The Raid: Redemption kicks ass. No broken bones about it. It is a wall-to-wall masterpiece of fight sequences. Keeping non-fight sequences to a minimum, writer/director Gareth Evans keeps the Raid: Redemption accelerating to the top of the crime-infested building, thus maintaining an energetic and kinetic pace all the way to the top.
The story is simple, and I will not use names since they aren’t really necessary. A newcomer to the force joins a group of cops set to infiltrate an apartment complex owned by a corrupt mobster and tenanted by his cronies. Complicating matters are two things: the mission that the cops are on is unsanctioned by the police department, and the main character has a brother in the building who is one of the generals of the head crime lord.
The setting of a building generates a lot of the tension when no fighting goes on. Most of the time is spent in hallways, where you don’t know which door will open, or if the person exiting is a friend or foe. Most of these scenes are drawn out the proper amount of time, and the people exiting vary enough to provide sufficient mystery and suspense when the setting keeps reappearing. Some of the rooms have hidden compartments and fire escapes which keep the setting constantly interesting as well.
The fight sequences are probably the most unique aspect of the Raid: Redemption. Usually, in an action movie, the hero develops superhuman strength and knocks out the bad guy with one hit. In this movie, it takes repeated blows to finally KO a bad guy. I counted 5 head shots during one sequence. In fact, one villain was so strong it took the hero and his brother to actually take him down. With the exception of some liberties in regards to recovery time, the sequences seemed like what a real fight would look like: the fight sequences were like ballet crossed with a wrestling match. Make no mistake though, this film also earns its R rating with some gruesome deaths.
With so much of the movie devoted to action, the characters have little time to develop into anything more than slightly interesting. The most interesting characters are the two generals: the brother, who has interesting reasons for being where he is, and a character called Mad Dog who proves to be an unexpected but fierce obstacle. In fact, Mad Dog is so inherently fascinating, that the top dog just pales in comparison, and gives the ending an anti-climactic punch that bursts the Raid’s bubble.
Reviews will not change any opinion of people who want to see a movie like Taken. The Raid: Redemption gives you an adrenaline shot after 10 minutes and never relents. Nevermind that this story falls apart if you just blow up the building.