Original poster for The Raid: Redemption (2011)
Jesse Pasternack looks at what makes The Raid: Redemption such a jaw-dropping action spectacle.
I have followed the same routine when I watch a movie so I can write about it since I was in high school. I get a journal and something to write with (sometimes a pencil, other times a pen) and take copious notes. I almost always take nine to ten pages of notes before I write a piece like this for any outlet to organize my thoughts and make sure I did not miss anything.
But, for perhaps the first time since I was a teenager, I didn’t do that for a piece. Instead, I only took three pages worth of notes as I watched The Raid: Redemption (2011). It was so engrossing that most of my notes used words like “love,” “amazing,” or, in one case, “great” written in all capital letters after a particularly thrilling fight sequence. Not many films can do that to me but, then again, most films do not possess the superb simplicity, perfect pacing, and incredible fight choreography that make The Raid: Redemption one of the best action movies ever made.
This movie is about Rama (Iko Uwais), a rookie cop in an elite tactical unit. He joins a squad of 20 other officers to execute a raid on an apartment building to arrest feared drug lord Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy), who runs it as a type of fortress. But after their cover gets blown, Rama and his colleagues will have to bloodily fight their way through dozens of henchmen and Riyadi’s brutal lieutenant Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian) as Riyadi’s top adviser, Andi (Donny Alamsyah), harbors a secret.
Iko Uwais as Rama
A large part of why The Raid: Redemption works is because of the primal power of its simplicity. Its straightforward premise is something that you could describe in a single sentence, and its characters expertly fulfill classical archetypes like the hero, the villain, and the henchman. This gives it a sense of clarity which makes every beat of its story shine in the best, most uncomplicated way.
Writer-director Gareth Evans also tells that story with a perfect pace. He knows exactly when to introduce a new plot point or an unexpected twist. This helps the film move along at a steady clip so that your interest in it never lessens.
But, more than anything, The Raid: Redemption is one of the best action movies ever made because of its amazing fight sequences. They feature the actors and stunt performers using pencak silat, which is a visceral and Indonesian form of martial arts. They possess a kinetic and intense beauty which is very exciting to watch. In particular, a sequence where Mad Dog fights a sergeant named Jaka (Joe Taslim) has a brutal elegance that helps make it one of the best I have ever seen.
Jaka (Joe Taslim) fights Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian)
Billy Wilder once advised screenwriters to “grab ‘em by the throat and never let ‘em go.” The Raid: Redemption does this for the entirety of its 105-minute running time. It’s a movie that can absorb the attention of anyone, and continues to do so over a decade after it first came out.
The Raid: Redemption will be screened at IU Cinema on October 29 as part of the Blockbuster Futures conference.