My knowledge of Indonesian cinema is somewhere between zero and zero. So when I heard about the excitement caused by an Indonesian martial arts thriller called The Raid, I felt I needed to check it out.
It's no secret that Hollywood action films have been stuck in a recent rut. They have relied on the same ageing bunch of actors making increasingly inferior films with tired scripts.
The Raid owes a debt to Die Hard as the action takes place in a tower block. A SWAT team are out to capture a crime lord and two of his most trusted man, the brutal Mad Dog and Andi located on the 15th floor.
The SWAT team includes a rookie, Rama (Iko Uwais) a devout Muslim with a young wife, heavily pregnant. The team is led by Sergeant Jaka and supervised by a shifty Lieutenant.
However the team are soon trapped as the raid is discovered and the hordes of bad guys start to pick off the SWAT team members until there are only a few left. Its Rama with his fighting skills that helps the others to survive but it seems he is getting help from an unlikely source and the remaining SWAT team members without help need to break out from the block to escape.
The version I watched is subtitled, the storyline is basic and functional. What is important is the unrelenting action and breathtaking choreography which is obviously inspired by Hong Kong martial arts cinema.
The film was directed by a Welshman, Gareth Huw Evans who is certainly a talent worth following. The Raid certainly deserves your time.
