The Raid 2: Berandal

[areaseven]

The Raid 2: Berandal is the sequel to the acclaimed 2012 Indonesian martial arts action film The Raid: Redemption. Gareth Evans returns to the director's chair for this installment, with Iko Uwais reprising his role as police officer Rama.

The film is slated for release on March 2014.

[electric indigo]

Intense!

[Mr March]

Incredible trailer. The first film kicked the backside of almost every domestic action movie made in the last ten years. If this sequel is even half as good as the first film, we'll have another hit on our hands.

[505thAirborne]

Can't wait, loved the first movie!!

[KH355hamdi]

I checked Berandal means Bully in Indoensian word.

[areaseven]

[UN Spacy]

DEER GOD.

[troyness]

Incredible trailer. The first film kicked the backside of almost every domestic action movie made in the last ten years. If this sequel is even half as good as the first film, we'll have another hit on our hands.

I think you are 110% correct sir!

...I LOVED the first movie, it was like a 101 ways to go out of your way to kill someone.

[Mr March]

troyness Yes, some of the fights were elaborate, out-of-your-way battles. But the film also showcased a large amount of amazing quick, insta-kill fights born out of desperation and necessity of the characters involved, especially in the first two-thirds of the film.

This second trailer might be even better than the first. Very excited here.

[areaseven]

[Tking22]

Just wanted to give an update, I got to see this last weekend at a pre-screening and it somehow managed to top the original. It had a much deeper story that I felt had elements from Infernal Affairs, there were some real stand out moments from the cast and Iko got to show off his acting chops quite a bit, and of course crazier more hard hitting action, particularly one insanely intense fight that takes place in prison. In short, there's a lot of good looking movies coming out soon, if you were a fan of the first you owe it to yourself to see this one in a theater, and if you haven't seen the first then watch it, then prepare to see the sequel in theaters.

[Mr March]

Went to see "The Raid 2" last night. This second film manages to be a great action flick that is quite different from the original. The endlessly inventive fight sequences continue to thrive in the sequel. This time around the budget is much larger and it shows. The cinematography is sumptuous and the sets are beautiful to behold. Adding many more characters, a lot more plot and much more acting, the Raid 2 feels alot wider and grander as far as the world. Story elements of organized crime and police corruption from the original film appear yet again, but now with much greater depth and nuance. Performances from all of the cast are uniformly strong and Evans continues his skill for casting incredibly memorable faces as both heros and villains.

Even with all that praise, I will say I don't think The Raid 2 is the all-time action/martial arts classic that was the first film. Although the film is much more substanive and sprawling than the first, the original film was just such an amazingly tight film that sent the audience on a perfectly edited thrill ride that I didn't get the same rush out of the second film. Again, the two films are very different (which is only a good thing in this case) but I do have a personal preference for the two styles when it comes to action flicks.

Nonetheless, The Raid 2 is another smashing success for director Gareth Evans and silat action star Iko Uwais. How these guys manage to be so endlessly creative with action is beyond me, but I cherish them as international treasures of genre entertainment. This sequel includes as many nail-biting fights and "WTF!" moments as the first film. This sequel also includes a mind-blowing car chase (who'd have thought?) destined to go down as one of the greatest ever filmed. Well worth a theatre visit and another film to add to any action fan's collection.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Mr March

[CrazyDude]

Could be interesting.

I stopped watching MA movies years ago as I see very little actual MA in them, mostly just acrobatic moves and stunts.

Fun Story.

Last year during a hospital stay we had some rehabilitation training, instructor looked at me using my hands and said you trained martial arts.

I said yes for 39yrs, he answered that his mother is also an instructor in a related style.

Edited April 16, 2014 by CrazyDude

[Tking22]

The Raid 2 for me, simply put, is the single greatest action film ever made in the history of cinema. For me it did everything a sequel should do, and it fired on all cylinders the whole movie, nothing will ever top this for me, well, I'm guessing The Raid 3 will eventually. For now, this film was just too incredible for a description, there was too much amazing in pretty much every scene, and as others have said, it was shot incredibly well for an action/martial arts film. I laugh every time I see something having to do with the ultra bloated Expendables 3, as if number 2 wasn't disappointing and bloated enough, I'm sorry Stalone, since The Raid films have come out everything you attempt looks like expensive grown man child's play.

[Tking22]

Thought I'd post this, this is a deleted scene from the Raid 2, it was apparently cut for pacing, and also it was ridiculously violent, too violent to achieve an R rating.

Warning though, the video is extremely violent, tons of gun violence and buckets of blood.

[Hoptimus]

I got the first one on Blu Ray recently. I need to grab this one now that the Blu Ray is out. I love the simple but effectiveness of Silat.

[Mr March]

Amazing scene. A good reminder that I need to pick this up on Blu-ray. Love it.