The Raid: Redemption

Another day, another film. The process by which we picked this title is opposite to how we picked Cosmopolis; rather than a movie neither of us had seen or heard much about, we chose a movie we have both seen and know pretty well. This movie may be tough to get your hands on, since it's a foreign film and not on Netflix, but if you can find a way, watch it.

Netflix: No

Pick: Witch King of Angmark

Mark: I’m pretty biased.  I’ve seen this movie a bunch of times.  Hell, I own it.  For me, this represents what most Hollywood action films can’t do.  They try, but nothing really hits the frenetic, brutal, real action that The Raid does almost effortlessly.

Dylan: Oh yes. This movie definitely delivers something you will not find in Hollywood these days. Or ever. And orchestrated so fluidly and creatively. I’m not even sure where to start. So let me get my thoughts together while I write this refresher. A Detachment 88 Special Police squad (the Indonesian equivalent to a SWAT team) storms an apartment building ruled over by a vicious crime boss, with the intention of stealthily moving upward, floor by floor, capturing certain known criminals and eventually the head honcho. But when they get spotted by accident, the alarm is raised, and the building comes alive with vicious, murderous bad guys out to eradicate our heroes. Their exits are all cut off, and they realize the only way to go is up. Commence the brutal ass kickings!

And it’s the martial arts that really makes this movie stand out. It’s not your typical Jackie Chan or Jet Li movie. No quick camera shots, no playful, prancing choreography, and no ridiculous prop manipulation. I don't really know how to describe martial arts movies, but suffice it to say that you have not seen anything like this before. Literally. The fighting style they use is very rare, and noticeably unique. The intricacy of the choreography, the dynamic cinematography (despite all being shot in rundown rooms and dark hallways, and the long relentless shots of hand-to-hand-to-foot-to-knee-to-elbow-to-head-to-chair-to-refrigerator-to-machete combat that goes on and on...it’s just breathtaking. I mean, violence aside, this movie is incredibly and relentlessly physical.

Mark: To add to his breathless enthusiasm for all the fighting, what makes it all so much greater is the fact that most of the actors involved are all trained in their respective fighting styles.  And I don’t mean “they took some training classes before the film”; I mean Iko Uwais (who plays the lead, Rama) is a renowned Pencak Silat fighter and Joe Taslim (who plays Jaka) is a gold medal-winning Judo champion.  That’s just naming a few.  What I’m saying is that these men know what they’re doing and because of the way Gareth Evans directs his films, they’re being as physical as possible before someone actually gets killed.  So the brutal hits, the speed of their fists, and just the overall combat feels so much more real and this draws you in further.  And for me, the best part is that there are almost no jump shots or quick edits during the fights.  No, we see everything.  We watch them chase down enemies and watch in one fluid shot the fists and feet find their home in someone's face or stomach, or anywhere.

Dylan: It’s true. And so unique and unusual for this genre of film that you are literally out of breath by the time Rama takes out a dozen guys with machetes. Even he has to sit down before stumbling to the next hallway full of thugs. And for the most part, it is believable. He doesn’t just Judo chop each one at a time and they fall down stone dead. You can see and feel the fighter’s exhaustion as he tries to keep up his parries and kicks. He’s down. He’s up. He’s down. There are a few times when you can tell by looking at the characters' eyes that they are concentrating to remember their choreography. But I really can't hold that against them. It's either that or suffer, at the very least, a concussion.

Mark:  And we’re not even mentioning what happens when a knife or baton comes into play.  Christ, the brutality goes up a couple notches then.  But it all stays within the fluid fighting set in the movie and only adds to the adrenaline.

Dylan: And I guess I use the word ‘believable’ lightly. At some point, all of the bones in this guy’s body would be mush. You can only smash your shin against so many parts of other people’s bodies before it just gets numb and swollen. And yet that speak to the realism of the fighting. It’s not pretty, it’s not slowed down, and it’s not edited. These are actual martial arts champions pushing their bodies to the absolute limit. Again, I’ll mention the choreography, which is not only brilliant, but fun too. My favorite bit is when the bad guy jumps through a hole in the floor, but before he even touches the ground, another guy, running full speed on the floor below, tosses him out a window. It’s just like “holy shit!” And it's all one shot, perfectly timed, so that the guy above falls right into the another guy's arms and out the window.

Mark: That was a beautiful moment.  It showcases how real it sets out to feel.  The guy doesn’t drop down and have a cheesy one liner or people exclaim at his arrival.  Nope, one of the cops notices he’s coming down and tosses him out before he gets the chance to kill anyone else.  You really feel for the cops as all the killers begin closing in on them and things become more and more desperate.  Things go from bad to “we’re screwed” quickly and we as the audience are left with the same sense of dread as all of them.  But I will agree that while I love the fighting, there are a few moments when you’d have to think the guy’s bones would be powder at this point.  There’s one fight which is amazingly choreographed and brutal, but towards the end, you get the feeling that they shouldn’t even be able to breathe, let alone stand.

But, while we’ve been talking forever about the fighting, which is reason enough to watch this, I want to say that while the acting isn’t exactly amazing, it does a good job giving you an emotional context for some characters.

Dylan: I thought the acting was impressive, all things considered. I mean, I don’t speak Indonesian (in fact, we watched it with dubbing), but I thought the acting was enough to create every necessary dramatic point. Rama and his brother, the head SWAT guy’s desire for revenge, and the crime lord’s subtle craziness. And I’m sure you want to talk about the bloody violence. So go ahead.

Mark: It’s violent.  I mean, people get punched to hell, but the real beauty of it is that Evans doesn’t shy away at showing us the hell they’re all in.  Rama stabs a guy in the throat in the middle of a fight, but we watch the guy stagger away, grasping for his neck.  Another guy struggles as someone holds his head down and brings the gun up to his temple.  It all adds to the realistic feel of the movie.  Sure, it’s balanced out to a point by watching Rama beat down a hallway full of machete-wielding berserkers, but he doesn’t do it with a smile on his face.  Rama is scared and forced to do this.  It’s entertaining as hell, but keeps the tone and seriousness throughout.  Something that would almost seem impossible in modern films; to be serious but fun at the same time.

Dylan: You mentioned earlier that Hollywood can’t make this kind of movie. And I mentioned in my Dredd post how it is basically the American version of this movie. I think one statement proves the other. Dredd is a bigger, louder, more special FX-driven Raid. Not only is the plot identical, but whole scenes are virtually the same, only instead of gunfire we get head-spinning kicks and punches. I think that may be the closest Hollywood could get to making The Raid and still have it be mildly enjoyable. (Though, I could be proven wrong, since an American version of The Raid is apparently in production.)

Mark: Dredd is exactly that.  I guess when I said that Hollywood can’t make it, I meant with a film that balances seriousness and balls-to-the-wall entertainment as well as with fluid fighting throughout.  Dredd is entertaining, but it's over-the-top action hilarity and a hell of a lot of gunplay.  And I have no faith in the American remake.  What makes The Raid brilliant is, like I said, that the actors know the fighting styles and are giving their all throughout.  It won’t be the same with some beefed up Hollywood action guy trying to accomplish the same thing.  Leave me with Evans’ sequel Berandal, that’s all I need.

And just a little mention, I enjoyed the music that went with it.  It has an interesting kinda techno vibe to it, but it works at adding to the tension at points.  And fueling the adrenaline.  And if you’re wondering, it’s scored by Joe Trapanese (he worked on the Tron: Legacy score with Daft Punk) and Mike Shinoda (of Linkin Park fame).

So, basically, after this avalanche of praise and love, we’re basically trying to tell you to go watch this movie.  It’s got action you won’t see in most American movies and it’ll keep your adrenaline pumping throughout.

Dylan: ANY American movie. And seriously, I am so desensitized to American action shoot-em-up bullshit that there is no adrenaline rush there at all. And yet this movie does something so different and intense that it really is a benchmark for the genre, and it certainly kept me wide-eyed for an hour and a half.

Mark: Perfectly said.  But now, cause it’s my thing and fuck it, I’m gonna do it, trivia.  First one, before Iko Uwais got the role in Merantau, what was he?  An Indonesian porn star?  A driver for a Telecom company?  Or just a plain old action guy?

Dylan: I’m gonna go with Indonesian porn star. And side note, for those of who aren't confident in our ability to prescribe good movies, Merantau, another film by Gareth Evans, starring Iko Uwais, and featuring great martial arts actions, is right on Netflix. You can watch it as a warm-up to The Raid.

Mark:  ...ok.  Well the right answer is: driver for a telecom company.  When Gareth Evans was working on a Silat documentary, he met Iko in his Silat school and after talking with him, saw the potential in him for his movie.

But one more.  And I guess this would only be for those who’ve watched the film.  For those who haven’t, this will just show you how serious the fighting is in the production of the movie.  Which one of these characters (I’d say the actors, but that would get confusing) is also the choreographer for the movie itself?  Rama?  Mad Dog?  Jaka?  That dude with the glasses?

Dylan: Mad Dog.

Mark: Half right, cause I lied.  It’s actually Mad Dog and Rama.  Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian (Mad Dog) helped to choreograph the fights in this movie with Gareth Evans, and they will continue to do so in the sequel.

Dylan: Sweet. I will definitely be looking for that to come out. In conclusion, this is a great movie. You should see it. You. Yea, I mean YOU. Sitting there on your nice leather chair, eating your nasty chips. Go watch the movie. Ya son of a bitch. It's fantastic. All it’s missing is Karl Urban’s chin.

-----------------------------------------------------

Go watch The Raid. Before the U.S. version comes out and ruins it. You will not regret it. And then go watch Dredd and laugh at how similar they are. And then go to a tall building and see how long it takes you to get to the top. Whether or not you attempt to fight everyone on the way up is your choice.

"I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground." That there is a Karl Urban Chin quote. And speaking of dwarves, our next film will have absolutely no dwarves in it. At least I assume it doesn't; I haven't seen it. It's called Holy Motors. Like Cosmopolis, neither of us have seen or really know what it's about. But it doesn't feature Robert Pattinson, so it's already ahead of the game.