The Raid: Redemption – Review
If you are a fan of martial arts action movies you need to go see The Raid: Redemption. This Indonesian film is filled with fast paced brutal action set pieces that will have you on the edge of your seat, and the action rarely stops throughout the movies 101 minute run time. The last time I enjoyed a martial arts film this much was with 2003’s Ong Bak the Thai Warrior.
This is a movie that has been on my radar for a little while now as it received good reviews at some of the big film festivals, and had been released back in March in a few select cities. I was not sure if and when it would get a wide release and I figured I would have to wait until the movie came to home video. So I was pleasantly surprised when I went to my local movie theater for a different movie and discovered that The Raid was now playing in wide release.
The Raid: Redemption has a very simple premise that almost feels like it could be a videogame; a SWAT team arrives at an apartment building run by a crime lord and filled with an army of criminals. The plan is to sneak in and subdue the building floor by floor until the capture the crime lord and his lieutenants. Of course things do not go as planned and soon the SWAT team is fighting for their lives against an endless army of criminals.
The reason that audiences will go see this film is not for its plot and story, but rather for the films action sequences. The fights in this movie are exciting and violent, that will make you cheer and cringe. Some viewers may find the films constant action to get a bit tedious, however I felt that the film makers did a great job of keeping action fresh and exciting by varying things up. If you do choose to go see this movie you will be treated to gun battles, knife and machete fights, and martial arts style hand to hand combat. My personal favorite sequence involved the films hero Rama clearing a hallway of thugs while protecting an injured comrade using only his police baton and a combat knife.
As an action movie fan The Raid: Redemption was right up my alley. This is a movie that I will watch repeatedly over the years, and that I look forward to owning on home video so that I can introduce others to its awesomeness. The Raid: Redemption gets a rock solid 4 ½ Popcorn Buckets out of 5.
http://youtu.be/v0hSL3a_kaw