This week on DVD Dissection, it’s a sequel to a film that stood out in the world two years ago, brought with it some action, and was passed over on a certain DVD review article in favor of a Kevin Sorbo movie. Now, the sequel rolls on in, and its time to shine on a light on this series.
The Story
After surviving a brutal raid, an Indonesian SWAT team member is forced to reinvent himself as an undercover cop in order to provide protection for his wife and child. Working for the anti-corruption taskforce led by Bunawar, the one person he can trust, he is given a mission to engage himself as an enforcer for a local mob boss, Bangun. Finding a way in through Bangun’s son Uco, Rama must hunt for information linking Bangun with police force corruption. All the while, he harbors a dangerous and personal vendetta for revenge and justice that threatens to consume him- and bring both this mission and the organized crime syndicates crashing down.
The Bullets
- Rated R
- Released July 8th, 2014
- Language: Indonesian with English and Spanish dubbing/subtitles
- Runtime: 150 Minutes
Rama (Uwais) vs The Assassin (Cecep Arif Rahman)
The Dissection
The first movie, THE RAID:REDEMPTION, was a surprising hit when it came out. It delivered some insane action and violence that made fans of the martial arts genre jump and fans of the film DREDD go “Well, DREDD did it first!”. It also did not get review on the Dissection. Well, it’s time to remedy that oversight with the sequel, which came out recently and, due to circumstance, has the honor of being the first Blu Ray film that was used for a review.
Picking up with the end of the first film, it follows the hero Rama, played by Iko Uwais, who gets pushed from the proverbial frying pan and into the fire. It seems him pushed into going undercover and get involved with a big criminal organization over corruption. Honestly, it’s the usual story that revolves around crime and police and corruption. It follows a lot of the usual tropes from beginning to end.
Stop! Hammer Girl!
However, the film is really here to showcase the action and the violence, which the film does with glee. The film is very much focused on showing main character Rama run another gauntlet of sorts. The entire vibe of the film is reminiscent of the pseudo-Bruce Lee film, GAME OF DEATH 2, namely the last act of the film. It gets a bit goofy and it leads the hero of that film to do battle with these crazy villains and do these over the top battles. It’s similar here, also around the last act of the film, though it’s a bit more grounded and THE RAID 2 has a lot more finesse to the fights. In a way, it’s using the basis of the first movie, and expanding it to a city. Going from ARKHAM ASYLUM to ARKHAM CITY, to put it another way, even down to a boss character with a hammer.
Still, for a film with this length, a bit more time at the editing machine would have benefited the film, though the film itself is not suffering cause of it.
The film has a good number of extras. It has a director’s commentary, which helps to fill in some of the details missed in the movie, and delves into the making of the film. There’s also a lot of behind the scenes videos that go into the production side and choreography, and a video that features a Q & A session from a screening. Rounding the extras out is a trailer and a deleted scene from the film.
The Verdict
While a bit of an issue with the length and the overall story, there’s enough about the film to give this a recommendation, though a good use of the fast forward is recommended for best results.