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| The Raid 2 is an incredible action movie! |
The Raid 2: Berandal is an Indonesian martial arts/action/crime movie released in 2014, and is the direct sequel to The Raid. It stars Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra, Tio Pakusadewo, Alex Abdullah Abbad, Kenichi Endo, Oka Antara, Cecep Arif Rahman, Julie Estelle, Very Tri Yulisman, and Yayan Ruhian. The Raid 2 was written, directed, and edited by Gareth Evans, with fight choreography by Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, and Larnell Stovall.
The Raid 2 starts off where The Raid ended. Rama (played by Uwais) is asked to go undercover and infiltrate a gang to gather evidence against corrupt police/government officials. Rama refuses at first, but after a personal tragedy, agrees to go undercover. Rama goes to prison (for assaulting a government official's son) and befriends one of the top mob bosses' son, Uco (played by Putra). During a riot, Rama saves Uco's life. For this, Rama is hired by Uco's father Bangun (played by Pakusadewo) to be an enforcer and to keep an eye on Uco.
Rama eventually gains the trust of the criminal organization. Bangun tells Rama to watch out for Uco, and to warn him of any weird behavior from him. Uco is an impatient, ambitious man, and feels his father is being 'weak' (to simplify it, it's a bit more complicated than that). Uco joins forces with another mob boss, Bejo (played by Abba) to start a gang war so they can get the Japanese mob's territory. Things start getting dangerous for Rama, and he does not know who to trust anymore. After some complications and tragic incidents, Rama decides to end things once and for all.
If you thought The Raid was an intense action movie, The Raid 2 blows it out of the water! Things are tense as heck, the atmosphere is dark and brooding, the violence is bloody and gory, and the action is incredible. The Raid 2 does not disappoint! The story is deep and layered. The characters are believable in their motivations. This movie shows that living in the crime world is not worth it. No matter what your morals and values are, they will be tested, and you will most likely abandon them. Yes, the action is great in this movie, but the overall story is stellar as well. Iko Uwais plays his part perfectly, showing his confliction about what he is doing, but also starting to lose himself in the darkness surrounding him. Arifin Putra, as Uco, does an excellent job playing the arrogant, impatient, ambitious mob boss's son. That guy is really unlikable!
The action in this movie, though. Good lord, the action in this movie! The fight scenes are great, from the bathroom stall fight, to the muddy riot, to the noodle shop fight and beyond, they are all excellently choreographed and intense! The fight scene with Yayan Ruhian is bloody, brutal, and sends a message that there is someone deadlier that Rama has to face. Of course, the final fight scene is my favorite. That fight is INCREDIBLE. The choreography, the setting, the music, the intensity; just perfect. I was sitting on the edge of my seat when I first watched that scene in the movie theater! Even if you don't like the plot, it's worth watching The Raid 2 for that final fight scene alone!
There is also this incredible car chase that occurs in the film! It is wild! Rama has to fight mob thugs in the back seat of an SUV while a car follows in pursuit. There are multiple crashes, thugs gunned down, thugs run over (and it is shown), and property smashed during this chase. One of the best car chases ever filmed, in my opinion.
I wholeheartedly recommend watching The Raid 2! If you've never seen it, stop reading this review and watch it right now. Go! NOW! If you're still reading this, thank you. The Raid 2 is one of the best action movies ever made, period.
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| The Blu-Ray that I watched for this review. |
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| Back cover of the Blu-Ray. Look at those assassins... |
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| The Blu-Ray disc. This movie would look amazing in 4K Ultra HD! |
Reviewed by David Williams
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