Synopsis:
A SWAT team seeks to bring down a crime boss who has turned a block of apartments into a criminal fortress. A few floors up however things start looking incredibly grim. Rama must fight his way through a legion of thugs to make it out of this hell hole alive.
Let me start by saying you must prepare yourself for this
film. Why? Because it kicks a severe amount of ass. In fact it kicks so much
ass its characters are liable to leap out of the screen and kick YOUR ass…..
that’s the level of ass-kickery we’re talking here. My love of martial arts
films runs deep into my child hood and I know what makes good beat ‘em flick or
what makes a bad one. After years of idolising Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung,
Donnie Yen, Stephen Chow and the like I genuinely have no problem saying that
Gareth Evans has gone ahead and taken nearly every film I previously held in
the high regard and beaten the living crap out of them. No words can truly
express the hard hitting action thrust onto the screen but I’ll sure as hell
try my best.
Take every martial arts film you’ve seen. Take every style
of fighting you’ve seen. Throw in guns, machetes, knives and exploding fridges.
Role all of these up into a ball. Now just sit back and watch Gareth Evans,
with the help of an exceptionally talented cast and crew, somehow take this
ball of unbridled chaos and paint a cinematic masterpiece.
I think what’s so wonderful about it is that it doesn’t just
have great choreography, in fact, probably the best in history. But it also has
such cinematic fluidity; it’s so beautifully put together. Every shot seems to
emphasize and enhance the action on screen. Even when the action halts (albeit
in brief spurts between the carnage) there’s such cinematographical competence
on display. All of these things put together really bring the piece alive. I
try to switch off my analytical head while watching a film so I can truly get
the feel for it but here I couldn’t help but stop and marvel at the camera work
and how brilliantly it pulls you through this epic.
Although strange that all the criminals who live in the
tower block tend to have a basic level martial arts mastery you don’t really
care, it just makes the film that much more exciting. There’s a range of enemies
for our protagonist Rama, played perfectly by Iko Uwais, to battle. Not every
criminal drone he faces is the same. Occasionally one will randomly really put
up a fight and it helps drag authenticity to the piece. On top of wanting him
to beat these low-lifes in combat it also builds tension and you think to yourself
“if he’s struggling with this guy how’s he going to match against Mad Dog later
on?”. It’s all about sympathy and I doubt there’s a person in existence that
wouldn’t want to see Rama charge through and dismantle almost single handedly
an entire apartment block full of bad guys.
Talking of the bad guys. Top notch. Even if you’re not familiar with the Indonesian
language you can understand and feel the evil slyly coursing out of the lips of
Ray Sahetapy making him the perfect crime lord in Tama. Then you have “Mad Dog”
(not the most original name I know but VERY fitting). A small, Vegeta-esque
character who makes you forget about his size and could quite believably tear
through a living Terracotta Army; his fighting style is just so vicious and
frighteningly quick. I raise a glass to these two men, along with the rest of
cast and crew and everyone involved in The Raid for making this the best damn
fight movie in history. There…. I said it.
Overview:
It’s fast, it’s brutal, and it’s constant. It’s engaging,
excellently put together and stylish. On top of all that it gives rise to a new
star in Iko Uwai and SHOULD cement Gareth Evans as one of the best up and
coming directors in the business today. The best film I’ve seen this year, if
not the best film I’ve ever seen.
Rating
★★★★★
No comments:
Post a Comment