Review of The Raid 2 (2014) by Patrick L — 18 Oct 2014

"Full of head-banging action, "The Raid 2" delivers".

DVD Movie Review: The Raid 2.

Date Viewed: July 8 2014.

Written and Directed By Gareth Evans (The Raid: Redemption).

Starring: Iko Uwais, Oka Antara, Arifin Putra,.

Tio Pakusadewo, Alex Abbad, Julie Estelle,.

Ryuhei Matsuda, Kenichi Endo, Kazuki Kitamura, Cok Simbara, Yayan Ruhian, Cecep Arif Rahman, Donny Alamsyah and Roy Marten.

You guys want two and a half hours of fight sequences and non-stop action, "The Raid 2" delivers on its promise. It is violent and grisly but to me, it is like a piece of art. It is the sequel to "The Raid: Redemption" and it's story centered around a 20-man elite police squad getting slaughtered one-by-one by a ruthless crime lord in a high-story Indonesian building. Now "The Raid 2" takes martial arts action to a whole new level. As I said, it is 2 hours and 30 minutes long but it didn't bore me at all.

Iko Uwais is back as Rama, the sole survivor from the first movie. In order to protect his wife and child, Rama must go undercover to take down a criminal empire but he also discovers corruption in his police force. Of course, "The Raid 2" is all about the action right. We get amazing action scenes including one inside a prison where all the inmates and guards fight in the mud. The villain in the movie is a mob boss named Bangun (Tio Pakusadewo), he earns trust from Yuda (Rama's undercover name) after saving his son Uco (Arifin Putra) from the prison riot.

Now, not only does Rama have to kill Bangun and his son, he must also take down the corrupt cops. Writer/Director Gareth Evans (who made the first movie) keeps the hyper-violent action coming until it hits us in the face. Yes, audiences are probably going to be disgusted by this movie but I was thrilled by it. Fans of the first "Raid" movie will definitely be pleased by this sequel.

Again, you have to endure two and a half hours of this bloody mess but this Indonesian action flick is a total blast. "The Raid 2" blasts it's way on top of the martial arts food chain. Jet Li, eat your heart out.