What's new

The Raid 2: Berandal Review (1 Viewer)

Yavin

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 15, 2013
Messages
196
Real Name
Ben Mk
From fisticuffs to car and motorcycle stunts, the broad scope of the frenetic action in Berendal is a far cry from the claustraphobically enclosed set pieces of Redemption; and by that same token, so too does the sequel's sprawling storyline stand in comparison to the plot of the original. Writer/director Gareth Evans succeeds in creating a grounded and convincing world for his characters to play in — one where the increasingly operatic movements of the plot revolve around the ongoing power struggle between competing crime families — and it serves as the perfect counterpoint to the action, which is over-the-top (in the best way possible) in every respect. But with the sequel upgrading Rama's status from a badass SWAT officer to an even more badass, one-man wrecking machine — who dishes out beatings at lightning speeds and absorbs punishment like no ordinary human could — there comes a point where even the audience's belief in his nearly-superhuman abilities reaches its breaking point.
4 out of 5. Wall-to-wall action, brutal and gory violence, all set against the backdrop of a power struggle in the criminal underword ...what's not to love?

My full review can be found here.
 

Patrick Sun

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 30, 1999
Messages
39,660
I didn't see the first installment, but didn't find it to impede my understanding too much. It's your basic "cop goes deep cover to infiltrate the mob" story with Rama being the Indonesian cop that goes into prison to befriend a crime lord's son Uco to get the goods on whole mob.

The chaotic action scenes between the good guy and the bad guys is over-the-top and entertainingly so. The face-off scenes feature hand-to-hand, weapons, gunplay, aluminum bats, hammers, and lots of stuntwork too. A lot of scenes induced audible cringes from me from the damage being inflicted on each other. It's bloody and crazy, and does its genre proud.

But at 2.5 hours, it's too long in spots, with some minor characters getting side subplots that adds little to the overall narrative.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.
 

Chuck Mayer

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2001
Messages
8,515
Location
Northern Virginia
Real Name
Chuck Mayer
I walked out of this film twice, maybe even thrice, the man I was when I walked in.

They should call this Blunt Force Trauma: The Motion Picture.

Exceedingly well-directed, impeccably staged action sequences, assuredly paced. Built lean directly from The Raid, this film is a marvel of cinematic fighting brilliance.

Aside from those parts, it still manages to wring a little drama from it, but that skeleton isn't any more developed than it needs to be. But a few key sequences build enough character empathy, and it moves swiftly and wisely.

Totally worth a trip to the theaters to see this big. There are a few all-timers in here, that will be watched 100,000,000,000,000 times on youtube in the years to come. It won't ever be as good as it is on the big screen.

Infinite/10

Whoops. Apologies. I did not search down far enough to see the main thread.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,808
Messages
5,123,532
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top