The Raid 2 (2014)

 

The original 'The Raid' is a masterpiece of action cinema, brutality captured eloquently on film and every fight both visceral and gorgeous to look at. So you'd think that a sequel could not possibly be better. 

That assumption would be wrong, as this one is in fact even better. Damn you, Gareth Evans and Iko Uwais!

Picking up shortly after the events of the first one, our protagonist Rama (Uwais) is contacted by a police officer to go undercover in a prison to root out the rampant corruption in the police force and to take down the bigger crime cartels. Rama accepts on the promise that the assignment would be a few months, but it takes two years for him to be released. Because he saved the life of the son of one of the big mobster bosses, he is taken in by the organisation and is tasked with keeping said son safe, which is easier said than done because he is a total prick with daddy issues and can't wait to take over even if he is by no means ready for it. So of course the guy allies himself with a third party (and upcoming mobster) and then things really start to go downhill, forcing Rama to once again fight for his life.

This one is better than the original one for a few reasons. First off, the characters get more room to breathe and they are built up more, whereas in the first one most people were cannon fodder. Rama clearly doesn't want to be here, but he still does his job and reluctantly starts kicking all the ass. The betrayal of the son is pretty obvious, but there is more to the character than just wanting to usurp the father (which is a nice touch). 

But of course we're here for the ass-whooping and oh my shinigami does this film deliver. Once again the fights are choreographed to near perfection, as deadly ballet, but they get some inventive new spins. There is an insane fight in a car no less, some tense destruction in a train cart and when Rama finally enters the building where the main baddies are, it feels like a level in a videogame, only real. These are once again fights where you can feel the impacts and guaranteed you will wince at certain actions. 

Examples? How about a face getting scraped across the asphalt just outside a speeding vehicle? Certain acts with clawhammers? Or how about some pretty graphic bashings with a baseball bat? 

It's intense, I assure you.

And yet, it remains fascinating to see and the craftsmanship is astonishing. Few films can portray action this visceral, gutpunching and tangible, so nothing but laurels for all the fighters and stuntpeople involved. We truly are not worthy. 

Also: Iko Uwais deserves way more praise than he gets. Him and Tony Jaa. So look them up and watch their films. Heck, watch this one, because it is a stellar action flick that has few equals.