The Raid 2, a next level action experience
Gareth Evans' latest offering proves that the action movie is still alive and kicking.
Gareth Evans is back with his much anticipated sequel, The Raid 2. Ever since its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, the hype surrounding the movie was almost inescapable. The Raid 2 is by far one of the best action movie ever made. With the movie now having it's world wide, what can you expect from the two and a half hour movie?
The Awesomeness of Pencak Silat
If you think you've seen it all in the first film, you've seen nothing yet! Evans and his cast go all out with the fighting choreography. Each of the action scenes are mind blowing, earth shattering, yet exhausting to watch. This brutality even cost the film to be banned in Malaysia.
The long action sequences are exactly why this movie deserves all the praise. Evans used his expert vision to showcase the artistic side of traditional Indonesian martial arts, known as Pencak Silat. It is not karate, nor it is what the west call ‘martial arts’. Pencak Silat stands by it self and is what gives this film it's originality. An international audience may not be familiar with Pencak Silat, so Evans introduces it to them in a way he knows how, showing fight after fight— they're seemingly never ending.
Killer Cinematography
We see a lot of birds eye views, just like the previous film. In the opening scene we are greeted with an extreme wide shot with a silent background that lasts for around ten minutes. Not knowing what is going on until you hear the sound of a gunshot from a distance that snaps us back into reality. It seems like Evans' way of telling the audience to just resign their fate to his capable hands.
Evans also loves playing with colours. He designed the prison battle scene with a subdued pallet to show the vulnerability of the prisoners fighting for their lives, bare knuckled. In the nightclub fight scene, he use's rich neon colours to emphasise the contrast between the glamour and the disturbingly brutal action.
The simple, Yet Complex Story
In a plot that is somewhat familiar— an undercover cop is fighting for his family’s safety while his enemies are seeking power and money. Evans does not give in easily without several plot twists that may have crossed your thoughts, but ultimately you missed. There is also a dose of humour throughout, enough to lighten up the mood considering all the violence. Evans has assembled a group of well-respected Indonesian actors, old and new. Each of them fits their character nicely— with Cok Simbara stealing the spotlight as Bunawar, the film’s Commissioner James Gordon.
Going into this movie you may have an idea of what to expect but you will be nowhere near prepared for what is coming. The Raid 2 is a next level action movie experience— like nothing you've ever seen.
