The Raid: Redemption (Review)
Indonesia/2011
Format Viewed For Review: Blu-ray (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Netflix Streaming: No
Amazon Prime: No
"One of my favorite
films of the last decade, action or otherwise."
An
elite police squad plans to stealthily infiltrate an apartment block
owned by a crime lord. When their plan is foiled, the police must fight
to survive.
The Raid: Redemption mostly follows rookie Officer
Rama (Iko Uwais) in this simple yet engaging and exciting plot. The
police get spotted during their raid and must fight to either escape or
complete their mission, which is to arrest the crime lord. Well, the
survivors opt to finish what they started. And, this leads to a bloody
barrage of fights through several floors of gangsters with martial arts
skills, firearms, and machetes. Although every fight offers an
unbelievable level of intensity, the climax is truly the most unforgettable. I
really enjoyed the simple crime story, and the great ending -- a
promising ending for the future of the series.
The Raid:
Redemption is a pure action film. The story is interesting and has some
minuscule background information -- information that will likely connect
to the sequel(s). But, at its core, The Raid: Redemption aims to be
all-out action film, and it succeeds. The action sequences are
fantastic. Refreshing, exciting, exhilarating, intense, brutal... I can
go on and on. And, there are so many amazing scenes. It's practically
nonstop action. I loved it. It subtly plants its roots to develop into a
deeper crime/martial arts series, yet it focuses on pure action.
Iko
Uwais, who also stars in Merantau, is great as the lead; something
about him is very human-like and genuine, despite the character being
fairly simple. The dark style is great. I also really liked the
cinematography. The settings are memorable; I feel like these apartments
will become iconic. The music was also great in pumping up the mood.
The English subtitles on the U.S. blu-ray are spot-on. Writer and
director Gareth Evans masterfully crafts this epic action film; the
pacing is ferocious, the action is consistent and versatile, the editing
is great, and the story offers enough to hook and tease for the future.
Overall, The Raid: Redemption is an action-packed masterpiece.
It's one of the greatest martial arts action films of all-time. I know
it sounds overwhelming, but I genuinely loved it. One of my favorite
films of the last decade, action or otherwise. If you love martial arts
films, especially the fast, contemporary type of martial arts, The Raid:
Redemption is for you.
Score: 10/10
Parental Guide: Strong violence and blood.
No comments:
Post a Comment