Very few films have surprised me when it comes to their sequels, as well as this film has. Some movies in my experience rarely live up to their original precursor films. Studios throw hundreds of millions of dollars to produce massive trilogies that rarely pan out in terms of storyline, and are often bloated massacres (Harry Potter, and that awful Hunger Games series come to mind). However, 'The Raid 2: Redemption' exceeded my expectations at every turn.
There have been so many advances in this film, when compared to its first independent and low budget brother. I praised the original for its simplistic, catch-the-bad-guy storyline, but they really focused on telling a much broader and in-depth story this time around, that massively improves upon the first, lending more to the characters and their overall story. If you just look at the run times of both films, the Raid 2 is longer by nearly an hour, and by no means slower in pace. There are certainly better dialogue and delivery this time around, and it actually lends to the original by going further into the lives of the characters in the first film and connecting to the original right away. Every character gets a bit of background and that really adds to the overall experience. The main character, Rama (Iko Uwais), returns to action for a completely believable reason and it doesn't seem forced. The multi-layered and multi-lingual Uco (Arifin Putra), is aggressive, driven, and downright evil at times. His father running his corporate mafia, Bejo the conniving criminal and his influence over others. Even the homeless assassin Prakoso, (Yayan Ruhian who played 'Mad Dog' in the original) has enough storyline to make the viewer actually care about what happens to him as he fights through a sad and violent life. The Raid 2 is a massive improvement just in terms of storytelling alone.
Another huge improvement was the advances in action and choreography in the fight scenes throughout Raid 2. I am by no means a martial artist, but I have a lot of respect for those who commit themselves to this kind of art form, and it shows with the sheer number of characters who excel their respective styles. The number of action sequences are frequent, and only broken up by moments that lend to the overall story. The muddy gangland fight notably stands out as one of the best choreographed brawls I've ever seen, and if you focus on the background, ever single fist thrown and kick landed looks real. The debt collection scene has one of the best hallway chase sequences I've ever seen with its twisting and obscure camera angles. One of the hardest sequences in terms of choreography was probably the hallway scene between Rama and the brother / sister duo of 'Baseball-bat boy and Hammer girl' (Very Tri Yulisman and Julie Estelle respectively). The final knife fight sequence in the kitchen shows off the proficiency of one of Uco's henchmen; Eka (played by Oko Antara) and his skill with the Karambit; a curved, cat-claw type of blade. Whereas, the first film mainly focused on Iko Uwais's abilities to stun with his skills in Penak Silat, the Raid 2 really focuses on more than one character's ability to fight. There are several other players that lend to this film's action and it really shows in every scene.
Just on a final note, yes this movie is bloody and gory. There is a bit of overkill in that respect, which takes away from some of the action. Most of the violence has a lot of post production FX in terms of the blood you see and it can look a bit silly at times. Of course there has been a growing trend for gore in the action genre (mostly inspired by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez successes), and of course this film is no exception. The blood flies in ridiculous amounts and for me it loses some of its action credit that way.
Yet, this is a spectacular sequel in the overall scope and sequence in direction and editing by Gareth Evens, the choreography of the actors themselves, and even the use of 'free to use' licensed music from none other than Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, this movie is bigger and better in so many ways.
Do not miss this film.
8/10
There have been so many advances in this film, when compared to its first independent and low budget brother. I praised the original for its simplistic, catch-the-bad-guy storyline, but they really focused on telling a much broader and in-depth story this time around, that massively improves upon the first, lending more to the characters and their overall story. If you just look at the run times of both films, the Raid 2 is longer by nearly an hour, and by no means slower in pace. There are certainly better dialogue and delivery this time around, and it actually lends to the original by going further into the lives of the characters in the first film and connecting to the original right away. Every character gets a bit of background and that really adds to the overall experience. The main character, Rama (Iko Uwais), returns to action for a completely believable reason and it doesn't seem forced. The multi-layered and multi-lingual Uco (Arifin Putra), is aggressive, driven, and downright evil at times. His father running his corporate mafia, Bejo the conniving criminal and his influence over others. Even the homeless assassin Prakoso, (Yayan Ruhian who played 'Mad Dog' in the original) has enough storyline to make the viewer actually care about what happens to him as he fights through a sad and violent life. The Raid 2 is a massive improvement just in terms of storytelling alone.
Another huge improvement was the advances in action and choreography in the fight scenes throughout Raid 2. I am by no means a martial artist, but I have a lot of respect for those who commit themselves to this kind of art form, and it shows with the sheer number of characters who excel their respective styles. The number of action sequences are frequent, and only broken up by moments that lend to the overall story. The muddy gangland fight notably stands out as one of the best choreographed brawls I've ever seen, and if you focus on the background, ever single fist thrown and kick landed looks real. The debt collection scene has one of the best hallway chase sequences I've ever seen with its twisting and obscure camera angles. One of the hardest sequences in terms of choreography was probably the hallway scene between Rama and the brother / sister duo of 'Baseball-bat boy and Hammer girl' (Very Tri Yulisman and Julie Estelle respectively). The final knife fight sequence in the kitchen shows off the proficiency of one of Uco's henchmen; Eka (played by Oko Antara) and his skill with the Karambit; a curved, cat-claw type of blade. Whereas, the first film mainly focused on Iko Uwais's abilities to stun with his skills in Penak Silat, the Raid 2 really focuses on more than one character's ability to fight. There are several other players that lend to this film's action and it really shows in every scene.
Just on a final note, yes this movie is bloody and gory. There is a bit of overkill in that respect, which takes away from some of the action. Most of the violence has a lot of post production FX in terms of the blood you see and it can look a bit silly at times. Of course there has been a growing trend for gore in the action genre (mostly inspired by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez successes), and of course this film is no exception. The blood flies in ridiculous amounts and for me it loses some of its action credit that way.
Yet, this is a spectacular sequel in the overall scope and sequence in direction and editing by Gareth Evens, the choreography of the actors themselves, and even the use of 'free to use' licensed music from none other than Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, this movie is bigger and better in so many ways.
Do not miss this film.
8/10