The Raid 2 is the sequel to the Singapore-made The Raid: Redemption (a movie with no redemption but plenty or raid… this new one doesn’t have a raid or much redemption).
The Raid is a simple setup (police raid a crime-ridden tenement) to hang some shocking and impressive martial arts sequences… it was ok… to the extent that it worked, it was because they didn’t try to involve us with pointless plot. It was short and to the point and I found it tedious at times but passable for what it was. The Raid 2 confuses itself with a crime drama about undercover cops infiltrating the mafia while the gangsters try to outmaneuver each other to gain power, etc. It can get very talky and a little convoluted as it’s not always clear why there’s action going on, who is which side, and who is screwing over who (intentionally confusing, I think). And in between this plot there’s some amazing stunt work and kung-fu fight choreography. I can’t argue they don’t go for broke and leave it all on the table.
The problem is, none of it mattered to me in the least… as in the Raid, the technical aspects of the fighting is impressive but this movie decided to leaden its 2 1/2 hour run time with this inane crime plot which had almost nothing to do with the first movie and Our Hero (returning from the first flick) is irrelevant to 80% of the story. They almost seem to forget him. So whatever minimal amount I may have cared for him and his family was negated by the fact the movie didn’t seem very interested in him either.
All that said, I’m the kind of action movie fan that needs more than just a lot of action – I need a plot to care about, I need characters with motivations I care about, and I need a sense that maybe (just maybe) things will go south for our heroes (or, at the very least, there’s a challenge). This movie did none of that. However, if you’re the kind of movie goer who can just love action for action’s sake, this is probably the best action flick of the year (which is what a lot of reviewers are saying). I could not have cared less though.
As an aside, at one one point, a couple assassins show up… one is a deaf woman who wears sunglasses while fighting with two claw hammers… you’d think at least two of those points would make being a kung-fu assassin slightly challenging but apparently not. The other was a Baseball Fury (sans the clown makeup, at least). Fights with a baseball bat. And baseballs. They were mildly amusing but mainly because they seemed to have been imported from a different, sillier movie.
Score: 62