Thursday, July 19, 2012

The Raid: Redemption (2012)


Director: Gareth Evans

Martial arts movies are a cult genre. There are certain martial arts movie that a certain group of people love, but most people haven't heard of. The Raid is notable because it has achieved a bit more recognition and acclaim than your average martial arts movie. If you do consider yourself a fan of martial arts movies (if you've seen and loved Ip Man and Tony Jaa movies) and I would not include myself in that category, then you will probably love this movie. It features a whole lot of violence and some fantastic fight choreography and that's really all what most martial arts movie fans need. There are also some very memorable imaginative moments in the fight scenes (the last two thirds of the movie is just one fight scene really)

The directing by Gareth Evans is the main reason the fighting is memorable in any way. The scenes are chaotic but not indecipherable, which is unlike most other action films nowadays. But if you are looking for more than just badass fight choreography and violence, you won't find much here. This is a movie purely for those looking for action. The filmmakers probably came up with the story in a couple hours at most and is very obviously at the service of the action. It's an enjoyable and entertaining film, and one that has a refreshingly modern sensibility that's quite visceral when it comes to action and martial arts, but it's just violence all the way through with a barebones story that will have no emotional or intellectual impact on the audience.

Grade: C+

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