THE RAID - REDMEPTION, Carlisle's Final Word

 "Pulling a trigger is like ordering a takeout."

Mad Dog.

Half circle down-to-forward and 'square' unleashes a Fire Ball.

Synopsis;

The Raid (or, The Raid Redemption as it’s also known) is the second film by Welsh (Welsh???) director Gareth Evans- an explosive Indonesian action movie.

A 20-man elite unit is sent on mission to eliminate a notorious criminal king-pin held up on the top floor of an apartment block which serves as his own personal fortress. Amongst the unit are the experienced Sergeant Jaka and young rookie Officer Rama- who also happens to be a master in the deadly art of Pencak Silat. This is a useful thing to know because (as you can probably imagine) the raid quickly goes catastrophically wrong. The surviving members of the team are then forced into a brutal game of survival while being hunted down by the king-pin's ruthless henchmen.

Script Logic; 0/2

There isn't really any logic to the script, but does it matter? The film is hoping you'll be too caught-up in the action to really care for the plot-holes. How did (spoilers ahead) a corrupt Lieutenant manage to deploy an entire armored unit without the proper authority or expecting his superiors not to notice? How was the unit even assembled without the proper documentation and warrants? Not a bother. Such a disregard for realism is ballsy if nothing else.

Pace; 1/2

Well, the film starts off at a run and doesn't really let-up. I was almost going to award the film 2/2 for this, but a perfect score has to be withheld for a perfect pace, and many of the films individual action scenes are overly-long- especially the final three-way battle, clocking in at over 8 minutes, I was ready for this clash to finish by the halfway point...

Acting; 1/2

Again, it's not really an 'actors piece'.  I mean, they have little to do besides grunt and fight, and the only concession to character building before the action starts is 30 seconds spent establishing that 1; the hero's wife is pregnant, and 2; he's pretty good in the gym. Still, that's all you need, and the film spends very little time concerning itself with minor details like character development. Only Joe Taslim, as the squad's experienced Sergeant, manages to bring any pathos or credibility to his time on screen- everyone else appears to be on strict instruction to ham-it-up.

Aesthetic; 2/2

The sets are suitably grungy and foreboding, so nothing really to report in that respect. However, the real aesthetic here is the martial arts. The Raid works largely as a showcase for Pencak Silat- a fast and fierce Indonesian martial art, almost like a bastard hybrid of Wushu and cage-fighting. There’s no denying that Pencak Silat is impressive, and up on the screen it makes for some breathtakingly athletic scenes- any fan of martial arts or action cinema is going to enjoy seeing this previously under-exploited form , and I’d put money on us seeing it a lot more from now on.

I guess my only complaint with the style, if any (or perhaps this is a failing of the film / director rather than the style), is that I felt like I was continually seeing the same few moves over and over again. It took me a while to notice this, but I found myself by the start of act 3 thinking “seen that, seen that, seen that”- like watching a computer game. I realise that criticism sounds a little harsh, but it’s probably a result of the individual action sequences being over-played. I feel that shorter (and as a result more intense) fights would have gone a long way to preventing this strong sense of Déjà vu. It's as though director Gareth Evans was so excited to 'strut his stuff' that he didn't hold anything back for later encounters.

Regarding a more personal and petty gripe- if I'm watching an 18-rated film with a fight including machetes, I WANT to see someone HIT with a machete! Still, kudos for the inventive door-frame related death, that was suitably grim.

Originality & Intention; 2/2

Well, like what was said during my review of Dredd, it hardly matters that the plot has been done before- is the same story that both Howard Hawks and John Carpenter used to tell so well.  In an odd twist of fate The Raid and Dredd (both of which shared a wincingly similar idea) were released almost simultaneously. It was easy to see why many people suspected subterfuge or breach of intellectual property, but I think in all honesty it was just an instance of cosmic-chance- and one that was disastrous for Dredd which most people compared unfavorably to The Raid. The Raid did good business and was quickly picked up for a sequel (coming soon) while the planned Dredd trilogy was shelved (although it found a new lease of life on DVD).

Admirably, The Raid set out and achieved exactly what it meant to do, and waved an unforgiving anarchic middle finger to everyone else in the process.

Final Score; 6/10 

OK, let’s not kid ourselves here; The Raid is all about the action, and on that score alone The Raid is most certainly a success and it’s easy to see why action-junkies lapped this up. The Raid was never meant to be anything else other than 100 minutes of bone-crunching action scenes. Anyone looking for anything other than this is going to leave disappointment.

“So, why the low score?” you may well ask. Is it possible that my rating system does The Raid a disservice? Well, no, for the simple reason it’s more than possible to have this level of action with a better plot, better acting, and a better pace, etc. Providing the fun stuff doesn’t have to be at the expense of rich storytelling. But I digress, and the entire reason for breaking the review down into separate scores is purely so people can read about the aspects that interest them the most and disregard the rest. I'll be honest, I got bored, but I do appreciate that as a bloodthirsty teenager this would have been right-up-my-street...

Interesting little fact; Yayan Ruhian, who played Mad Dog (the crime lord's diminutive but deadly bodyguard and only memorable bad guy), was once responsible for training Pencak Silat to the Indonesian Presidential Security Forces and the Indonesian Military Police... True.

PUNISHER, WARZONE; Carlisle's Final Word

 "This is just the beginning."

Frank Castle.

Traditionally, table dancers are topless.

Script Logic; 1/2

Pace; 1/2

Acting; 1/2

Aesthetic; 2/2

Originality & Intention; 1/2

Final Score; 6/10

Final Word: Unfairly mauled by critics who called this "overly-dark", "overly-violent" and "depressing", I considered this not only a worthwhile reboot of the Marvel comic's character, but also a fairly honest (and gutsy) portrayal of an otherwise poorly served franchise. Sure, it's a pretty murky experience, like getting a blowjob from a $5 stripper- but that's the Punisher all over. Forget the catastro-fuck-aphy of the Thomas Jane and John Travolta outing, here the material is better served by the grim-faced Ray Stevenson and the always-watchable Dominic West, on manic form as the antagonist. But even for a comic book adaption some of the other acting is crap, and even West's mania can't disguise the fact that his character is a second rate Joker ala Jack Nicholson, but the film is held together by it's garish aesthetic, hilariously over-the-top violence and balls-to-the-wall absurdity. Similar in many ways to Dredd, but the Punisher is (simply put) just not as charismatic a character. Still, if you're after Paul Verhovan style excess, only sans the smarts and satire, then this won't disappoint.

DREDD, Carlisle's Final Word.

"In case you have forgotten, this block operates under the same rules as the rest of the city. Ma-Ma is not the law... I am the law."

Judge Dredd.

Script Logic; 1/2

Pace; 2/2

Acting; 1/2

Aesthetic; 2/2

Originality & Intention; 2/2

Final Score; 8/10










Final Word; It's not really saying much if I tell you this is better than Sly 'I am the Law' Stallone's version from the 90's. In fact, that statement does this reboot little justice at all, and Dredd is all about the justice...

I can't say I ever got into the 2000AD comics as a kid, but I understand what they are; cynical, satirical, dark and comically violent- and Judge Dredd was their flagship character, epitomising all of these qualities. This reboot puts that up on screen in spades! 'Good taste' takes a long walk and what's left is a very guilty pleasure.
The script is a typical 'outnumbered-and-outgunned' scenario, akin to such classics as Rio Bravo or Assault On Precinct 13 (the original), while the central relationship is that of the typical grizzled veteran reluctantly partnered with an innocent newbie. Sure, you've seen it all before, but that hardly matters. What's important is how that set-up is used.
The characters are developed just enough so that you empathise with their situation, but never to the point that the pace has to suffer for it. Karl Urban's chin is on fine form as Judge Dredd and Olivia Thirlby makes a sincere and likable (and very sexy) Judge Anderson- and aside from some stylish visuals it's their performances that makes this more than just enjoyable trash. Viewed again recently I'm actually amazed at just how much chemistry they manage to squeeze out of their scenes. On the flip-side of the Law, Lena Headey plays the violent crime lord Ma-Ma, and what could have easily been a scenery-chewing mega-bitch performance is an oddly constrained beast.
If I was being picky (very picky, in fact), I'd say that Ma-Ma could have done with being more charismatic, yet she still manages to be a worthy villain.
The music, while hardly memorable, is perfectly pitched- a dirty ghetto bass-line fit for the crime ridden slums, bursting into life when the lead starts flying. Actually, the music put me in mind of the John Carpenter classics- suspencful, reppetative and nihilistic.

On a final (final) word, Dredd delivers all the goods and has a nice line in dead-pan humor. This balances the often bloody and disgusting violence and keeps the whole thing from becoming too nasty, a neat trick that nods to the likes of Paul Verhovan's films. This is a film for both fans of the comic and non-fans alike, and may even have some of you reaching to the comics for the first time. Next time I'm in a bookstore I may well have a look for one myself...