The Dark Knight of action movies! Overselling it there I think.
The Raid 2 continues the story of Rama as he heads undercover to root out corrupt police. The bigger budget shows immediately; we see plenty of inventive camera usage from the returning Evans as we visit many more locales. Following on from the first film by a matter of hours, it’s far more dramatic and layered from a storytelling point of view. Personally though, I miss the confines of the apartment block in the first film.
I just wanted to see great fights. I get that, but I think Evans was aiming for more, with several threads playing out separately before converging later.
This is a team of professionals at their best. With various styles and weapons being used it’s a feast for the eyes, if you like eyes smashed in. Technically the fights are amazingly choreographed, but they have such a level of detail and love put into them that they never come across as ‘you strike here, I block, continue’.
In my review for the original I praised the soundtrack by Mike Shinoda. He isn’t present here, and although I miss him I’m not sure his pulsing tunes would have fitted the more expansive tale being told. Nevertheless I couldn’t remember any of the soundtrack. Make of that what you will.
The Raid 2 is a damn good film, even when punches aren’t being thrown. But when it finished I wasn’t amazed. It’s what I expected, and compared to the fresh exciting of the feeling of the original it doesn’t quite hit the same heights.
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