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Back in 2009, Welsh director Gareth Evans made the Indonesian martial arts film Merantau, starring new talent Iko Uwais, who was working as a deliveryman for a phone company. The film registered positively with both critics and audiences, and gave Evans a chance to pursue a more ambitious project. Evans had planned to direct a crime saga he had written called Berandal, but due to a lack of budget, he put that on hold and made The Raid: Redemption. With Uwais again as the lead star, The Raid: Redemption became a cult hit when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. This gave Evans the opportunity to finally direct Berandal, which would serve as a sequel to The Raid: Redemption. With a significantly larger budget than the first film, The Raid 2: Berandal may prove to be an instant classic. It improves on everything we saw in The Raid: Redemption, from story, production value, cinematography, and of course the action sequences.
After fighting his way out of a building filled with gangsters and madmen, rookie Jakarta cop Rama (Iko Uwais) 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 a new identity as the violent offender "Yuda." In prison he must gain the confidence of Uco (Arifin Putra), the son of the local kingpin Bangun (Tio Pakusadewo), to join the gang himself, laying his own life on the line in a desperate all-or-nothing gambit to bring the whole rotten enterprise to an end.
Early in the year, I posted a list of my most anticipated movies of 2014 (Link here). The Raid 2 was right at the very top. I couldn't wait to see this film, and when the film opened with rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival this year, I was expecting something spectacular. Having finally seen it, I can say I was not disappointed in the slightest. The Raid 2 is simply spectacular. Many have compared it to The Dark Knight and Terminator 2, as it proves to be a sequel that's a huge improvement over the original. While The Raid: Redemption had a really simple premise, The Raid 2 is an epic crime saga in the vein of The Godfather. Written by Evans, the screenplay is solid throughout the film. It's a classy mobster story, with twists and betrayals. Some have criticised the plot for being too complicated, but I completely disagree. While it's got more going on in terms of story than the first film, The Raid 2 is still easy to follow. The screenplay is still suitably simple, as the story is really just an excuse for the action sequences.
While The Raid: Redemption wasn't interested at all in character, the sequel is filled with different heroes and villains alike. There are so many characters in The Raid 2, and Evans has handled them all well. While Rama is the hero of the film, a lot of the focus is on Uco, who develops in the course of the film in really dark ways. Bangun is a memorable mob boss, while the villainous Bejo, a gangster who is trying to gain control of the criminal underworld, is a great bad guy. If I had one gripe about the film, it would be that some of the characters have no personalities whatsoever. I'm basically nit-picking at this point, because this is The Raid we're talking about. However, it comes to the point where you really don't care what happens to these characters. This really falls onto the Yakuza characters. From the trailers, it suggested that Japanese gangsters would play a huge part in the film, but in all honesty, they're only featured in three scenes and have little to no lines. The same applies to Bunawar, the cop that put Rama in the undercover unit - has very little screen time, and thus we really don't care about him. I get the impression that Evans wanted these characters to play a bigger part in his film, but with a 2 and half hour running time with action taking up most of it, these characters were kind of left aside. With all this being said, these are merely supporting characters. Essentially the focus is on Rama and his recruitment into Bangun's gang.
When I went into The Raid 2, I wanted one thing: action. It gave me exactly what I was looking for. I honestly think this is one of the most action-packed movies ever made. As a I left the theatre, I heard an audience member complain that the film was too slow. It shocked me because to me the film was never dull in the slightest. The pacing is brisk throughout the film, and it really kicks into gear during the second half. The Raid is known for basically not-stop action, and this sequel delivers on that. Choreographed by Uwais and Yayan Ruhian and edited by Evans himself, every martial arts fight sequence in this film is brutally violent and enjoyable. Shot with creative energy by cinematographers Matt Flannery and Dimas Imam Subhono, the fights always keep you on the edge of your seat, and deliver on the same brutality that The Raid: Redemption had already established. A truly memorable sequence involves Bejo's assassins doing his dirty work, where a girl with claw hammers fights her way through a subway train, and another killer uses a baseball bat and ball as a weapon. While The Raid 2 is mainly focused on martial arts action, the film also serves up some great shootouts, and an amazing car chase sequence that rivals anything Hollywood can spit out at the moment. A warning though with the action - it's very violent. The man sitting next to me in the cinema actually walked out halfway through. I really do think that this is the most violent action movie I've ever seen, and while I love bloodshed in my films, it may prove to be too much for some movie-goers. Still, I love that Evans has opted for an R rating and all throat slitting and skull crushing is truly gleeful fun.
As I mentioned earlier, the production value has definitely improved since The Raid: Redemption. While that film was confined to an apartment building, The Raid 2 takes us to grand locations, from a prison to one of the classiest restaurants I've ever seen. Shot with RED Epics and Scarlets, the film looks magnificent, using much more slow dolly and crane shots when there isn't a fight erupting on screen. Lastly, the cast is terrific. Uwais is still a true badass as Rama, delivering the emotional and physical requirements of his role. Newcomers to the franchise are also solid, from Arifin Putra's over ambitious Uco to Tio Pakusadewo's calm and collected Bangun. A true standout is Julie Estelle, who plays Hammer Girl, a ruthless assassin who fights using claw hammers. Delivering a performance with intensity and a touch of innocence, she's sure to win over audiences. Fight Choreographer Yayan Ruhian, who played Mad Dog in the original film, appears this time as Prakoso, one of Bangun's loyal assassins, and he also does a great job here, both with his acting and fighting.
I really can't imagine anyone not liking The Raid 2, apart from those with a weak stomach. It basically delivers on everything you could want in an action movie. There's variety in the action sequences, from fights to car chases, and at the centre it's got a great gangster story. While I do think some characters were really underdeveloped, especially the Yakuzas, I do think Evans will give them a bigger role in the future as The Raid 3 has already been announced. It's hard to see Evans topping The Raid 2 though, as every single action sequence here is pretty much nothing you've ever seen before. While it's no surprise that Hollywood has already started developing an American remake, I can't imagine them re-doing The Raid 2 successfully. What more can I say at this point? The Raid 2 is an action movie masterpiece! Any fan of the genre must see it!
10/10
