The Raid


Title: The Raid
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: Action
Starring: Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy
Director: Gareth Evans
Language: Indonesian

There seems to be a trend that is occurring in modern action films, the last decade or so seeing a steady rise in 'intelligent action' where plots have their twists, characters are portrayed as gritty and realistic with emotional problems to face and villains, too, have their own twisted desires on display, their long and elaborate speeches preparing you for what's to follow. This is not such a film, taking us back in time to the 90s where the genre didn't always make a lot of sense, where characters were ridiculous in their ability to do what no human should be capable of doing; fighting with injuries that should have long since killed them and a never ending barrage of enemies springing out at every moment. Barely a minute goes by without some sort of weapon flying, gun firing or martial arts stunt is pulled off with precision. The focus in this film is exactly where it should be, on the action, so leave your brain at the door and grab some popcorn to watch the spectacle.

The poster describes all you need to know, 20 elite cops attempt a raid on a 30-floor building; an apartment complex of sorts, owned by a crime kingpin and rented out to criminals of the most dangerous kind seeking sanctuary. Backed by his two loyal bodyguards, the intelligent Andi and the martial arts master Mad Dog, it isn't long before the police realise they've bitten off more they can chew. In fact, the body count racks up so quickly that you're left wondering how on earth they're going to make the film last past the first half hour, but our last two groups of survivors, at this point already thinking 'fuck this, how can we escape;' the lieutenant and commander now without any forces which to command, and a lone rookie who just happens to be something of a martial arts master himself trying to escape with a wounded soldier, they both somehow manage to survive long enough to give us a good show.

The violence may not be quite as bloodthirsty as some action films, the budget likely hampering their ability to depict the more graphic and gruesome deaths (though it rarely feels constrained or 'cheap'), but even though much is left to the imagination there are still plenty of points which will make you grimace. I don't need to see it in graphic detail to know getting impaled in a broken door has got to hurt. Blows look anything but staged, every punch seeming to connect in a very real way as victims get thrown out of windows, down stair wells, slashed, bashed, punched, kicked, face slammed into walls, shot; you could probably name it and it'll be there – one of the most incredible deaths involves nothing more than a broken tube light – and it all happens with such a frequency that you fear blinking in case you miss something. Forget all your CGI filled, modern, stylised, 'intelligent' action films and give me more of this. The acting might be awful and the plot non existent, but in terms of sheer action it can't be beaten.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Female Prisoner: Scorpion

Image
Title: Female Prisoner: Scorpion Rating: 4/5 Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime Starring: Meiko Kaji, Rie Yokoyama, Isao Natsuyagi Director: Shunya Ito Language: Japanese It was the 70s that saw the rise in Japanese grindhouse cinema (also known as ‘Pinky Violence); tired of the very ‘traditional’ style of many local films, and with the rise in success of Hollywood titles such as ‘Dirty Harry’ and ‘The Great Escape,’ a new wave of daring and experimental directors came to light. Armed with a low budget and all the influences of the early Western grindhouse cheap gore flicks, they combined it with traditional Japanese film-making sensibilities to create a style that somehow succeeded in being both artistic in style whilst retaining those cheap traditions such as gratuitous nudity and violence to result in something rather unique. And it was with this, the first instalment in the ‘Female Prisoner’ series, that would influence a wave known as ‘Women in Prison’ films; with a strong the
Read more

Slasher Hunter

Image
Title: Slasher Hunter (2011) Rating: 3/5 Genre: Horror, Comedy Starring: Chad Phillips, Derek Rothermund, Ryan Sullivan Director: Steve Rudzinski Duration: 35 mins Four pals are planning to have a great weekend of sex and brews in an old cabin in the woods. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “this is the exact set up to every slasher movie from ‘79 to ‘99; this can’t end well.” Well our group of campers have thought of that, that’s why they brought sci-fi nerd Lee along for the ride who carries within him the so-called “survivor gene.” This special gene helps prevent him from being the unfortunate victim of any slasher maniacs that may be lurking about. Unfortunately this gene is also highly coveted by a group of the most dastardly slashers around: Frank, Larry, Jay, Charles, Pleatherface, and Puzzle (I didn’t say their names were very dastardly, did I?). It’s up to a renegade, federally-employed Slasher Hunter to thwart the slashers’ plan and save Lee and his friends before it’
Read more

Chinese Erotic Ghost Story

Image
Title: Chinese Erotic Ghost Story Original Title: Yuk lui liu chai Genre: Comedy, Exploitation Rating: 2.5/5 Starring: Ben Ko Chu, Chun Chung, Siu Wan Hung Director: Kin-Nam Cho Language: Chinese It's always a little tricky to think how these sort of films should be rated; from the title it's apparent that they aren't perhaps the most creative when it comes to titles, though if nothing else it certainly is an accurate one, with perhaps some mention of how batshit insane the bizarre events of the actual film are being the only thing missing. It all kicks off rather normally; Chu is introduced as the debt collector working for an asshole of a King with a beautiful mistress, two beautiful daughters and an even prettier wife, whilst he's stuck with a woman who sleeps 20 hours a day and spends the remaining four awake eating. Caught in the embrace of one of the King's daughters he's punished with the task of entering Satan's Temple and stealing the statu
Read more