You know how Tim Burton’s effort at 1989’s Batman movie was fairly amazing for its time in terms of action, story, a competent Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and an amazing portrayal of the Joker courtesy Jack Nicholson? You remember how more recently, Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale and Heath Ledger sort of blew that all out of the water?

The same comparison might have to be drawn in terms of martial arts movies, with The Raid on one hand and Enter the Dragon on the other. Yes, the Raid is that good and if you’re into eye-wateringly fast, unflinchingly brutal combat, then you really need to check out this little gem of a martial arts movie.

The Raid: Redemption is extremely different from your standard action movie in several ways. Firstly the film features an Indonesian cast, so dialogue throughout the movie is carried out in Indonesian with English subtitles.

Most viewers shouldn’t be too worried about subtitles taking away from the movie since the characters don’t really talk while they’re fighting and boy do they fight…a lot!

The Raid also marks the second collaboration on a martial arts movie between lead actor Iko Uwais and Welsh writer and director, Gareth Evans; the two having previously worked together on Merantau.

The action itself revolves around Pencak Silat, an incredibly dynamic fighting style developed in Indonesia, although a little more research revealed that it is actually an umbrella term for a fighting style created in the region. Now I don’t know too much about martial arts but I can definitely tell you that if all you’ve seen is Western action movies or family friendly Jackie Chan type fights, then you’ve never seen anything like this before.

Normally in my reviews I’d discuss the movie’s plot a lot earlier than this but there really isn’t too much to say about this one, since it’s all just really a set up for the insane gun fights, knife/machete fights and all out brawls that the movie is almost completely made up of.

Uwais plays Rama, a rookie cop (how someone who kicks so much ass could possibly be considered a rookie is beyond me, but apparently every other criminal low-life in Indonesia also happens to be an Silat expert so let’s just put it down to cultural differences.) who is sent on a mission to apprehend a crime boss (of the scheming, paranoid, psychotic variety) holed up in an apartment complex along with a small army of thugs. Things go horribly wrong and shenanigans ensue.

 

  

 

There’s no need to really present the story in anymore detail than that because it’s not really the plot that matters, it’s everything else. The action is incredibly visceral but it is really held up by some solid directing.

Evans’ is a born action director. The camerawork is almost clinically precise, successfully capturing all the onscreen madness of some of the most intricately choreographed fight scenes I’ve ever seen.

The skill underscores the whole movie is probably best showcased in one fight scene that has four cops taking down a room full of thugs. The way in which multiple characters dodge and weave across the screen is so unforced that, based purely on action, even the Avengers ought to take notes on balancing screen time in a more organic way (and yes I realize that the Avengers did an excellent job of it, it’s merely a reflection on how amazing the action in this movie is done.) All performances are surprisingly well delivered leaning more towards realism than macho posturing. Uwais is incredible as an action star and passable as an actor and he is well supported by some strong performances (action-wise) all round.

 

    

 

The stand out to me however was Yayan Ruhian, playing crime lieutenant ‘Mad Dog’. This guy is such a badass that I’m fairly sure that he actually died in the filming of this movie. He’s the type of guy who brings a gun to a knife fight, only to challenge his opponent to a fist fight. With every brawl that this crazy man gets into, he wins on his own terms, meaning he kills his victims after beating them into unconsciousness.

As with any action movie, soundtracks play a huge role in selling the action and The Raid doesn’t disappoint in this regard either. The soundtrack features the work of Mike Shinoda (of Linkin Park fame) and has one song, Razors Out, that has Deftones singer Chino Moreno on guest vocals. It’s the sort of loud music toned down by electronic warbles that you’d expect from Shinoda and while not exactly my thing, fits the action perfectly.

If you’ve ever watched an action movie and liked it, you owe it to yourself to watch this incredible Pencak Silat extravaganza.

And yes some of you may have noticed the randomness of the Batman connection at the start; I assure you that it has nothing to do with being driven very close to insanity from the anticipation of it all. In Nolan we Trust!

 

 

 

 

 

Reviewed by Channa Fernandopulle