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    The Raid: Redemption

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    “The Raid: Redemption” is a jaw-dropping film. It’s so good it raises the bar on action movies and once you’ve seen it, I suspect some of the other titles on your shelf won’t make the cut anymore.

    In Indonesia, a 20-man elite squad prepares to raid an apartment block owned by crime lord Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy) For years Officer Bowo (Tegar Satrya) has tried to get him but the man has too many connections. By the time they arrive, someone’s tipped him off. A secret, surprise raid is the only way to go. Arriving stealthily and managing to make it about halfway up the building, they hear a message on the intercom “anyone who kills a police officer will receive free rent, for life”. It becomes a battle for survival for our protagonist, Rama (Iko Uwais) The bullets quickly run out, but the flow of opponents never stops.

    This premise makes for logical escalations in the action, meaning that no two fights are the same and the movie becomes increasingly tense. As the officers run out of ammunitions, their numbers dwindle and their resources become scarce. They’re forced to rely on their wits and hand-to-hand combat skills to fight off legions of poor, desperate and murderous thugs. It’s constantly topping itself with new opponents, new stunts and constant moments that will have you cringing as you imagine the pain that the characters (and the stuntment who portray them) are feeling. It also helps that the protagonists, as well as the antagonists are very intelligent, constantly outwitting each other and playing with your expectations. Rama and his compatriots will be trapped in a room with seemingly no place to go, but these are no ordinary cops, they’re the elite. They’ll find a way.

    There are some good twists and revelations throughout, ensuring that what you see at first isn’t what you get in the end. This is a film that’s deceptively simple. On the surface all you see is a non-stop flow of expertly coordinated action scenes, but there’s more to it than that. The characters are three-dimensional. You get to know who they are and what you need to understand them not through cheap tricks, through moments that speak volumes about them without necessarily spelling it out with words. You get attached to Rama and the other Special Forces officers quickly and in the villains’ case, they genuinely scare you. When Tama is introduced, he’s in the middle of committing a violent crime. There’s a quick shot where you see him choose a weapon and in that split second where he hesitates between two choices (one of which is much more horrible than the other) there’s a lot of tension and not only does it cement the character as a cruel threat that needs to be taken down, but you also pray that the officers performing the raid are never going to get in contact with the man.

    Even if you are the kind of person that can’t stand to read subtitles, the plot is pretty self-explanatory and you’ll be so impressed with the physical performances and the incredibly satisfying and violent setpieces that you will be able to set aside your prejudices. If you’re a fan of martial arts or action films this is going to be a real treat and you’ll be thrilled throughout. Once the movie is over, you’ll want to watch it again and share it with your friends so you can see the looks on their faces while they see the bone-crushing action take place. I distinctly remember recommending the film to a woman at the video store I used to work at. She came back delighted, excited to tell me how much she loved it. In the subsequent weeks I think she almost regretted having seen it though. She would constantly ask me if I’d seen anything that was as good, as satisfying, as action-packed as “The Raid” and disappointingly, I had to tell her no. There’s nothing like it. “The Raid: Redemption” is in a league of its own. (On Blu-ray, April 26, 2013)

    10
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    adamwatchesmovies@  26.3.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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