The Raid: Redemption Movie Review

The Raid: Redemption

Rating:

3.5/5

Intro:

The Raid: Redemption, a film from 2011 directed and written by Gareth Evans, while the title may sound like a sequel is actually the first of a two film series. The film was produced in Indonesia and is entirely in the Indonesian language (thank god for subtitles). Assuming you go into the movie not knowing what to expect your immediate assumption is that the basis of the action sequences will primarily involve gunplay as the actors are armed as they begin their task. However, the presence of guns quickly dwindles within the first quarter of the film. The protagonist (played by Iko Uwais) and his supporting crew find themselves out of ammo, outnumbered, and seemingly out of hope as they are picked off one by one. By this point the film has become a showcase of Pencak Silat group fighting sequences. The movie keeps you constantly guessing as to who in the film is considered important enough to survive the endeavor creating a great amount of tension. The twists change your opinion of a few characters, some redeem themselves and some reveal their true colors. If I had to categorize this movie into a genre it starts off action then turns to Survival Horror and finally for most of the film a martial arts film. 

Plot Summary:

The plot is very similar to that of Judge Dredd involving police officers  storming a large building to get to the top to take down a drug kingpin. Everything seems to be going as planned but as they are going door through the apartment building arresting every druggy, pusher, and gangster, a run in with a young boy who alerts a spotter throws a wrench in their plan. The whole building is alerted of their presence causing a bounty to be placed on the heads of the raid team. The police have no more transport or reinforcements and are forced to choose between attempting to escape with their lives and missing the opportunity to make the arrest or fighting through to the top. 

5 Pros of the Movie:

1. Plenty of interesting action sequences involving crowd control and bladed weapons.
2. An engaging plot with intensity to match.
3. The frequent killing of the protagonist’s team and the villain’s leaves you guessing as to who will be next. 
4. Plot twists that aren’t over the top.
5. The action starts and doesn’t slow down that much throughout the film.

5 Cons of the Movie:

1. While most of the action is believable and follows the rules of physics there are definitely some moments where you will say, “there’s no way someone could survive that”.
2. Some characters aren’t consistent with their role (you will see what I mean if you watch it).
3. The frequent killing, while it adds to the tension, makes it hard to get attached to anyone besides the hero. (3.5 It’s difficult to keep track of who is still alive and who just died in the previous action sequence, at least in the beginning of the film.)
4. The whole movie is subtitled, if you don’t like reading in movies you might not like this one.
5. Parts of the story telling seem to be inconsistent with the characters.

Conclusion:

The Raid: Redemption is overall a charming martial arts action film that is definitely worth a watch and has become one of my favorites after my second time watching it in the span of 2 days. The intensity makes for great moments of suspense and fear on behalf of the main characters. The movie has great one on one and group fighting sequences, overall definitely worth a watch. As far as movies go, I rated it a 3.5/5, but overall I really enjoyed it and it is good enough to buy so you can rewatch it. Check it out and form your own opinion on it.