The Raid: Redemption

Among fans of martial arts pictures, The Raid: Redemption, a 2011 film from Indonesia, is a pretty big deal. For someone like me, who doesn't really care all that much for movies in which the whole thing is mostly people beating on each other, it was only okay. I will say that the star, Iko Uwais, is an incredible athlete, and that the fight choreography was stunning, but there's more to a movie than that.

Directed by Gareth Evans, the film is set in Jakarta, and has a pretty simple premise. A druglord has his operations in a dank apartment building. Most of the residents are in his employ. Therefore, a contingent of 20 police officers are going to have a tough time making it to the top. Even more so when they discover they've been set up to fail.

Uwais, as a rookie cop with a pregnant wife, manages to overpower several dozen men, and it's really amazing to watch. Granted, this film is structured like a video game, with each floor of the apartment building like a level, and opponents that pop up one by one. If they only got together and rushed him at once, there would be no movie. Also, I'm no expert on fighting, but these guys seem awfully tough, especially their skulls, which stand up to fists, walls, and other hard objects. I imagine this is in the realm of fantasy.

Aside from the kicking, punching, and general mayhem, the film is a routine police thriller. There is a twist involving a relationship between a cop and a criminal, which made it a little more complex, but otherwise most of the characters were disposable (and disposed of). I liked the work by Ray Sahetapy as the druglord.