When the Raid burst on to the scene back in 2011, it really was an action force to be reckoned with; a relentless fight film that turned up the adrenalin and tension to such a level you either felt like you were dying of a heartache towards the end or that you were going to start a fight with the nearest person to your fist when you left the cinema. The Raid lived and breathed all of the greatest things about the action genre, good clean directing, little plot but what existed was concise and clear and simply brilliant editing. The Raid played to audiences all around the world, picking up major film festival awards and winning the love of its audiences all over the world.
The Raid was a curious film; an Indonesian film with unknown actors and directed by the Welsh Gareth Evans, on paper, everyone was more than a little curious. However, when it opened here for the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival in 2011, the Raid was the audience and critics winner across the board. Immediately, there was a talk of the sequel, and with Evans confirming that another film was in the works, the pressure was certainly on. Would a film that had nearly been so successful purely from word of mouth be able to put out a sequel that was just as good as the original? Evans certainly seemed up to the challenge.
This is where the Raid 2 becomes more curious.
Following on from the ending of the previous film, the Raid 2 begins with Rama being persuaded to once again work for the police force, going under cover with the thugs of Jakarta to bring down the gang who have been controlling things. Rama enters prison for his mission and spends two years winning over the trust of Ucok, the son of one of the leading gang families in the city.
Rama serves his friend quite well, especially throughout one of the most dramatic fight sequences in the film, and ends up in his employment when he leaves prison. However, Ucok is not exactly someone you could clearly support with better judgement and as he delves further and further into the gangland underworld, it becomes clear that he will stop at nothing to win the control of the city and overthrow his father.
First off, those who saw the first Raid are going to see a very different film in the form of the Raid 2. Although far more ambitious in scope, the plot takes centre stage here with the fight sequences happening around it. Unfortunately, therein lies the problem. With the inclusion of a fairly sprawling and incoherent plot, the fighting takes a back seat to the main acting of the film. The acting is not that great either but we also seem to have lost the formula of what worked in the original film. Don’t get us wrong, the Raid 2 will most certainly have its fans, they possibly won’t be the people who liked the original production. There is much less action here than the first film, there is far more dialogue.
Iko Uwais is back here in the starring role and does hold the film together, you feel empathy towards his character who is forced to abandon his wife and child to end a dispute that in reality, seems endless. However, you will feel little or no sympathy for the rest of the gang, much less will you be able to keep track of who everyone is as so many new characters are introduced throughout the production.
Lastly, the fight scenes are still technically brilliant and a thing of beauty, but there are moments when you expect Quentin Tarantino to walk out from behind the camera and although this nod to a brilliant director is absolutely fine and expected, you can begin to feel like there is so much more to Evans than just the Raid and the Raid 2.
The Raid 3 has been announced. Let’s just see how that one goes. The Raid 2 is still worth your time.
