Movie: The Raid 2
Director: Gareth Evans
Cast: Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra, Oka Antara, Tio Pakusadewo, Julie Estelle
Rating: ****
There are so many fights in ‘The Raid 2’ that it’s difficult to keep track of how many asses get kicked, broken bones and how much of blood. Watching the film was like walking into an exhibition that has been specially organized for us to portray some of the best awe-inspiring action sequences ever captured on the silver screen. If you watched ‘The Raid: Redemption’, you’ll realize that Evans takes action in the sequel a notch higher or may be even more. If you’re an action buff and still haven’t watched the film, here’s why you should watch it.
The toilet fight - The first fight of the film takes place inside a small toilet in a prison. And no it doesn’t feature any shit-eating or shoving the face down the commode scene. In one of the best hand combat fight sequences of the film, our hero takes on about 50 men inside a toilet. You know what’s the best part about this action sequence? The hero is eventually pinned down but by then he has already beaten the shit out of many. It’s the perfect start for an action film.
The rainy prison mud fight - The second fight of the movie takes place under the rain in a muddy prison ground. Dozens of men gang up and walk in slow motion to take down the son of a local don. A prison war breaks out and what follows is mad fighting. I love prison fights because the guys in it are thugs and convicts who are usually violent but not great fighters. They are good at knifing people and when they are pitted against someone who is an expert in martial arts and hand combat, you can expect what kind of fight that will transpire into.
The next two fights – inside an office and on road – are short but equally good as the previous ones. Both these fights are important from the film’s perspective because it tests the loyality of two important characters. The second fight in particular reintroduces us to a very important character that was also part of the first part.
The restaurant fight – In the fifth fight, which takes places inside a restaurant, Evans serves us broken jaws, dislocated bones and oodles of fresh blood. Each fight is so unique and so is this one featuring one man against over 50. The first few minutes of the fight takes place in the restaurant and it eventually ends in the back alley.
The Hammer Girl and Baseball Batman fight - The two best characters you’ll see in ‘The Raid 2’ are the Hammer Girl and Baseball Batman. They come for a short duration of time but they leave you gasping for breath, literally. Hammer Girl’s fight scene inside a train is probably the most violent action scene featuring a woman since Kill Bill. She slits throats, busts balls and breaks skulls with a pair of hammers. The sound Baseball Batman produces with the baseball when it lands on somebody will reverberate in your ear throughout the film.
The car fight – This is actually a chase sequence involving some cars. But it also has an amazing fight sequence inside a car. Fighting anywhere is fine but inside a car is something that’s not so easy to pull off. The fight inside the car is stunning and is proof to the difficulty and hard work with which this film has been made. What I liked the most about the action sequences is that everything looked so realistic. The realism with which the fight scenes are choreographed makes you fall in love with the film even more.
The one man climax fight – This may be the longest fight scene in a film. One man takes on an army of bad guys and puts them to rest with his bare hands. He fights Hammer Girl and Baseball Batman and kicks their asses like they are nobody. There are fights within this fight and that’s what makes this fight special.
“The Raid 2” is the best action film you’ll see in a long time. I strongly believe only “The Raid 3” can supersede it with some more jaw-dropping action. Post watching ‘The Raid 2’, I strongly recommend you wait for the theater lights to be switched on before leaving the cinema hall because you’ll have to pick up pieces of your jaw off the ground.
