If nothing else, THE RAID 2 is living proof that the MPAA will never, ever slap a film with the NC-17 rating for violence alone. Sure, director Gareth Evans' 2012 feature THE RAID: REDEMPTION let the blood flow freely during its various brutal, spectacular martial-arts battles, but he was just taking batting practice with that movie. This time, he and lead actor/choreographer Iko Uwais are swinging for the fences on Opening Day. Like the earlier film, opponents in this movie aren't merely knocked out; they're sliced and skewered in ways that would make slasher movie villains envious. One guy's face even meets the business end of a shotgun at close range, and the movie spares no details. So if this isn't your cup of tea and you sided with the late Roger Ebert on the original film, you're likely done reading here.
That's not to imply that THE RAID 2 is "more of the same," because it is certainly not. Instead of the linear structure of the first film (good guys fight their way to the top of a building), this one broadens the scope significantly and goes for a gangster epic. Rookie Jakarta cop Rama (Iko Uwais), having survived the massacre and taken down the main villain from the first movie, has attracted the attention of the upper echelon of gangs. To protect his family, he agrees to go undercover to climb the criminal hierarchy. First, he must enter a prison and gain the trust of Uco (Arifin Putra), the son of a prominent kingpin named Bangun (Tio Pakusadewo), hoping to join one of the gangs when the pre-arranged jail-term expires. He succeeds and proceeds to join Uco on several "missions" that usually end in violence, but nonetheless impress his superiors. No prizes for guessing that eventually, betrayal and double-dealing will tear these Indonesian and Japanese factions apart, with Rama caught in the middle.
THE RAID 2 is unquestionably more ambitious in its storytelling, but one could argue Evans overplays his hand. This is a long film at 2 hours and 28 minutes, but it doesn't fully earn its running time. Some of the non-violent, dialogue-based scenes are fascinating (especially those involving the manic, multi-lingual Arifin Putra), Uwais proves himself competent at portraying a sympathetic character outside of fighting, and the father-son dynamic between Uco and Bangun is well-developed, albeit predictable. A subplot involving the wayward, bearded Prakoso (Yahan Ruhian) could've been axed entirely and improved the flow. On some level, I admire Evans for shooting for a story of Godfather proportions, but these elements of the film stand in stark contrast to the action scenes, which stop the story dead in its tracks so that we can watch chaos for minutes at a time.
Speaking of the fight scenes, action junkies will unquestionably get their money's worth. Like the first movie, these confrontations are long, brutal, and fluidly, exquisitely choreographed. The prison fights early in the film involve Rama taking on hoards of attackers while trapped within a bathroom stall, and later a melee in a muddy courtyard between prisoners and riot guards. Some of the battles in the movie's mid-section aren't as impressive; they typically involve one man plowing through attackers in one or two moves apiece while they (in time-honored tradition) take him on one-at-a-time rather than rushing him. But as the story escalates, so too does the creativity of the action ratchet up. Late in the movie, we're treated to the bloody exploits of assassins Hammer Girl (Julie Estelle) and Baseball Bat Man (Very Tri Yulisman), and one action scene involving cars doesn't qualify as a Car Chase so much as it does a Car Fight.
THE RAID 2 is worth seeing, especially if you're a martial arts fan, but the only thing keeping me from fully savoring the experience is the length. Indeed, 20 minutes of trimming might have turned this into an action classic. Nonetheless, even as is, Evans' vision is refreshing. This is a martial arts gangster epic, and that means no PG-13-ification of the violence to make it more teen-friendly (and let's not kid ourselves, many of those same teenagers will revel in this too). You'll wince at some of the blows delivered here, yet at the same time you'll be impressed as hell by the choreography and relentless high energy. You'll likely also exclaim "damn!" with a smile on your face, which plenty of people at my screening (evenly divided among men and women, by the way) did several times. Time will tell whether Evans can perfect the mix of action and story with THE RAID 3, because he's certainly getting closer.
Rating: *** (out of ****)
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