THE RAID 2 – The Review

In the original Indonesian action film RAID: THE REDEMPTION from 2011, Welsh writer/director Gareth Evans didn’t bother much with story or character development, instead making his film a kind of videogame-inspired siege. Rookie cop Rama (Iko Uwais) powered his way through a 15-story tenement infested with killers, gangsters, and mobsters in a war that left bodies literally piled in the halls. Though RAID: THE REDEMPTION had a slight story, it was an unbelievably violent and excitingly frenetic film, a non-stop orgy of brilliantly choreographed fight scenes that scored on so many levels. With the sequel, THE RAID 2, Evans has applied the same high-impact directorial style to a sprawling, more complex, THE DEPARTED-like story about crime family dynamics, corrupt politicians, moral dilemmas and mixed loyalties. The result is a 2 ½ hour epic of compelling drama punctuated by fist-pumping action, and stomach-churning violence that barely gives the audience a moment to catch their breath. It’s a richer and more ambitious film than the original and it features my two new favorite villains: Hammer Girl and Bat Boy!

THE RAID 2 picks up just after the first film. After battling his way out of that building, Rama thinks he’s done and can resume a normal life, but his opponents there were just the tip of the criminal iceberg.  His family at risk, Rama must go undercover and enter prison to connect with Uco (Arifin Putra), the hotheaded son of crime boss Bangun (Tio Pakusadewo). Once he’s released, he works his way into the mob and attempts to use his position to uncover their police connections. His greatest challenge comes in Uco, who betrays his father and sets off a bloody gang war with Rama in the middle.

THE RAID 2 is everything you’d want in a police action thriller: powerhouse characters, Grade A production values, a decent script and suspenseful direction. But most people will see the film for its action scenes and they won’t be disappointed. A bloody, muddy free-for-all in a prison yard kicks things off, faces are blasted to hamburger with shotguns, an extended car chase results in motorcycles sliding underneath the wheels of speeding cars (the complexity of this sequence boggles the mind), and there are several close-quarters brawls – one in a kitchen, another in a toilet stall, and another in a taxi – that have to be seen to be believed. The carnage is extreme and cruel and each blood-soaked action sequence is one-upped by the next. Yayan Ruhian, who played rabid villain Mad Dog in part 1 is back as a different character, a homeless, machete-wielding martial arts master. Hammer Girl and Bat Boy, the hoodie-wearing assassin who inflicts massive carnage with lumber and the deaf woman who gouges her prey with a claw hammer are minor characters, but when they show up, they send THE RAID 2 into a kind of insane overdrive and I’d like to see them featured in their own movie.

For some THE RAID 2 may just be too much; a blur of fists, blades, severed arteries, smashed faces and bullet-riddled bodies that run together into a hard-to-take bloody mess. It is as violent as any movie you’ll see outside (maybe) of some ‘torture porn’ horror and anyone remotely squeamish should steer far, far away. There may be a few too many dialog scenes that break the momentum but THE RAID 2 is presented with such assured direction and brutal fight choreography, it’ll leave you wide-eyed and gasping. Part 3 (filming now!) can’t get here soon enough!

4 1/2 of 5 Stars

THE RAID 2 Opens in St. Louis Friday, April 11th at (among other places) Landmark’s Tivoli Theater