Rent The Raid 2 (2014)

After the masterpiece that was the first film, this is a complete let down in so many ways - The Raid 2 review by TB

I so clearly remember the first time I saw The Raid. I was in a small cinema in Brighton with a friend. I had seen the 5 star Empire review basically calling it the best action film for years. I watched it and was blown away. Flawless, superb, incredible and a masterpiece. Even now, after multiple viewings, it still has not in any way been diminished. You are left with your adrenaline pumping and a massive grin on your face.

The critic reviews for the second film were broadly positive, so I rented it and the same friend and me sat down to watch it. An hour later, we were still waiting for it to "start."

The whole film is a mess. Whilst there was "a strong script" in a sense with the first film, it was strong because it gave bare bones details (which was all that was needed,) and then let the action develop the story. But the director Gareth Evans has for some inexplicable reason decided that what was missing from the first film was enormous amounts of exposition and characters spending huge amounts of time talking to each other.

I can appreciate that the expanding of the Raid universe might have been something that some people may have wanted and with other series's that have done this with the sequel, it has paid dividends. The most obvious one for me is Alien/Aliens. In Alien, not much is really known about the world it exists in. Aliens fleshes this out perfectly, but only to a point and only what benefits the story.

The Raid 2 totally overblows this. I am not interested in the minutiae of the gangster world. I don't care about the small details of the characters that in no way propel the story forward. And when you go from a film which literally is adrenaline on speed to this one & watching 2 head gangsters talking exposition to each other, it just totally fails.

When the action does finally and mercifully start properly (there is a very good car chase in the middle which is very ingeniously shot,) it is of course incredible. But it's too little too late. My friend I was watching with, when the action did start, turned to me and said "This is where the film should have started."

And by the time it finished, yes there had been some great moments, but the whole legacy of the Raid was somewhat tarnished. You almost couldn't compare the two films, they are so different. And it's sad and gives me no pleasure in writing that. I wanted to love it, I was so pumped for it, but it was a complete let down. I'd almost go as far to say that it's not worth watching it in the sense of continuing on the Raid universe. Watch the action scenes on their own, enjoy them and leave it at that.

There was talk of a third film, randomly taking place in the middle of the events of this one, but that now doesn't look to be the case and to be honest, I wouldn't want made, if it is anything like this one.

Amazing action film - watch the raid 1st though - The Raid 2 review by PJ

Who would have thought a welsh director would be directing his 2nd major Indonesian film. Firstly if you've not see the first raid film then go away and watch that first. Ok this and the previous film take action and martial arts to another level. The fight sequences are integral to the plot and also develop and push it forward. The 1st film was quite contained in a tower block. This follows on pursuing the thread of bent cops and 3 major gangs. Following Ramas as he goes undercover first in prison to assist him getting into one of the gangs by protecting the gang leaders son in prison he earns favour.

This film has a more involved plot and perhaps does lose something in being more open. The fight sequences are amazing though. I though you'd struggle to improve on the fights from the 1st film but this takes it to a new level. Very clever camera work with a lot of shots done in camera. The car/fight sequence is truly impressive.

Even if your not a fan of martial arts I would give the first raid film a go and if you like that then this is more and then some. I would say its only real major problem is its a bit too long. A word of warning though it is extremely violent and leaves very little to the imagination.