Movie Review- The Raid: Redemption

I mentioned in the last post that I would have an Indonesian movie to tell you all about, and here it is.

The other night I sat down to The Raid: Redemption (also known as Serbaun Maut in Bahasa, the main language in Indonesia). The Raid, directed by a Welsh dude, Gareth Evans (I've never heard about him either, so don't worry) carries a fairly simplistic storyline: A team of SWAT officers goes into a rundown apartment building to reclaim it from a crime lord and his army of thugs who control it. Rama, a young SWAT member, is the central character.

Words fail me. Incredible. Amazing. Insane. I don't know, take your pick. This movie has to be the most high-octane, balls-to-the-wall, no reservations action film -I've ever seen. Silat, an Indonesian martial art, plays as heavy role in the film, and is used in many of the fight scenes. Its pretty nuts, a lot like the martial arts on display in the Bourne movies.

I'm not really going to make any attempt to describe this film in any depth. Its pretty much just non-stop action. When the crime-lord discovers the presence of this squad of SWAT officers attacking his building, the place pretty much goes into lock-down, and gun and machete-wielding bad guys rain down on the cops, and pretty soon it becomes Rama and the officers that survive the initial assault trying to escape the building. The action progresses from gun-play, to knife fighting, to hand-to-hand. Its exciting stuff, and the choreography was for the most part solid.

I have a couple of complaints, but nothing that takes away from the film. There were a couple moments when the choreography was a bit off, and the fight scenes looked a bit wonky, but I can understand this, when the film is pretty much just one big action sequence, it can't be perfect. Some of the fight sequences  I thought dragged on for a bit too long, and realism was pretty much thrown out the window in a few instances (I didn't really care though...it was awesome). Also, there was a ton of yelling during the fighting, which got a bit annoying. Maybe the idea was to portray adrenaline-filled characters, but still. There was also some plot pieces that  I lost track off, but I attribute this to the poor translation  I had for subtitles, but in the scope of things, it didn't really matter.

I feel like I am missing something here, and that is probably the case, but, The Raid is just something you have to see on your own. Its not you "A Separation" type of film, but this is definitely my favorite action flick. The fighting is both pulse-pounding  and fun, some of the kill moves very creative, and its, its, its just awesome. Oh, decent soundtrack as well, went very well with the action. When  I watched the trailer for this flick,  I was pretty stoked. It definitely didn't let down.

Verdict: Yeah, you gotta see it. Grade: A

If you liked this movie you might also like: "Hard Boiled" featuring Chow Yun Fat as Inspector Tequila is nothing like this movie, but is comparable for its intensity and almost non-stop action.

By the way,  I am in Norfolk, Virginia at the moment for work. Didn't arrive until after the three, but was still able to fit in dinner at an English-pub for dinner, where I had fish and chips followed by a desert of bread pudding and chocolate brownie (I shared with a colleague). It was all good.....but I think  I feel a coma coming down.....