Film Review: The Raid 2 (18) (Indonesia 2014) (Director: Gareth Evans) (Indonesian with English Subtitles),  The Cameo Cinema Screen One, Edinburgh, Sunday 06.04.2014, 11:00

This was a free preview screening I was able to attend, the film is not released until the 11th of April 2014.

Anyone who has see the first of 'The Raid' (2011) films will know that it revolves around displays of a martial art that is particular to Indonesia called pencak silat. This is a particularly flexible, brutal and kinetic form of combat. In the first film the action was an unremitting onslaught which left you feeling kinda breathless. 

In this new film, everything is on a grander scale; the complexity of the fighting, the environments used, the story being conveyed and the running time (2 & 1/2 Hours approx). Due to this there is more sustainable pacing and scenes of dialogue giving more depth to what is being depicted. 

There are two scenes in particular which stand out for me and these are the attack by 'Hammer Girl' on the underground train and the grand battle that takes place in a kitchen. I would not wish to say more, except to say that I was on various occasions left with a sense of 'how the hell did they manage that?'.

In terms of the action genre, The Raid' films are like a breath of fresh air. They also do not shy away from appropriately showing the horrific consequences of violence. I tend to view the action genre as its own particular thing. I see action films as hard to compare to other forms. Though in terms of action you cannot get better than this. 

Rating: 10/10.