The Raid : Redemption

You can read and assess all you want about any given film, but there is no certainty it will deliver what you may have expected. When I heard "Indonesian task force (Cops) raid a building for 90 minutes trying to take down bad guy" I was skeptical. I was not skeptical after watching the trailer if the film was to be less than 30 minutes long. However, at 90 minutes I wondered how they could spend that much time in one building? I am going to throw out a comparison, and I doubt you will agree with me right out of the gate. Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Films that rely solely on choreography had better be PERFECT, and entertaining without becoming stagnate in the delivery. This subtitled film was easy to follow along. The plot is not that in depth. Director Gareth Evans set out to make a modern martial arts film for pure entertainment purposes and he succeeded. It reminded me of Scott Pilgrim because he did things in his film I had never seen before, much like Edgar Wright did in SP. New and inventive ways to kill people, non stop fighting involving at least 2 people and up to 30 at a time. Guns, machetes, hammers, chairs, axes, fridges, and fists are all used as weapons. It really is non stop action with a body count around 100 I'd say. It is one of the bloodiest, most brutal films I have ever seen, but very beautifully done. The direction is flawless, but like I said, the choreography is second to none. Immensely entertaining. Makes me wish Indonesia had more movies come to the states. Of course that could more harm than good. This is probably one of those diamond in the rough, 1000:1 odd type of deals, and as far as I'm concerned, lightning doesn't strike twice when dealing with third world countries making great cinema.

NBM rates The Raid: Redemption - Phenomenal