The Raid: Redemption

Director: Gareth Evans
Cast: Iko Uwais, Ananda George and Ray Sahetapy

For the uninitiated, there is perhaps no better rush on this planet than the kick after a snort of the white line from a rolled up dollar bill. Or so we thought up until the moment The Raid: Redemption hit the theatres. This movie is so high on action that it makes the entire Rambo series seem as tepid as an episode of The Bold & The Beautiful.

No hard feelings for Sylvester Stallone and the entire Forrester Family, but seriously, the adrenaline rush of The Raid has no comparisons. Three minutes into the movie a SWAT team enters a building that houses mobs and gangsters on all floors. And before you know it they’re ambushed by a hundred baddies. What follows is two hours of relentless mayhem that includes hyper-stylised gun fights and martial arts duels. Imagine you’re watching The Matrix with an Indonesian cast after you’ve had a shot of LSD. This is stuff that makes you believe you’re Jackie Chan and you can power chop the guy sitting next to you in the theatre. You might have to curb such instincts on many occasions.

The Raid is full of blood, guts and glory. About a hundred people get stabbed faster than a Hayabusa on tarmac and instead of covering your eyes from the gore; you find yourself rooting for the next fast jab. As far as story goes, there’s very little room here for that or for dialogue. But when the fighters in The Raid take their breathers, the audience is introduced to a much compelling storyline of two brothers on different ends of the law.

Of course that means the Deewaar dilemma meets the Karan Arjun premise. Two brothers set their differences aside to fight the bad guys together. And just like that you’re hit by a hurricane of round house kicks, kung fu chops and power house take downs. If you’re asthmatic, epileptic or just have a weak heart, please be careful. The Raid has the ability to put blinkers on its viewers’ eyes and it becomes really hard to look away or even breathe.

An educated cinema buff or the average film student might tell you that The Raid has underlying elements that metaphor the corruption in society and the fight needed to eradicate it. If you come across such an event, please do not abstain from kicking them between the legs. They don’t know what they’re talking about. The Raid is, simply put, the cinematic equivalent of 12 adrenaline injections, half a kilo of cocaine and a bungee jump from the top of the Burj Khalifa. This is not an exaggerated review; this is merely a statutory warning.