Rarely is there an occasion where a movie leaves me completely speechless. So rarely in fact, that I can't even remember the last time it happened. But when The Raid 2 ended and the credits started to roll, I just sat there staring at the screen in absolute awe. I'm even hesitant to write this review, because I'm not sure anything I can say could adequately describe just how incredible this movie is.
I was a fan of the first 'The Raid', but it took me a couple of watches to fully appreciate and love it. That's certainly not the case with The Raid 2, because I fell in love with it instantly.There are notable changes between this sequel and its predecessor, most noticeably being the story. 'The Raid' lacked any real writing, it had a story, but one so simple it was really used just to showcase the fighting. The Raid 2 features a story that, although it's treading on familiar territory, is engaging and believable, and contributes to making this sequel better than the first movie.
The acting is great as well. Iko Uwais continues to do a great job, and I was particularly impressed by newcomer Afrin Putra. Julie Estelle and Very Tri Yulisman also deserve a special mention as they have very few lines of dialogue between them but are two hugely intimidating characters who are pretty ridiculous yet still hugely fun to watch. I always appreciate the actors in these movies a huge amount because of all the choreography they have to learn, which must be a very difficult task because the fighting scenes (like in the first Raid) are absolutely stunning.
Every punch feels like it has an impact and cause actual pain. The violence is bloody, brutal and often hilarious. All the action moves so quickly yet I still feel as though I'm seeing everything that's going on and I'm not missing anything. I have no idea how director Gareth Evans does it, he's clearly the best action director working today because no other action movie comes even close to matching the monumental quality of The Raid 2.
I was a fan of the first 'The Raid', but it took me a couple of watches to fully appreciate and love it. That's certainly not the case with The Raid 2, because I fell in love with it instantly.There are notable changes between this sequel and its predecessor, most noticeably being the story. 'The Raid' lacked any real writing, it had a story, but one so simple it was really used just to showcase the fighting. The Raid 2 features a story that, although it's treading on familiar territory, is engaging and believable, and contributes to making this sequel better than the first movie.
The acting is great as well. Iko Uwais continues to do a great job, and I was particularly impressed by newcomer Afrin Putra. Julie Estelle and Very Tri Yulisman also deserve a special mention as they have very few lines of dialogue between them but are two hugely intimidating characters who are pretty ridiculous yet still hugely fun to watch. I always appreciate the actors in these movies a huge amount because of all the choreography they have to learn, which must be a very difficult task because the fighting scenes (like in the first Raid) are absolutely stunning.
Every punch feels like it has an impact and cause actual pain. The violence is bloody, brutal and often hilarious. All the action moves so quickly yet I still feel as though I'm seeing everything that's going on and I'm not missing anything. I have no idea how director Gareth Evans does it, he's clearly the best action director working today because no other action movie comes even close to matching the monumental quality of The Raid 2.