the main character's quiet reconnection with his family). It does feel a bit choppy in certain scenes but, for a 2 1/2 hr movie, it really does fly on by.
The final fight scene completely out-shined the first Raid. Quite honestly, it really was an edge-of-your-seat moment. As the director explains his reason of making such a movie during a Q&A, (paraphrasing) "I wanted to make a movie that I wanted to see and hopefully there'll be several hundred people who will enjoy it too."