Review of The Raid 2 (2014) by Yorrick Z — 17 Jun 2014

The Raid 2 starts off directly after the first movie. Rama managed to get out of the building without dying, but now he is in even more danger. The corrupt politicians and cops are after him and his family. There is only one way to get himself out of danger. He has to go undercover and infiltrate the biggest crime family in Jakarta.

Rama is being arrested so that he can come in contact with Uco, the son of crime boss Bangun. Right from the start it becomes clear Rama is being used by the special police force. Instead of being held captive for three months he has to stay for over two years.

When Rama gets to leave prison he seems to have made friends with Uco, who takes him directly to his father. Rama, going by the name of Yuda, is now part of the Bangun family. Yuda becomes Uco his right hand and together they try to win over the city with all the associated risks. Meanwhile Rama tries to find out who is good and bad to secure his own life.

With The Raid 2 Gareth Evans tries to improve on every aspect the original movie was packing. In a way it is more of a remake than a sequel. The fighting sequences, the characters, the cinematography and the storyline are all more complex in comparison to the original. Unfortunately this does not work in its favor.

This time the storyline plays part in more than one location. From the prison to the office of mister Bangun and from the streets of Jakarta to fancy clubs and diners. Evans tries to improve upon the main site that was used in the original Raid: one big building. However it was the simplicity of this one site that made the original work. This is the main problem The Raid 2 has, it lacks simplicity. The storyline this time is a lot harder to follow. It is unclear who is fighting who during the fighting sequences, so you will find yourself just paying attention when these sequences arise since the rest of the story is inferior to it.

But to be honest, the first movie was not praised due to its great storyline. It is all about the fights in these type of movies and fighting sequences is what The Raid 2 does best. Even better than the first movie, The Raid 2 relies on great cinematography to capture the fast moving action. High angle shots, slow-motion and gritty colors produce phenomenal man to man combat scenes.

So the story is not all that great, and due to trying to be a more complex movie it fails to reach the same level the first movie did. The story is too complicated, the characters try too hard in being 'less flat', so everything regarding the plot is all over the place. However, the story is not what most viewers watch The Raid 2 for. It is all about the fights, and that is what The Raid 2 does incomparably great. Films like these share a lot with dance movies like Step Up. Most of the time the plot is awful, but the moves are great. Saying The Raid and The Raid 2 are just about the same as Step Up would not do these two fighting movies any justice, since the cinematography is a lot better here but there are a lot of similarities to it. Within its genre The Raid 2 should receive a high praise, but taking all aspects of this movie in to consideration it has a lot to improve upon.