Wednesday, August 8, 2012

The Raid: Redemption (2011)

The Raid: Redemption • Serbuan maut (2011)
The Raid: Redemption • Serbuan maut (2011)
Genre: Action
Director: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian
Language: Indonesian
Duration: 101 min.
Rating: 6.7
Summary:
A SWAT team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.
The Raid: Redemption, also known as The Raid, is a film written and directed by Gareth Evans. It premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival where it received the Midnight Madness award.

It's a high energy action ballet of violence that eschews story and characterization for top notch action choreography and gore effects. A tradeoff that works as long as you aren't expecting anything besides a pure spectacle. Imagine a Cirque du soleil production as directed by John Woo.

The story is set in the slums of Jakarta, where a highly trained SWAT team is tasked with taking down a crime lord headquartered in a highrise tenement building. Evans does a fantastic job setting up the scenario with as little screen time wasted as possible. We get some obligatory exposition from team leader Jaka (Joe Taslim), as the squad is driven to the mission location, and in a quick ruthless sequence we get to see just how villainous the gang boss Tama (Ray Sahetapy), and his top two lieutenants Andi (Donny Alamsyah) and Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian) are. Not more than ten minutes passes before the pace reaches full speed, and once there, there are only a few well placed moments of calm until the end.

The real stars though are Iko Uwais and Ruhian, reunited here with the director for the second time. The first was the 2009 action drama Merantau, which also showcased the Indonesian martial arts known as Pencak Silat. Their fight choreography is inventive and refreshing, and the pure athleticism on display is simply outstanding.

Overall it succeeds very well at what it sets out to do, but it's not perfect either. The score, composed by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, is as generic and repetitive as you would expect from him, and does little to amp up the excitement. Not that the action really required it, but I would have liked to hear something more inspired to accompany the mayhem. I also wished there was a little more depth to the story, sure it's all fun to look at, but it's just so empty, and in the end it's hard to really care what happens.
Bonjour Tristesse
The Raid: Redemption • Serbuan maut (2011)

The Raid: Redemption • Serbuan maut (2011)

The Raid: Redemption • Serbuan maut (2011)

The Raid: Redemption • Serbuan maut (2011)

The Raid: Redemption • Serbuan maut (2011)

The Raid: Redemption • Serbuan maut (2011)

The Raid: Redemption • Serbuan maut (2011)

The Raid: Redemption • Serbuan maut (2011)

26 comments:

Michaël Parent said...

The kind of film that gets old really fast... As a teenager I loved those films but now I know the recipe and it isn't my cup of tea anymore...

Michaël Parent said...

By the way, I know you don't usually take them but I nominated you for a Liebster Blog Award. Just to let you know. No bad feelings if you don't react about his. http://cinephiliaque.blogspot.com/2012/08/another-liebster-blog-award.html

365 moviesandsongs365 said...

Sounds like the action is top-notch, has me sceptical that you say the story is lacking, so I think I'll pass on this one I think.

the_cynical_gamer said...

I can't barely think about The Raid as a standalone film - I have to think about in terms of the experience I had first time I watched it. I saw it at the Dublin Film Fest back in February, which was one of the most exhilarating, brilliant cinema experiences I've ever had. The audience just got it, with everyone just completely buying into the fun. It was infectious. Sure, the film is shallow, but for that two hours on a Saturday morning in late Winter, a roomful of people in Dublin were completely hypnotised by the Raid for whatever reason. When Evans and Uwais walked out on the stage, the crowd just erupted, and it was close to impossible not to get sucked into the excitement.

I've seen the film again since at a midnight screening, and the crowd wasn't quite as receptive, but it still was a lot of fun. This is the sort of film that pretty much demands a giddy, enthusiastic crowd, and I know watching it at home could never re-capture that. Similarly, I can't imagine watching it in a close-to-empty screen: if I ever watch the film again, I hope it will be with as many people as possible.

I do think that, lack of narrative ambition aside, the Raid succeeds as a visceral, unexpected spectacle movie. And I actually think the soundtrack keeps things moving nicely. Evans also deserves praise for his moments of tense anticipation before some of the action sequences: it's simple but effective filmmaking punctuating those bursts of sheer brutal energy.

Whatever about the film, though, whenever I try to critique The Raid I just can't forget February 2012 and the frankly electric atmosphere in that theatre. The cynic and critic in me simply evaporated, and it was a cinema trip like none I've ever had the pleasure to experience.

Marcello said...

You're crazy. Best action movie i've seen in 10 years and Mike SHinoda's score was boss status.

d_4 said...

This reminds me of another film.. Don't remember if you reviewed it or it was someone else. I think it was a zombie movie.. Well. Doesn't matter who or where, what matters is it looks to me like another action movie that I'll end up meh-ing. In any case some epic moments with the action, but the music sure isn't thrilling me.

Mavi said...

I got bored of this very quick and a couple of months later I can barely remember anything of what happened.. the Insane action can only account for a small portion of a film and in this case their is almost nothing else.. If you want this kind of action I would still go back and watch Jackie Chans earlier HK movies.. I still haven't seeing anything top the Action in "Wheels on Meal"

Margaret said...

Great review! I read really good things about this one, though it's not really my cop of tea I'll probably see it soon.

Will said...

Great review! I enjoyed this film so much, though.

FrontRoomCinema said...

aw come on BT, this is my top film of 2012 thus far!! Who cares about the story... it is chicken oriental! (yes that is more rhyming slang)

evl keith said...

Great review! Completely agree with Mavi: not too keen on this one. Distinctly underwhelmed. d-4, I don't know whether you're thinking about The Horde; that has a similar feel to it.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah I think the 15 year old me would have loved this one quite a bit more.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks Michaël, I think I've been tagged five or six times now. I won't be doing a Liebster post, but might consider answering some of the questions in my month end post.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah not much of a story at all. So be warned if that's important for you.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks for sharing that. I agree this film is much better suited to be seen with, if not a packed house, then at least a group of highly receptive action fans.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

You may be right, I may be crazy... or just getting too old to be able to appreciate it.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

You're thinking about La Horde, which has a similar premise. I posted about it in the early days of the blog.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

It's only a week later and I can't remember much about it, and I agree that the 80's were full of martial arts films that are more enjoyable than this.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Hmm, it will be interesting to hear what you think about it.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Lol chicken oriental, I had to look that one up.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks Will. I appreciate the comment.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks evl keith, I thought I would get more flack for not loving this one.

Chip said...

I was a little disappointed by this movie. No, I wasn't expecting Citizen Kane; I was expecting to see a kick-ass, fantastic action film like all the hype said. Instead I got a film that had plenty of action in it, but nothing I hadn't already seen before. It also bugged me that no one ever seemed to pick up all the loaded guns that were lying around after they got by the initial shooting section of the movie. Yes, they wanted to emphasize the hand to hand combat, but even then why not pick up some of the clubs, machetes, knives, etc?
It's a reasonably entertaining action film, but that's it.

Sam Fragoso said...

Enjoyed this movie for what it was -- didn't worry about the lack of narrative.


You're not too old. You simply have enough wisdom to point out factual faults with the film.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Haha, thanks Sam. Sometimes I wish factual faults didn't bother me so much.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I agree, except for that one fight where they agreed to put them away, it was a bit strange how everyone else all just stopped using guns or weapons.

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