Special Review
This review was requested by Discord user Arsene. If you'd like to join the server, click the button below. Visit DiscordWelsh director Gareth Evans was doing freelance work on a documentary in Indonesia where he met martial artist Iko Uwais. Seeing some potential in him, Evans decided to cast Uwais as the lead in his 2009 film Merantau. After its production, Evans and his producers were working on a large-scale gangster film called Berandal, but it fell through. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the budget to fund such a large project, so they decided to scale it back. While Merantau had a somewhat slow pace, Evans wanted his next film to be more action-packed and move much faster. Evans brought much of the cast and crew he worked on before for what he called a “full-on” action film. Given the nature of the production, they opted to film in high-definition digital instead of on film. Following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, The Raid was released worldwide in 2012.
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Rating
Synopsis
Sergeant Jaka (Joe Taslim) and Lieutenant Wahyu (Pierre Gruno) are leading a 20-man squad to raid a rundown apartment block. Their objective is to bring in crimelord Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy), who runs the block and lets criminals live there. Unfortunately, the team is spotted and gunned down by Tama’s forces, leaving much of the team decimated. The only survivors are rookies Rama (Iko Uwais), Bowo (Tegar Satrya), and Dagu (Eka Rahmadia), alongside Jaka and Wahyu. As they fight for survival, the group is separated after Bowo is critically injured following the firefight. Rama gets help for Bowo by taking him to see Gofar (Iang Darmawan), a tenant who they helped out earlier. While Bowo’s wounds are being tended to, Rama goes off to find his team and fight off Tama’s forces. By the end of the day, only the strongest will make it out alive.
Review
The Raid is one of the purest action films of the last decade, featuring non-stop, high-octane action throughout. Not a minute of screentime goes by without some over-the-top action sequence involving all manner of shootouts and hand-to-hand combat. Admittedly, the intense action comes at the expense of the story and characterization as what’s there is pretty basic. There are some moments of character development here and there, but it’s more so added to provide some breathing room. However, this film’s focus isn’t on having a thoughtful story or deep characterization, but on providing wall-to-wall action. Some highlights include a hallway fight involving machetes, a two-on-one fight scene, and a full-on brawl in a drug factory. It helps that Gareth Evans films the action in a way that’s exciting and chaotic but also easy to see. Granted, there is some shaky-cam that can be somewhat disorienting.
In between the action and moments of character development are some suspenseful scenes straight out of a horror film. The scenes go on just long enough that they maintain the suspense throughout without feeling padded out. While there isn’t much room for the cast to act, they do a serviceable job with the material they’re given. Ray Sahetapy, in particular, makes for a good villain, perfectly going back and forth between calm coolness and sadistic intensity. Iko Uwais has the looks and charisma for a solid action hero, and his fighting skills are more than impressive. The score further amps up the action with tons of fast-paced rock, though it slows down during the suspenseful scenes. At slightly over 90 minutes, the film moves at a fast pace that never feels too overwhelming or dragged out. Overall, The Raid is one of the best action films of the past decade.
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