B+ | A police raid of an apartment building is met with fierce resistance. Directed by Gareth Edwards Starring Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, and Yayan Ruhian Review by Jon Kissel |
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For 101 minutes, Edwards’ cast employs every implement and weapon imaginable to bash and slash their way through the complex, and when there’s nothing for characters to get their hands on, they turn to pencak silat. This form uses the entire body as a weapon, as demonstrated by Uwais, Ruhian’s Mad Dog henchman, and Joe Taslim’s Sergeant Jaka, amongst many others. All martial arts are cinematic, as it’s pleasing to watch a person in control of their body, but this version is also rhythmic. The hits come like a kid playing with a drum set, as fists, palms, elbows, and knees combine to complement the score. When characters aren’t banging out soloes on their opponents, they’re using their bodies as clubs, frequently swining or chest-passing them into cement columns. The test of any action film of this genre is can it elicit an involuntary exclamation. The Raid does this repeatedly, even after the film’s been seen half a dozen times. For two examples, Rama tossing a goon over a balcony to land on a cement bannister square is sickeningly satisfying, but the centerpiece stunt is a flying leap backwards that Rama takes with a goon through a door frame, landing the goon’s neck on the broken wooden shards of the broken door. There are others, but that kind of grisly invention combined with Uwais’ physicality is unmatched.
All of that comes after a desperate shootout between the cops and the residents and before two long mano-y-mano fights that form the last act of the film. Edwards isn’t content to just let Uwais and co cook, and instead serves up a varied approach to action that will continue to reap benefits in the much broader The Raid 2, a crime epic in the vein of Heat or The Departed that is probably the most violent movie I’ve ever seen. Many prefer The Raid for its focus, and while I’m not in that camp, both films are paragons of their form and untouchable modern actioners. B+