Following events in The Raid, Rama's (Iko Uwais) brother is
killed by Bejo (Alex Abbad), Rama swears he'll get revenge but first he must
bring down all the corrupt officials in the police force. To do this he must go
to prison, befriend Uco (Arifin Putra) to gain the trust of his father, Bangun
(Tio Pakusadewo), a feared mob moss. This will allow Rama to investigate which
cops have a working relationship with the most powerful gang in Indonesia's
capital, Jakarta
The Raid was filmed with a brutal efficiency that rivalled Rama's efficiency
in the dispatching of the endless henchman attempting to kill him. The Raid was a straightforward action
movie, it contained a bare minimum of plot and character, yet excelled
exceptionally in its choreography during the fight sequences. The Raid 2, however, attempts to build
plot and character in the inflated running time of 150 minutes, because of this
the sequel doesn't have the brutal efficiency of the first film.
Gareth Evans, director of both Raid films, has an first class eye for choreography
and direction of action sequences (a superb car chase is added into the mix of
expertly choreographed fight sequences) but lacks the writing skills to turn
his criminal revenge story involving backstabbing, dirty deals and gang warfare
into something that doesn't recycle elements from previous gangster films of which
have a similar storyline.
The fight scenes are what makes
the film hugely exciting, the use of sound in empathising every braking of a
bone, cracking of a skull and swish of knife adds to their extreme viciousness.
Iko Uwais' central performance is very good as he looks set to become a rising
star in the action/martial arts genre, he is well supported from a number of
menacing psychotically violent characters, but the lacklustre story and
overinflated running time results in a sequel that lacks the simple efficiency
of the first film.
3/5
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