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MovieMeditation presents...
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
262 .......................... 300
__________________________
October 28th
—— 2014 ——
THE RAID 2
B E R A N D A L
—— action ——
REWATCH
The underdog martial arts
action flick gets a long awaited sequel...
'The Raid' was a mesmerizing martial arts ballet, but had it been a modern art musical ballet instead, it had been a raw, deep bassline brought forward with tempo and skill, while also being surprisingly light on its toes and elegant with its efficiency (shout out IndieWire). ‘The Raid 2’, however, metaphorically feels like the whole entire symphony setting in, going from the light blows of trumpets to the trumpeting tense aura of the familiar bass of the first film – though double the bass and double the trouble that our hero has to face. Even aggressive violins could channel the violence in the movie and one could even say there is a distant hint of organ-like ambiance present, since the movie reaches almost heavenly heights in this hasty hell ride of actual organs being slashed, bashed and broken throughout its 150 minutes of martial arts madness. 'The Raid 2' is honestly beyond bad-ass, while being bigger, bolder and bloodier than the first film… but is it better as well?
'The Raid 2' starts way out in left field, though literally so, since the film opens in an open field with the brother of Rama – the latter who was the main character of the first film. The film follows the footsteps of the plot of the first film and Rama is quickly tracked down and dragged deep into the criminal underworld in order to take down corrupt police officials, gangs and crime lords. This time around, director Gareth Evans has made an attempt to magnify his martial arts extravaganza to even greater heights, by adding elaborate story to the action elements, while structuring everything around a grander scale with a “wannabe godfather-esque” glimpse in the eye. Some people have complained about cutting patterns and adding palettes in a "pointless" straight-lined black-and-white action concept, but personally – simple as it might be – I think the story structure adds different beats and distinctive tempo to the action set pieces and it actually feels like a movie and not an action montage.
The first raid had “fourteen stories” and “fourteen layers” to work with, figuratively speaking, yet it was missing depth and an elaborate evolution of the characters and story. I enjoy and admire the hit and run concept of the first film, but I love how the sequel takes time to get up to speed, shift the gears just right and then hit a top speed the first film never came close to; that 30-minute action-filled finale is the most manic mash-up of crash, bash and splash (in that order) martial art insanity I have ever been a witness to. I never knew I could hold my breath for 30 minutes until I watched this movie… my God, what a (shotgun) blast it was! So apart from its ultra-violent nature, leaning on an outrageous and almost comical angle, as well as its extended story fundament, working well but withholding the action for some, this motion picture is a prime example of what a good action film should be. ‘The Raid 2’ is based on action, driven by action and lifted by action, thereby making it an action movie of the truest kind in my opinion. I understand the complains, but that said, every complaint should come with at least one compliment to the action itself and the actors making it all possible. That, ladies and gentlemen, is martian arts and skills not of this world.
Since the backbone of the movie is the action, the backstory of Rama is still narrow and build on the bare necessities of emotional involvement. But nevertheless, I thought it worked well as a subtle glimpse into the personal life of our protagonist, coming off as an anti-close up investment from our side, almost like we are the fly on the wall in the midst of wonder, love, sadness and tragedy… It is slight but sufficient and I thought it gave just enough estimated emotion to energize the character and create a spark in our minds as well. The overall plot progression contains a decent dose of family troubles – both blood and gang related – as well as revenge, backstabbing and actual stabbing as well, obviously. There is especially two people who stand out for their obvious though intended outrageousness (just look at their credited character name), who you definitely don’t want to run into at night. One gives the term “hammer time” a bad rep and the other is someone you definitely don’t want to go to first base with… well, even for his reputation you kind of didn’t want to in the first place either, but whatever…
start of spoilers // There is also a middle piece with the actor who played Mad Dog in the first film, now playing a different character, which seemed to confuse some people – both in terms of who he was and what his purpose was in the story. Personally, I see him almost as an inhuman force of nature – a folktale, a martial arts ancient God of sorts or a grim reaper walking the earth – and a plot device as he might be in the end of it all, we are showed his unmatched skills as a martial artist, kicking and killing every obstacle in his way, right up until he meets his match, who leaves him mangled in the blood-soaked snow, showing the audience just how astronomically skillful the murderer is. Because the man who managed to beat the unbeatable, is the same man who shall evidently end up in a fight with our hero, which gives the audience both perspective and anticipation. // end of spoilers And from here on out everything builds nicely, with each action scene being better than the last one, up until the grisly grand finale. 'The Raid 2' is much longer than its predecessor, but it seems more persistent and powerfully executed as well – and with way more executions than the first one had – which also makes it feel more epic as a whole and with an explosive finale that should silence every critic out there…
+
__________________________
BONUS - click for my short write-up in the RTLMYS thread
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
262 .......................... 300
__________________________
October 28th
—— 2014 ——
THE RAID 2
B E R A N D A L
—— action ——
REWATCH
The underdog martial arts
action flick gets a long awaited sequel...
'The Raid' was a mesmerizing martial arts ballet, but had it been a modern art musical ballet instead, it had been a raw, deep bassline brought forward with tempo and skill, while also being surprisingly light on its toes and elegant with its efficiency (shout out IndieWire). ‘The Raid 2’, however, metaphorically feels like the whole entire symphony setting in, going from the light blows of trumpets to the trumpeting tense aura of the familiar bass of the first film – though double the bass and double the trouble that our hero has to face. Even aggressive violins could channel the violence in the movie and one could even say there is a distant hint of organ-like ambiance present, since the movie reaches almost heavenly heights in this hasty hell ride of actual organs being slashed, bashed and broken throughout its 150 minutes of martial arts madness. 'The Raid 2' is honestly beyond bad-ass, while being bigger, bolder and bloodier than the first film… but is it better as well?
'The Raid 2' starts way out in left field, though literally so, since the film opens in an open field with the brother of Rama – the latter who was the main character of the first film. The film follows the footsteps of the plot of the first film and Rama is quickly tracked down and dragged deep into the criminal underworld in order to take down corrupt police officials, gangs and crime lords. This time around, director Gareth Evans has made an attempt to magnify his martial arts extravaganza to even greater heights, by adding elaborate story to the action elements, while structuring everything around a grander scale with a “wannabe godfather-esque” glimpse in the eye. Some people have complained about cutting patterns and adding palettes in a "pointless" straight-lined black-and-white action concept, but personally – simple as it might be – I think the story structure adds different beats and distinctive tempo to the action set pieces and it actually feels like a movie and not an action montage.
The first raid had “fourteen stories” and “fourteen layers” to work with, figuratively speaking, yet it was missing depth and an elaborate evolution of the characters and story. I enjoy and admire the hit and run concept of the first film, but I love how the sequel takes time to get up to speed, shift the gears just right and then hit a top speed the first film never came close to; that 30-minute action-filled finale is the most manic mash-up of crash, bash and splash (in that order) martial art insanity I have ever been a witness to. I never knew I could hold my breath for 30 minutes until I watched this movie… my God, what a (shotgun) blast it was! So apart from its ultra-violent nature, leaning on an outrageous and almost comical angle, as well as its extended story fundament, working well but withholding the action for some, this motion picture is a prime example of what a good action film should be. ‘The Raid 2’ is based on action, driven by action and lifted by action, thereby making it an action movie of the truest kind in my opinion. I understand the complains, but that said, every complaint should come with at least one compliment to the action itself and the actors making it all possible. That, ladies and gentlemen, is martian arts and skills not of this world.
Since the backbone of the movie is the action, the backstory of Rama is still narrow and build on the bare necessities of emotional involvement. But nevertheless, I thought it worked well as a subtle glimpse into the personal life of our protagonist, coming off as an anti-close up investment from our side, almost like we are the fly on the wall in the midst of wonder, love, sadness and tragedy… It is slight but sufficient and I thought it gave just enough estimated emotion to energize the character and create a spark in our minds as well. The overall plot progression contains a decent dose of family troubles – both blood and gang related – as well as revenge, backstabbing and actual stabbing as well, obviously. There is especially two people who stand out for their obvious though intended outrageousness (just look at their credited character name), who you definitely don’t want to run into at night. One gives the term “hammer time” a bad rep and the other is someone you definitely don’t want to go to first base with… well, even for his reputation you kind of didn’t want to in the first place either, but whatever…
start of spoilers // There is also a middle piece with the actor who played Mad Dog in the first film, now playing a different character, which seemed to confuse some people – both in terms of who he was and what his purpose was in the story. Personally, I see him almost as an inhuman force of nature – a folktale, a martial arts ancient God of sorts or a grim reaper walking the earth – and a plot device as he might be in the end of it all, we are showed his unmatched skills as a martial artist, kicking and killing every obstacle in his way, right up until he meets his match, who leaves him mangled in the blood-soaked snow, showing the audience just how astronomically skillful the murderer is. Because the man who managed to beat the unbeatable, is the same man who shall evidently end up in a fight with our hero, which gives the audience both perspective and anticipation. // end of spoilers And from here on out everything builds nicely, with each action scene being better than the last one, up until the grisly grand finale. 'The Raid 2' is much longer than its predecessor, but it seems more persistent and powerfully executed as well – and with way more executions than the first one had – which also makes it feel more epic as a whole and with an explosive finale that should silence every critic out there…
+
__________________________
BONUS - click for my short write-up in the RTLMYS thread