Rating of
3/4
Sheer entertainment from start to finish.
MikePA - wrote on 06/19/12
For a movie that has almost nothing going for it except a presentation of hyper-stylized fight sequences, The Raid: Redemption is pretty good. That's clearly all director Gareth Evans wants to deliver, and he delivers it pretty damn well, so have at it! Sit back, relax, and enjoy yourself a feast of intense, bone-breaking action scenes, riveting choreography, and blood flying out from every corner you can picture.
The story is short, simple, and to the point. An elite special forces team must battle their way up to the top floor of a large building so they can take down the evil crime lord. That's it. While it may be a little too thin, this is a good enough concept to have when you're making a movie that's cleary meant to entertain with expert action and violence.
Now, before you watch this film, you gotta understand that this isn't your typical character-driven movie. Not remotely. You barely get to know any of these characters. You don't even get to know all of their names. The only character that's given some personal background is the main guy, and all we know of him is that he has a pregnant wife. I've seen better character development in a porno.
Luckily, the martial arts scenes seriously redeem the character development problems the film has. I didn't really care that these characters were horribly developed and that the story didn't have much going for it. This film was made to show off action, and that's a win because the action is f***ing awesome. These action sequences are stylishly directed by Gareth Evans. They're expertly handled, never boring, shot beautifully in long, comprehensible takes, and choreographed with great energy and style. It's sheer entertainment from start to finish.
3/4 (See it)
