REVIEW: The Raid 2

Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Director Gareth Evans blew my mind with 2011’s The Raid, which is already considered a classic among action and martial arts fans. The story of an Indonesian police squad facing off against an entire apartment building full of violent criminals is a streamlined, brutally efficient piece of entertainment. It’s also one of the most violent movies I’ve ever seen.

Instead of repeating himself with the sequel, Evans shrewdly decides to increase the narrative’s scope. Practically minutes after the end of the first installment, rookie cop Rama (Iko Uwais) learns that his entire ordeal was essentially for nothing because of rampant corruption at the highest levels of the police department. But his pyrrhic victory has attracted the attention of some nasty enemies.

Now his life is at risk, not to mention the safety of his wife and unborn child. So Rama agrees to a dangerous undercover assignment, spending time in prison to gain the friendship of a prominent mobster’s son (Arifin Putra). As the months go by, he climbs the ladder of corruption, but he’s in danger of losing his soul throughout the violent journey.

The Raid 2 manages the rare feat of topping the original thanks to the material’s complexity. The first flick essentially took place in real time, clocking in at around 100 minutes and foregoing a deep story in favor of nonstop fighting. This time around, Evans incorporates that action (with violence that is somehow even more graphic) into an epic two-and-a-half-hour crime saga that evokes Coppola’s Godfather films.

In a role that asks him to carry an entire film on his shoulders, Uwais handles the job flawlessly. He’s able to convey a range of emotions with very little dialogue and a whole lot of astonishing martial arts choreography. I want to see the film again just to watch him move – he’s like a dancing magician that could kill you with almost no effort.

Evans shoots the vicious fight sequences with precision, leaving no question who’s throwing every punch and the damage each kick does to an opponent. Evans ups his game in other areas too, including one of the best car chases I’ve seen in years. It ends with a shot so jarring that I’m still trying to figure out how he staged it. He also stocks the film with supporting characters destined to become iconic over the next few years, specifically the terrifying Hammer Girl (Julie Estelle) and Baseball Bat Man (Very Tri Yulisman).

If you want to catch this violent epic on the big screen, better do it fast. I was disappointed to realize I was the only person in the theater when I saw it last weekend. A selfish part of me appreciated the private screening, but I would’ve loved to hear a crowded auditorium’s reaction to the fight scenes. This flick isn’t getting nearly enough attention from the action fans who would adore it.

The Raid 2 is rated R for sequences of strong bloody violence throughout, sexuality and language.

Grade: B+