SummaryFollowing immediately after the events of The Raid, Ram (Iko Uwais) is forced to reinvent himself as an undercover cop in order to provide protection for his wife and child. Working for the anti-corruption taskforce led by the one person he can trust, Bunawar, he is given a mission to engage himself as an enforcer for a local mob boss, B...
SummaryFollowing immediately after the events of The Raid, Ram (Iko Uwais) is forced to reinvent himself as an undercover cop in order to provide protection for his wife and child. Working for the anti-corruption taskforce led by the one person he can trust, Bunawar, he is given a mission to engage himself as an enforcer for a local mob boss, B...
Evans pays careful attention to atmosphere, while giving wide berth to cinematographers Dimas Imam Subhono and Matt Flannery, who find beauty among the mayhem. Everything on screen is crystal clear and vibrant, like a city street right after the rain.
The Raid 2 lets its warriors rip for two and a half thrilling hours. With the precision of dance and the punch of a KO champion, Evans keeps the action coming like nobody's business. The wow factor is off the charts.
Picking up almost immediately where the first film left off, our protagonist Rama finds himself a target for both the various mafia organizations in Jakarta as well as the increasingly corrupted state of the police department. To bring both sides to justice, Rama embarks on a mission to infiltrate one of the major gangs in the city as an undercover cop to lure the big fishes out to dry. No badge, no rules. The story in Raid 2 is far more complex and enticing, as there are many upon many characters revealed and developed, all of them having hidden meanings and unique features that make them stand out as well as being integral parts of the story that gives every one of them a part to play in a puzzle drenched in blood. The worries for Rama's survival are retained from the original, as we get more scenes involving him trying to reconnect with his family, that he is forced to abandon for years, but just when it feels like it'd get too soapy, Evans gladly concentrates on other characters as well, in fact one of the most captivating and entertaining parts of The Raid 2 is seeing how so many different characters get their time to shine, and most of them are quite compelling by the end of the film, in fact many of them you start to care about from seemingly small figures such as Assassin Prakoso(played by the previous film's Yayan Ruhian aka Mad Dog) with his own problems and issues in life and family, to big timers such as Indonesian gang leader Bangun played stoically and honorably by Tio Pakusadewo and his arrogant and ambitious, yet understandably so son Uco(Arifin Putra), among many, I mean MANY. The run time of 2 hours and a half is both a great marketing tool for the action but also for this very well-told narrative, that flows as well as all the action.
Speaking of action, there's a LOT more of it here, in fact as indicated by a youtube compilation of all fight scenes featured in the film, there's about an hour of them, HALF OF THE MOVIE basically. And glorious it is, with once again excellent choreography by Uwais and Ruhian as they vary and establish different fighting styles for different characters. Two of my personal favorites being Baseball Bat Man and Hammer Girl, both get terrific introductory action sequences to show of their skills, and it's here where the picture really shines, focusing on the individual characters and building up their personality during the fights, a brilliant little piece of visual storytelling. The other amazing aspect of the film is something that makes it stand over the original's action is the variety of the action found here. From fights in small bathroom cubicles, to massive prison riots, to nightclub dance battles, to **** CAR CHASES WITH FREAKING FIGHTS INSIDE THE CARS, and the epic seemingly never-ending and wishfully never-ending finale showdowns. Evans' direction is once again nothing short of stunning and kinetic, mixing long takes and fluid camerawork, with precise editing to match the pace of the fight and induce gut-wrenching, and jaw-dropping reactions to every bone-break, throat slash, hammering and just annihilating bevy of punches and kicks. Pencak Silat has never looked so brutal, pummeling and fast, while at the same time being graceful and absolutely beautiful, there's something great about the film's approach to violence, it may deter some but for the lookers of vicious, hard-hitting action insanity, The Raid 2 delivers and then some. The final battle between Uwais and Cecep Arif Rahman's Assassin is to this day ONE OF THE BEST final fights I've seen in cinema history, a kitchen and kerambit knives have never been used this creatively for sure, Joe **** and Fajar Yuskemal's score is energizing to the point of an action movie meltdown, just awesome use of drums, and orchestra, that when viewed on its own lasts the length of the fights themselves, meaning every hit is choreographed not only in the performance but also in music, the culmination of the kitchen battle is nothing short of masterful, kerambits cross, stomachs, arms and legs get opened and the score just keeps on rolling like it's cheese trying to carve its way into a hamburger, one that is already tearing its own **** as well. That may be the weirdest and the most graphic food making description you've possibly ever heard, but what can I say, dinner is best served cold and sliced open.
The Raid 2 is simply a masterpiece, a sequel that feels both fresh and true to the original, that makes everything that it did well even better and evens the odds for the things that the original was criticized for, this is something I'll be showing to anyone who ever asks me what my favorite action films of all time is, cause while I can think of many great ones, The Raid 2 always is the best one, for being a combination of everything. A 10/10.
It has been only 3 years since viewers were graced with the masterful film 'The Raid'. 'The Raid' had came from nowhere and showed exactly how amazing action movies can be (Take note Hollywood). The Raid 2 is fantastic in every way possible and continues what the first film was known for with excellent, realistic fight scenes and masterful cinematography.
Those with a high tolerance for violence and gore — at one point, Rama battles assassins labeled “Baseball Bat Man’’ and “Hammer Girl’’ simultaneously — will eat up The Raid 2.
It’s hard to shake a nagging feeling of more is less; with its convoluted plot mechanics clearly cribbed from past thriller templates, the film never quite generates or sustains its predecessor’s pure sense of menace.
Everything that everyone wants in a martial arts film is all jammed into this motion picture spectacular; not just raw action and over-the-top gore, but a great story to add to it.
Gareth Evans abandons the terse claustrophobia of the original film and goes for a sweeping Asian crime epic. Even with 150 (!) minutes, the story fails. Much if the action is great, but even some of that is too big (think the muddy prison yard scene) for the director to handle.
I loved The Raid, and I still liked The Raid 2, but it's definitely a case of "suffering from success". The success of the first movie means bigger budget, means more locations, more "distinct" baddies, bigger odds, more brutal fighting, etc. Unfortunately, the old adage "less is sometimes more" has been forgotten, and it - in my opinion, applies to this movie series.
Where The Raid was a more compact movie, that took place in a very limited space and time range and had a fairly simple premise - and it worked well - The Raid 2 tries to make things more complex, but the limitations of the team's capability show here, and it leads to low quality story and setting. The fighting goes from realistic (mostly) raw and gritty to comics style brutality and inhuman feats.
Where The Raid required some suspension of disbelief, The Raid 2 requires it from start to finish with some moments where thinking anything at all is detrimental to the enjoyment of the movie.
Overall, it was an okay experience for a one time viewing. I don't even begrudge the attempt to take the movie further. It just wasn't done well. I'll re-watch the first one at times. I don't think I ever thought about re-watching 2.
Arg... after a good 1st movie, this was a huge disappointment. They tried to add a ganster story to this sequel but it was full of plot holes and **** scenes that made no sense. Unlike the 1st movie, this one tried very hard to **** you into the plot which is the downfall of the flick. They should have stuck with the original idea which was a straight forward action movie. I also didnt enjoy the fight scenes nearly as much because they were even nuttier than the 1st movie. A guy snapped a mans femur with his bare hands... a 90lb girl with 2 hammers eviscerated a man with them like she was slicing butter with a hot knife. Another guy got hit 15 times with a baseball bat and didnt even flinch... The 1st movie had crazy scenes, but this one was more like a cartoon. Again, the movie has a very serious tone and they tried to give it a plot and they just couldn't pull it off. I couldnt get into it. Put a fork in it.
Totally forgettable when compared to the first Raid. It doesn't even seem like it's from the same director.
Either the first Raid was created by luck or forced neatly into a well edited smaller film for budgetary reason or Evans is a one hit wonder.. (critically speaking.) The Raid 2 is a mess and the fights are ridiculous and not in good way. It's departed from the possible into cartoon violence.. The script is 10 times too busy and the film is way too long. Very disappointed.