![]() ![]() ![]() In addition to being narratively relevant, the action sequences in “The Raid 2” are also among the best ever put to film, thrilling and distinct and staged with stunning clarity of purpose and geography. Instead, it’s a story with genuine emotional hooks, and each action scene has a place and purpose in the story. While no one will be saying this is the most groundbreaking narrative of the year, “The Raid 2”’s plot blends elements of “The Departed,” “The Godfather” and several other genre staples to create an exciting narrative that never feels like Evans padding the film out between action sequences. The biggest complaint lobbied against “The Raid” was its thin narrative, and the sequel brings a welcome complexity to its familiar story of fathers and sons embroiled in the crime world. While Uwais doesn’t get much dialogue, writer/director Gareth Evans is such a strong visual director that he’s able to use Uwais’ quiet intensity to carry the film between action sequences. One small detail about his performance was that Rama never fires a gun - and it’s an intentional touch - as Uwais is a tremendous physical performer, a seemingly unstoppable flurry of fists and feet, and giving him a gun would be like rigging the game. While Uwais does a good job dealing with the regret of abandoning his family, he’s much better at pummeling his way through an endless stream of henchmen over the course of the film. He’s sent undercover to infiltrate one of the city’s major crime families, and this means landing himself in prison and leaving his wife and newborn child behind. “The Raid 2: Berendal” begins only a few hours after the first time, as Rama (Iko Uwais) deals with the repercussions of punching half of the Jakarta crime syndicates to death. The sequel isn’t content to rehash the first film, and ups the stakes across the board. “The Raid” was both a stone-cold classic and an ode to narrative simplicity, executing its tried-and-true concept with bone-crunching efficiency. ![]()
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