Starring: Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Julie Estelle, Ken’ichi Endô, Kazuki Kitamura
Director: Gareth Evans
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: July 8, 2014
Run Time: 150 minutes
Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars
“The Raid: Redemption” was easily one of the biggest surprises of 2011. The film is a non-stop 100 minute action scene. I literally was sweating when it ended and definitely missed a few breaths when watching it. “The Raid 2” doesn’t disappoint at all and even amped up the ante quite a bit from the first film. I honestly didn’t think it was possible but they literally are like 5x more insane. What is also good is that you don’t have to have seen the first film to enjoy the sequel. “The Raid 2″ is also on a much bigger scale as well”. So if you love action films and unbelievable fighting scenes and stunts…do not miss this film.
Official Premise: Following immediately after the events of THE RAID, Rama (Iko Uwais) is forced to reinvent himself as an undercover cop in order to provide protection for his wife and child. Working for the anti-corruption taskforce led by the one person he can trust, Bunawar, he is given a mission to engage himself as an enforcer for a local mob boss, Bangun. Finding a way in through Bangun’s son Uco, Rama must hunt for information linking Bangun with police force corruption. All the while, he harbors a dangerous and personal vendetta for revenge and justice that threatens to consume him – and bring both this mission and the organized crime syndicates crashing down.
“The Raid 2” is also one of those films that I would recommend watching on Blu-ray if possible. We were only able to get stuck with a DVD though for this review, which is funny because the same thing happened with the first film as well back in 2011…seeing a trend here. Another reason besides audio/video is that there are some great special features that are missing on the DVD here. What we get is an English Dub track, along with the original track obviously, there is an commentary track with director Gareth Huw Evans and two featurettes including “The Next Chapter: Shooting a Sequel” and “Cinefamily Foundation Q&A with Gareth Huw Evans, Iko Uwais & Joe Trapane”.
