The Raid 2

Starring: Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Arifin Putra, Oka Antara, Tio Pakusadewo, Alex Abbad, Julie Estelle, Very Tri Yulisman, Kazakui Kitamura
Directed by: Gareth Evans
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Thriller
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Rama (Iko Uwais) reluctantly goes undercover to bring a crime syndicate to its knees.

Review:

Tim: I have to admit, I didn't expect the direction Gareth Evans takes his sequel in. The Raid 2 feels quite different from the explosive original. Sure, we get many, many insanely well choreographed action sequences. However, the whole scope of the film is opened it. It feels like there's as many dramatic moments as action ones. This represents a big departure from the original. That was a tightly-wound, 1 hour, 41 minute slugfest almost exclusively focused on action. The Raid 2 is 2.5 hours and features a very different pace. While I was impressed with Evans' desire to change up the formula, I still felt like this film wasn't quite as effective as the original. I still liked it a lot, but I had some issues with it, too.

One of my biggest complaints is that the movie didn't need to be close to two and a half hours long. That's insanely long for an action movie that mostly takes us through the expected paces. A lot of that time is character development, which usually works. However, so much of it is spent with characters other than Rama, it feels a bit unnecessary. We really are steeped in this criminal underworld, introduced to a slew of new characters, and then watch most of them die before the credits roll. I'm not sure the investment of time was worth it. I wanted to spend more time with Rama. Outside of Iko Uwais' insane physical performance, he mostly spends the movie smouldering, holding his emotions in, or yelling into a phone. We needed to see more sides of his personality.

I know this film is all about the action, but the extended fight scenes eventually numbed me to their quality. Yes, Evans is able to depict action scenes in a way few can. There's so many in this film and they're all high quality and impressive. As the movie progresses, though, they start to lose their effectiveness. There's several scenes were Rama takes on a host of nameless villains. We all know he'll tear them to shred, obviously with a few wounds to keep it exciting. The drama wasn't quite there. These scenes added action, but they extended the run time of the film. Now, contrast this with the epic conclusion, one scene of which Rama takes on Hammer Girl and Bat Boy. We've seen the destruction these two have caused, so we're immediately interested. Both have unique weapons. Rama is over his head and we're so invested in that battle sequence.I loved it. It felt like the highlight of the movie for me. The stakes felt raised. We needed those scenes, not the regular, Rama vs. 12 nameless guys scenes, of which we get too many. There is definitely an ability to throw too much action on screen, and Evans' film is guilty of that.

Now, I'm mostly complaining about a few unnecessary fight scenes throughout the film. There are others that are outstanding. The prison fight scene in the mud was excellent- such a unique arena for that battle. Great sequence. The car chase and fight was another standout- such beautifully choreographed death and destruction. The warehouse scene, not as much. At one point, Rama throws empty water jugs at a thug. We didn't need to waste time on that.

The broader story was fine, but I've probably grown numb to it via all the American action movies I've seen over the years. We've just had so many undercover cop infiltrating syndicate movies, we know all the broad strokes of the story. The film is less invested in telling a unique story. It spends all its energies on crafting excellent action sequences. This felt like less of an issue with the original film- it was clear that movie favored action over the secondary story. The story mattered less because it was just wall-to-wall action. With the sequel, Evans opens it up and the story and character development becomes a much larger focus for the film. The weaknesses and generic quality to the story become more visible, because of the increased emphasis on it. Now, this doesn't unduly hurt the movie, but it became more apparent here that the story is one any well-versed movie watcher will be intimately familiar with. The story runs down a quite familiar path.

I felt so fortunate to get to see Iko Uwais reprise this role. His insane physical performance is unforgettable. I'd watch Uwais do this any day and it was a blast seeing Rama continually in over-his-head. Uwais definitely has that action hero spark that pulls you in to his performance. He was incredible here. I also loved the performance of Arifin Putra. On paper, his character is obvious and bit too over-the-top, but Putra adds these terrific layers to the performance. Your eye is drawn to him, to see what he'll do next. Even when the script calls on him to do expected "bad guy things", Putra adds more to the performance than what was on the page. He emerges as one of the best parts of the film. I also loved Yayan Ruhian here. His scenes unfortunately feel like a big detour from the main plot, but he's so good in his unforgettable role that you don't mind the meandering. He was quite strong in his performance, and not just the physical parts. His dramatic chops were impressive. Tio Pakusadewo was wonderful as well. His character was somewhat generic, but he adds unexpected amounts of humanity into his performance. I desperately wish we had more time with his character- every time he's on screen, the movie picks up. Alex Abbad also gives an especially strong performance, managing to make his antagonist stand out in a film filled with villains. His acting felt unique and unforgettable. The cast really does work well together and is much better than your normal action movie.

I enjoyed The Raid 2 and I give Gareth Evans so much credit for his eye-popping action sequences. I love that he took a big swing and expanded the scope of this film, ratcheting up the dramatic elements. However, I feel like the movie as a whole was too long and filled with too many unnecessary sequences. The more generic action scenes detracted from the standout ones. While I thoroughly enjoyed this film, I think it's slightly less effective than the original. I still consider it a good movie, just one filled with a bit too much. That might feel contradictory, but more focus on fewer things might have generated an even better result. I recognize a lot of people love this film, so maybe my opinion isn't the definitive one. That's how I feel, though. That being said, I'm holding out hope we someday get another film, to round out the trilogy.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
The Raid: Redemption, Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior