Dorathen
Better Late Then Never
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
elmoslively
These films are brutally and disturbingly violent, but at the same time they are immensely watchable. The violence is portrayed in a lyrical way, almost artful, like a ballet. Not unlike the early films of John Woo, such as FACE OFF. The violence doesn't distract from the story telling, but enhances it, like Shakespeare did with his tragedies MACBETH, or HAMLET. The films are extremely well shot and very entertaining.
dallasryan
Saw The Raid and liked it, but then when I saw The Raid 2, I was blown away. Absolutely loved it! In my opinion the best fighting-action movie of all time. Near flawless in it's action sequences. So many good fights in this film, I felt like a kid at a candy store. The plot is actually really good too, a really good mafia film up there with some of the great mafia films. If you can handle the subtitles then strap in, and get ready to enjoy the ride of your life with this one. A must see for all film and action buffs!
ChocOrange
Quite simply one of the greatest action films ever made. If you like action watch this film!The action scenes are so beautifully choreographed it ranks as a FULL 10. No ifs or buts, this is currently THE action standard by which other films need to be judged. The action starts as top-notch and keeps improving as the film progresses.It also has a decent plot although possibly overlong in this respect. We don't expect a classic musical to have the world's best plot, so why an action movie? So many critics fail on this point!The director, Gareth Evans, is going to be seriously big in the industry as are his cohorts Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian who contributed the unbelievably good action sequences.The fact that this was produced for an estimated under $5m is shameful on Hollywood.Watch it, be amazed, get a huge fix of adrenaline, and wonder why Hollywood can't get close to the raw intensity generated by these action scenes.
Charles Herold (cherold)
The Raid 2 is a long movie, but not a very interesting one. Starting up shortly after the last one ended, the hero goes undercover with the mob in search of police corruption, but the movie ignores that in favor of a perpetually uninteresting and occasionally confusing story centered on the son of the head mobster.It's interesting reading the reviews here because they are mainly favorable and focus on how much action there was even though I felt like the action was pretty thin for most of the movie. There are some big solid fights here and there, such as a muddy one in a prison yard, but there are also long stretches of action-less, tedious storytelling. I felt like I spent a tremendous amount of time waiting for anything interesting to happen, and it wasn't until very near the end that the pace picked up, notably with a big car battle and an exciting fight involving curved blades. User reviews describe this film as more action-packed than the original, but while there may be more action in total, I suspect there's less per minute; it doesn't feel packed by any means.I watched this movie because I really enjoyed the original, but before I compare the two I have to add the caveat that I don't remember the first one that well and am going from a general impression (I seem to have forgot to review it after I saw it).The first movie had a brilliant premise in that the whole movie was a cops vs. criminals battle in a single apartment building. Movies that close the participants in, like Die Hard or Alien, offer filmmakers a sort of built-in discipline, and The Raid was tightly focused because of its structure. The sequel, on the other hand, can go anywhere and does, resulting in something rambling and fuzzy.While I don't remember the details, I do remember it was one of those movies where I would say "WOAH!" out loud from time to time as something amazing happened. I did not say "woah" once during The Raid 2, although I did say "ick" a number of times. The violence is gory and sadistic, so even when it's clever and well-choreographed, as in some subway carnage involving hammers, I found it a bit much.With characters I didn't care about, a clichéd story that didn't make much sense, and action sequences spaced too far apart, this movie never pulled me in. I don't think I'll even bother with the inevitable Raid 3.
