The Raid 2 is
great example of exactly how to do a sequel.
It is not a retelling of the plot of the first film. It sees the flaws in the first film’s
execution and seeks to remedy them.
Perhaps most importantly, though, it recognizes what made the first film
so much fun to watch, and it capitalizes on that in spades. As far as raw, brutal action flicks go, The Raid 2 is one of the best that I’ve
seen in a long time, and though I do have a few problems with it, I wholly
recommend the experience.
The Raid 2 picks up
just after where the first film left off, with raid-survivor Rama being
recruited by police internal affairs to go undercover in a criminal
organization to root out any corrupt cops that may be associated with it. Whereas the first film had a simple premise
that acted as an excuse to have a ton of brawls and gunplay, The Raid 2 opts to enhance the story
elements this time around, using intricate plots of betrayal and criminal
politics as the backdrop against which the action takes place. And this is an improvement in my book. The first film was great for what it was, but
I wouldn’t call its attempts at storytelling ambitious. The
Raid 2 seeks to build a complex world with more emphasis on characters and
how their relationships lead to epic conflicts, and it largely succeeds.
But when the talking is done and over with, the fights come
back in full force, and now there’s a vast variety of locations and improvised
weaponry that The Raid’s Jakarta high
rise just can’t compete with. The fights
take place in wide open areas, giving the fighters more room to maneuver, and
it’s very satisfying to see exactly what these performers are able to do. What really takes the cake this time around,
though, are the villain character designs.
The Raid had one fairly generic
guy who preferred hand-to-hand combat to guns… sorta just because. The
Raid 2 has a woman duel-wielding claw hammers, a guy sporting a baseball
bat AND WEAPONIZED BASEBALLS, and an assassin so skilled in martial arts that he is
content to peck away at inferior opponents to gauge their strength. Watching the unique ways that each of these
characters fight is a real treat, and I guarantee that you won’t forget their
scenes any time soon.
If I have one major complaint, it’s that I think the film is
a bit too long. The entire film is two
and a half hours, and I think there’s a good half hour of that that could have
been left on the cutting room floor. In
particular, there’s a part roughly an hour into the film that follows the life
of an assassin who works for the crime family Rama has been adopted into. Though this character’s eventual death is a
driving force in events to come, the emotional build-up to that death is really
not. This character seems to primarily
exist to add some action scenes in a part of the film that’s relatively devoid
of them, but the film diverts its attention to him for way too long. There was actually a point when Rama enters
back into frame and I thought “Oh yeah, that’s the protagonist, isn’t it. Where’ve you been?” That said, though, the assassin’s scenes are
entertaining in their own right, but they just don’t really serve a greater
purpose except to lengthen an already long-enough runtime.
The Raid 2 turned
out to be a fantastic film, and if you have any interest in martial arts, this
is one to check out. Aside from a few
scenes at the very beginning of the film, its plot stands alone as an excellent
crime thriller, so seeing the original movie isn’t even a requirement (though
I’d highly recommend it on its own merits).
All in all, The Raid 2
delivers on bringing a more intense, more intelligent version of its
predecessor, and as an action fan, I couldn’t be happier.
What sequels do you think have turned out better than the
original? Let me know in the comments
below.
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