The Raid 2 - Berandal

Having watched and enjoyed the first film, also with all its hype i heard, I excitingly went to watch The Raid 2: Berandal this afternoon. In the first 5 minutes, there're some shocks especially for the viewers who've watched the first film. The aftermath of the 1st film was told in brief to give the background plot for Rama the protagonist character. So it's basically recommended for the viewers to watch the first film before watching.

With quite many characters're being involved, to make it less easier for the viewers to identify the characters, most of them only have short names and unique names (although it got me confused a little at some time till i was finally able to know them all). The most important key throughout this film's its violent top-notch fighting choreography which's jaw dropping and breath-taking. Also the view take (cinematic technique) in this film's simply marvelous, one which i really enjoyed's the car chase scene. It's such a superb performance to take those kinds of angles. I tell you, the story's a bit much equivalent with as if a mixing of "The Departed" + "The Godfather" + Gory Martial Arts, so in my opinion it's unwise to miss watching it.

Furthermore, this sequel is indeed a confirming proof that Gareth Evans's undoubtedly an experienced and adept action film writer-director whom i think should be eyed and wanted by the Hollywood producers to direct/write decent action movies, with martial arts but perhaps less violent. Iko Uwais, although his total screen-time percentage's less (reduced because of the more complicated story n characters) compared with the first film and the role of his character is, didn't lose his hero persona, he constantly showed off his skills in the martial arts by fighting tons of enemies, got a bit improved in his acting (thanks to the story with its more dialogues).

I urgedly forbid any parent to bring their young little children to watch this movie. Also for the viewers with weak-stomachs (anti-violence) definitely might want to reconsider and avoid watching this film, because it's utterly quite gruesome. After the film ended, you might find yourselves asking about some things which're left unsure and dubious. So gotta keep your eyes out for the continuation in the next last film of the planned trilogy which i reckon must've not come out yet at least not until 2017.

A must-see film for the action movie fans.

9/10

((From: http://thinmanmoviereviews.wordpress.com/)) In 2011, Welsh director Gareth Evans gave us "The Raid: Redemption" – one of the best pure action films of the last decade – and hinted at his potential to be a new and exciting presence in the writer/director realm. The action was hard-hitting, lightning fast, supporting a simple, contained story of one man fighting against an entire tower of enemies in a way that was reminiscent of classics like "Die Hard". Well, if "The Raid" was one of the best action films of the last ten years, Evans' follow-up film "The Raid 2″ has now set the standard for the next twenty. In fact, I'm going to make a bold statement that you can feel free to quote me on:

"The Raid 2″ is the best action movie ever made.

Where sequels are concerned, this film does absolutely everything right. It takes the frenetic energy of the original, contained within the twenty-story drug den in which it took place, and lets it loose across the urban sprawl of an entire city teeming with warring crime syndicates, corrupt police officers, and the civilians often caught in the crossfire. No longer contained to just one address, the fight scenes in "Raid 2″ cover car chases, cramped subway trains, muddy prison yards, night clubs, and city streets, and every action set piece hits all the right notes. Every punch thrown and bullet fired is made even more effective by the fact that all of the action is done practically. In an era where so much of the action that we see on screen is dominated by the CGI-centric explosion extravaganzas of Michael Bay and the like it's incredibly refreshing to see highly trained stunt professionals being pushed to their limits to deliver a collection of the best action scenes in modern memory. Much of this work is shouldered by the film's lead, Indonesian-born Iko Uwais, the returning star of the first "Raid". Uwais is reminiscent of a younger Jet Li or – dare I say it – Bruce Lee; moving with such self-assured speed and practiced precision that every move deserves multiple looks to take in all the details. The comparison to Lee is bolstered by "The Raid 2″'s finale, which plays out like the final gatecrashing act of "Game of Death", in which our hero has to slug his way through opponents of increasing lethality. Unlike "Game of Death", "The Raid 2″ lets us see our villains in action almost as often as our hero, and it's a credit to Evans as writer/director that each of these characters is absolutely dripping with charisma and cool. There are no wasted characters here; we love every hero and love to hate every villain.

The script is, with few exceptions, always on-point. What could have simply been a straight-forward action flick with minimal plot to carry us from one action set-piece to another is instead a mad whirlwind of conspiracy, murder, and double and triple-crosses, steadily ratcheting up the tension to the film's explosive conclusion. From a technical standpoint, the impressive cinematography matches the action stride-for- stride and, looking back, there are a dizzying number of wildly choreographed long-takes that put every nuance of the environment, characters, and action on display. Combine this with a pulse-pounding soundtrack and some absolutely superb practical makeup effects accompanying every injury, no matter how small, and "The Raid 2″ is the complete package. With a third film already in the works, making this a trilogy, Hollywood has been put on notice: Gareth Evans has arrived; he's just dramatically changed the landscape of action films and shows no signs of pulling any punches. [10/10]

The Raid: Redemption was such a success and regarded by many people as one of the best action movies of 2012, and the sequel is likely to end the year 2014 as the best action movie of the year. It's pretty much different than the first movie, in this one there was actually a story. This movie is a great combination of a gangster flick with a very well coordinated martial arts.

The director Gareth Evans is masterful at filming incredible action sequences, probably better than ANY Hollywood directors working right now. It is inspiring how he managed to make such unbelievable fight scenes, and car chase in a such limited budget. The cast were good in delivering the good, the dialogue was fairly good, the choreography were Spectacular! Not to mention the unforgettable cinematography that was brilliantly managed by people who knows what they're doing.The only downside is perhaps the running time which could have been shortened 15-20 minutes, but you will still always be entertained while watching this movie.

Overall, The Raid 2 is arguably one of the best sequels ever, and even one of the best martial arts movies ever. It's superior to its predecessor in terms of story telling, considering the running time, and the choreography was also quite a bit improved from the already unforgettable moves in the first one. It had more action and violence than the previous one, although less action percentage-wise. It will keep you on the edge of your seat. It has everything a perfect martial arts movie has to have, and it deserves to be regarded as one of the best in its genre. I hope that the director Gareth Evans would make more films with a higher budget to showcase to the world his true potential as a director, and it'd be great to have it featuring Iko Uwais, that could be an icon for years to come.

It is hard to believe but this movie is bigger AND better than the first one. I will say it has ambition in opening up this world into a mafia drama rather than another claustrophobic thrill-ride. The mob aspect of the plot might be generic and cliched at times but overall that part was surprisingly more engaging than some American movies of that kind. But we watch this for the action and it was insanely savage! We are talking level-11 sh-t here; high-speed pacing, masterful choreography and brutal as hell. Fight sequences that put most action movies to shame!! ...................................... THE RAID 2 QUOTES You Apologize to them in their languages, in our land. Where is your honor!

When I first saw the raid, (redemption) I was blown away. exhilarating action, leaving me breathless at times. I've since watched it multiple times with other friends. And each time, left feeling the same. Now, with such high regard for the first one, naturally I went into this movie, with extremely high expectations. I was NOT disappointed. Not even remotely. It was twice as breathtaking, twice as exhilarating, and endlessly more brutal. A stunning movie. Evans, is unbelievable. His eye for what people want in an action movie is impeccable.The car chase scene (my favorite scene) was one of the best I've seen in recent history. Which is made more impressive by the fact the it was gareths first attempt at directing such a scene. I can't recommend this movie enough. Believe the hype. Absolute 10/10.