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?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.
My full review can be found here.