The Raid 2: Berandal

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is The Raid 2: Berandal.

Written & Directed by Gareth Evans.

Fight Choreography by Iko Uwais & Yayan Ruhian.

Review #250

MPAA Rating: Rated R for sequences of strong bloody violence throughout, sexuality and language.

Run Time: 150 min

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Cast

Iko Uwais...Rama / Yuda

Julie Estelle...Alicia / Hammer Girl

Yayan Ruhian...Prakoso

Arifin Putra...Uco

Donny Alamsyah...Andi

Oka Antara...Eka

Alex Abbad...Bejo

Cecep Arif Rahman...The Assassin

Tio Pakusodewo...Bangun

Ken'ichi Endô...Goto

Very Tri Yulisman...Baseball Bat Man

Gareth Evans redefined both the action and martial arts cinema world with The Raid: Redemption. You can read my review HERE. The obvious question was what could Evans do for an encore. Can the action from The Raid: Redemption be topped? Of course it could. The trick is making sure the beefed up fights, stunts and explosions serve the story and don't (no pun intended) overpower the film as a whole.

Evans unfortunately doesn't do that here.

The thing of it is is that it doesn't matter because this film was so much F***ING fun!

Plot

Only a short time after the first raid, Rama goes undercover with the thugs of Jakarta and plans to bring down the syndicate and uncover the corruption within his police force.

Just like the plot summary says. This film takes place literally moments after the first film so there is no issues of continuity or misplaced story beats. Our hero Rama gets just enough time to recover from the overwhelming odds he faced in the first film. And then he's thrown right into the s**t. The bottom line with this film is that it's simply a wash, rinse, repeat sequel. There's no inventive writing or clever plot twist.

It's just more of what made the first film so amazing.

However, Evans employs a few tweaks to the presentation so it gives you the look and feel of something fresh. It was nice to see that a director realized that if he was going to continue his story that there had to be a way to give the people what they want without it looking like they are seeing the same thing twice. Which then begs the question. Just because there's more action in this film, does it compare to what we saw in The Raid: Redemption? The answer is a resounding NO!

But not for the reasons you may think.

The action doesn't compare because it was BETTER! It's not even close. The brutality, ferocity and choreography is relentless but even more so it's updated. The ante was upped here and there was no indication from this film that punches were being pulled. Iko Uwais & Yayan Ruhian are the same duo that handled the fights in the first film and like it's predecessor. The Raid 2: Berandal does a wonderful job showcasing the martial art Silat. A lot of the action involves armies of men fighting so there were few opportunities for Uwais and company to strut their stuff.

But when it did happen, as Samuel L. Jackson said in Jurassic Park...."Hold on to your butts!"

I will begin with these two characters. Affectionately known as Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Man. I'm sure you can figure out why they're called that. Each one gets an individual fight to demonstrate their skills and to put it mildly, they were punishing fights. That being said, the highlight came towards the end when Rama takes them both on. It was a ballet of brutality that made you squirm in your seat only to be followed by a rush of adrenaline when a cool move or hard hitting blow would happen. This fight was super cool.

That is until we got to see....The Main Event!

The guy that Rama is fighting here is called The Assassin. For some reason Evans likes to give his bad ass villains nicknames. We had The Mad Dog in the first film and now we have The Assassin. There is a major difference between the 2 main baddies from each film. In the Raid: Redemption, The Mad Dog was a major character that did more than just fight. Here, The Assassin appears in Act 3 and doesn't say a word. He has one introductory skirmish that is considered by me a huge cheat because he fight someone who is already dying. Not much skill involved there. Then the next time we see him he has a small exchange with Rama before the main fight pictured above.

This fight was furious. And like most final fights in martial arts films they are long and dragged out to the point of exhaustion from both fighters. Both of these men go toe to toe and it was painful yet exhilarating to behold. The intricacy of the choreography was as kinetic as it was controlled. The speed and timing of each man's moves and counter moves were exquisite. I sat there wondering how in the world was this fight going to end.

This is me asking that question KNOWING that the hero isn't going to die.

Spectacular.

When the film does come to it's close, we get a chance to catch our collective breaths and finally figure out where our hero goes from here. For those of you not aware, this sequel is planned as the second chapter in a trilogy. No surprise to hear that news despite this being a foreign film. What's funny about it is Evan has stated that he plans on starting the third film 2 hours before the end of this one.

Confused yet?

Well allow me to provide some clarity. This film has a definitive ending with a closure point that feels like exactly how the third film will end. After you see this one it will become clear how and where Evans will finish up his trilogy. It's a big time gamble but if anyone could do it. Evans can. I wouldn't be shocked if he just decided to shelf the third film and just move forward with a new project. He's intimated that as well.

All I know is that Evans can do no wrong in my eyes when it comes to action cinema and definitely martial arts cinema. He's 2 for 2 and my martial arts film life has become richer for it.

On the 5 star scale. The Raid 2: Berandal gets 4 stars. With a "Worth Every Penny!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"