Review of The Raid 2 (2014) by Quincytheodore — 01 Apr 2014

Aiming for "Most Skulls Bashed in a Movie" award, The Raid 2: Berandal unapologetically yet creatively delivers painful display of utter violence. Fights are blazing, choreographed with such precision that each death-inducing blow produces an impact across the cinema. Gareth Evans conducts a cinematic plays stringed by excessive bloodbath, his visions might be over-the-top, but they will leave both fans of the action genre and casual audience cringe breathlessly.

The prequel had some poor unintentionally funny dialogues, even more so if one understood Indonesian. For this movie, the script has been polished and scenes are constructed more consistently. Granted, it's still troubled by some setbacks of usual action movies', but there are more engaging and personal lines to be had. Acting is improved with the addition of Arifin Putra as Uco, the son of mafia boss who is eager to prove himself. The character is ruthless in his actions and also passionately fueled by ambition and greed, Arifin Putra portrays it well with a hint of doubt or maybe even guilt.

Alex Abbad as Bejo is quite harrowing despite his disability. There's a disturbing untrustworthy feel surrounding the character, the fact that he has legion of assassins make him more treacherous. This army of assassins almost seemingly pops out of some Japanese anime, akin to what inspired Kill Bill's or Matrix's. Among them there are not many that stands out in acting department, what makes them memorable are their choice of weapons and the body count they pile with them. A visually impaired girl swinging double hammers in a subway, that's gold.

Iko Uwais as the leading protagonist performs respectably. He's a man with good ideology and equal ill fate; it's easy to sympathize for his cause. He has done a good job playing a difficult role, but his strength lies in the action sequences. To say that the battles are brutal is an understatement; these warriors unleash pure mayhem on each other. Every broken bones and limbs are executed with much gusto, blood sprayed from all angles, this may very well be the most brutal thing one can see on cinema.

Cinematography is splendid, it's apparent that Gareth Evans was motivated by many Hollywood movies. Scenes are slick, utilizing different camera angles for best view of the action and often time follow it in continuous shot. The cameras seem almost glued to the characters as they rush and rip each other apart, yet they will pan or zoom out just in the right moment for the audience to appreciate the intricacy of the movie's complex action choreography. Its particular car chase scene takes the viewer swirling through the vehicles astoundingly; it's the best chase scene since The Matrix Reloaded.

The Raid 2: Berandal has refined the plot from the prequel and in terms of sheer action carnage none can rival it.