The Night Comes for Us

It's definitely a good martial arts/ action film but not as good as the 2 Raid films which are kind of similar style to this one.

E.g Some reviewers say that's the raid 3 but it is not. It's story and characters are unrelated.

It's mostly different because It Lacks Pace.

Also it looses points because of the effort to give some depth in the characters and a background story, which doesn't really work well here and makes the film longer than it should be.

However, it's still a relentless and impressive action film with a couple of memorable fight scenes.

Violence and gore are everywhere but somewhat less than the Raid. Still, be prepared.

But if you really like this film and have not seen the Raid yet...you d better get to it!

And if you're thinking if you should watch this film but still haven't seen the Raid... then skip this and start first with the Raid!

6,9/10 Iko Uwais is a master of the arts n crafts.

This is my fifth Indonesian action movie. Unfortunately, all of them have one problem: no heart to the story. I can't relate to the characters, I don't care if they live or die, I don't even know their motivation.

This movie, like the other Indonesian action movies, rely too much on blood and gore. The plot, pfft, out the window.

For those who thought that The Raid 1 & 2 were the last word in kinetic, ultra-brutal martial arts movies, think again: The Night Comes For Us, from director Timo Tjahjanto, is a strong contender for the most excessively violent, blood-drenched action flick ever made. The film's many fight scenes are wonderfully choreographed and flawlessly executed, Tjahanto's breath-taking direction employing shooting techniques that are guaranteed to astound, although it's the sheer quantity of blood and guts that really impresses.

The film stars Joe Taslim as triad member Ito, who seeks redemption for all the terrible things that he has done by saving a young girl, Reina (Asha Kenyeri Bermudez), from his hit squad. Having gunned down his own men and escaped with the girl, Ito finds himself targeted by the triad's top killers, who include Raid star Iko Uwais as his old pal Arian, Julie Estelle (The Raid 2's Hammer Girl) as a motorcycle-riding assassin, and a pair of lesbian hit-women: Elena (Hannah Al Rashid), who is armed with a kukri knife, and Alma (Dian Sastrowardoyo), who wields a whirling wire weapon.

As Ito, aided by his loyal friends Bobby (Zack Lee), Fatih (Abimana Aryasatya) and Wisnu (Dimas Anggara), battles to protect Reina, viewers are treated to all manner of graphic violence: bodies are beaten and mutilated, necks are slashed, and bones are broken. A man is hung on a meathook, someone is machine gunned in the face, and a grenade rips another poor bloke to pieces. There's a shotgun blast to the foot, a knife through the neck, a severed hand, an evisceration, pool balls to the skull, a hook in the crotch, a utility knife in the mouth (and through the cheek), and more bullet hits and stabbings than I can recall. The stuntwork is amazing and it's hard to believe that no-one was seriously injured.

The carnage is so spectacular that it's easy to forgive the simplicity of the plot (the narrative is not nearly as involved as The Raid 2; it's more akin to the original Raid movie in terms of complexity).

So the scenario... meh nothing interesting... A world-class killer becomes friendly, is chased down by his former colleagues, fights an old friend... saves a little girl... Seen this before. Barely any character development; the characters are a mixture of the Raid with Kill Bill. The acting's average. All the budget went for the thousands of fake blood and CGI that they used. Fights were too long, too bloody, too unreal, like literally 90% of the movie is blood, sweat, and more blood.

Pass.

Yes, yes, I'll answer the question you'll have on your minds. And the answer is an affirmative, courteous AMEN cause the action in The Night Comes for Us is miraculous. This is A+, 10/10, The Raid level of action prowess. It's untoward however, that such an astonishing assemblage of top-notch combat spectacle was brewed with such an insipid and often, inattentive story. That's still not to say though, that I didn't thoroughly savor the heck out of a bulk of this movie's runtime.

It may be an irrefutable case that the storyline in The Night Comes for Us is underdeveloped, foreseeable, banal, and evidently myopic-character-wise especially. But am I looking for an occult, moving, tear-jerker of a film from director and writer Timo Tjahjanto? Helllllllllllllllllllllllll no. I'm searching for some brain-on-brain-off, let's behold some jaw-dropping, martial-arts-based, militant, warfare battles that embarrassingly generate me to scream out-loud "oh shoot" nearly every eight seconds. That adroit, transcendent, on-screen stunt choreography is what's going to stablizie my eyes glued upon a film parallel to this. Craziness included.

The Night Comes for Us is a senseless, mindless, gore-fested, and lionized action extravaganza. But you know what? I'm okay with that. Especially for A Netflix Original Movie standards "okay with that." (Verdict: B)