The Raid: Redemption


"Okay, listen up. Our target is Tama Riyadi. I'm sure most of you know who I'm talking about. This man has become something of a legend in the underworld. Pushers, gangs, killers, they all respect him like a god. For the past ten years his building has been a no-go zone for police. I don't care how big he is or who is behind him, he must be stopped. That enterprising fuck's been renting out rooms like it's an apartment. To any low-life piece of shit looking to keep his head down. Our mission is simple: we go in, and we take him out!"   - Rama


release year: 2011
genre: action
viewing setting: home Bluray 12/4/21 and 7/4/15 and 2/2/13

synopsis: A team of police invades the 15-story headquarters of a ruthless crime lord, but quickly find themselves trapped and outnumbered and must fight to survive.

impressions: This was bloody carnage from Indonesia, and it was great. In addition to some outstanding martial arts and hand-to-hand fighting, there's also gunfire, machetes, and plenty of improvised weapons. I have to make special mention of the "Mad Dog" character: a five-foot tall guy who looks average but is actually a lightning-bolt of fighting energy who can kick ass for minutes at a time without a break. At one point, while fighting two guys at the same time, Mad Dog gets stabbed in the neck with a glass tube and STILL KEEPS FIGHTING. That's the kind of movie this is...an awesome frenzy of violence.

activation point: 22:00 - this is when the boss announces on the PA system that anyone who kills the cops will get free rent for life, and from that point forward, it's on

confirmed body count: 67, assuming that anyone who got hit with a weapon and didn't move after that was in fact dead (this applied to maybe twenty, the rest were 100% dead for sure)

something this movie has that no other movie has: A guy getting his neck slammed into the jagged bottom of a broken doorframe.

acting: Subtitles/foreign language made true judging of the acting difficult, but Iko Uwais was great as the main hero, ditto Donny Alamsyah as his criminal brother. Yayan Ruhian was a small man who could fight like no one else.

final word: Almost non-stop violent action.

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