I’m usually a little slow when it comes to watching movies. This is mostly due to the fact that I don’t pay much attention to what movies are coming out so I only hear about them after they’ve been released for quite a while. Fortunately my group of friends give me recommendations so I usually end up seeing the cool movies, eventually.
I’m a big fan of martial arts movies. So when one of my friends recommended The Raid: Redemption as a good entry in this genre I decided to look into it. Holy shit, it was good.
Effectively Indonesia schooled every other nation in the art of making modern martial arts movies. The fight choreography was top notch. Rama, the protagonist, didn’t succumb to relying on the same set of moves for every fight, which helped make each fight feel fresh. Too often modern martial arts movies get stale as the later fights are merely replays of earlier fights with new opponents. The Raid also manages to have just enough story to make you care about the characters but not so much that it gets in the way of the balls to the walls action.
All in all I highly recommend this film if you’re a fan of martial arts or action movies.