The Raid: Redemption (2011):
Synopsis – An elite police force enters a known drug kingpin’s
building, looking to shut down his operations. As you can guess, these guys bit
off more than they can chew. Luckily, martial arts, etc.
Uh oh. I think I am about to alienate some people here. I’ve
been looking forward to seeing The Raid since it was released stateside
in 2011. I remember at the time I was working in Los Angeles at KONAMI, and a
bunch of the guys there were going to the midnight showing after work ended. I
could only watch in jealousy as they left to have their fun, knowing I had an
hour and a half trip home waiting for me like I did every night during that
stint in El Segundo. 3 years later, I just had not found a reason to sit down
and watch the movie. With the sequel on the horizon, I finally got myself a
copy and waited for the ecstasy of pure action bliss to appear on screen. But I
never got there. Guys, I’m sorry. I thought The Raid: Redeption was
mostly boring. I know, you hate me. It’s ok, I kind of hate me too right now.
What I Liked:
-Well, you’d have to be a real hard ass not to enjoy any of
the martial arts. If I had to single out a scene, I think my favorite is the
first scene with Mad Dog where he decides to fight Jaka hand-to-hand. Ruhian,
who plays Mad Dog, is not a very big man, but he is nimble and strong and he
could obviously kick anyone’s ass. When he throws down with Jaka in that room,
he gets picked up and thrown around a few times, which was kind of comical, but
he really did seem unstoppable. And of course, he wins. He wins gloriously.
What I Didn’t Like:
-When it comes to world building, this movie doesn’t bother
with many details. I can see why someone could be satisfied with a throw away
story as long as it has amazing action, but I am not one of those people. There
was a time when I was, but my expectations have been raised to a point of no
return I suppose; I need plot. They enter the building because someone told
them they should. Other than that detail it gets pretty fuzzy if you ask me. It
seemed like there was a complicated world just on the cusp of being introduced,
but someone threw that away in favor of another shoot out. Not that the quiet
moments served to improve the movie in anyway. With so little to work with, I
think it only left idiots like me wondering what the hell was really going on,
and of course we are left without a resolution.
I heard from a friend of mine that The Raid 2 will have more
story in it. I can say that I am excited by the prospect.
- I kept waiting to see some of the amazing action I heard
so much about, and at first I thought “well, maybe it’s after all this gun
play.” The gun play was really tedious for me. So a bunch of dudes got blown
away. I have seen that before, many times. Finally, the hero of the movie,
Rama, has to fend off a bunch of dudes with a knife, a baton, and eventually
just his fists. I did enjoy that part to a point, but after the first 10 guys,
I had seen enough of people just running into Rama’s weapons. But it kept
going! On and on, one action scene after another. It wasn’t until Mad Dog
showed up that my attention was finally perked. Short lived, because we have to
go watch Rama fight some more random dudes.
What I Hated:
-Ehhh, even though the movie has its problems I’m saving my
ire for another time.
Verdict:
Listen, I can tell that this movie is good and
should be watched by lovers of action and fighting. If you have been jonesing
for something new and exciting, there is no reason not to give this movie a
try. It just wasn’t up to my standards. My problem, not the movie’s problem.
No comments:
Post a Comment