The Raid 2
2014 · Directed by Gareth Evans
Original language: Indonesian
- action
- crime
- thriller
The story
After fighting his way through an apartment building populated by an army of dangerous criminals and escaping with his life, SWAT team member Rama goes undercover, joining a powerful Indonesian crime syndicate to protect his family and uncover corrupt members of his own force.
What it’s like
Gritty, sweat-slick realism: grimy corridors and rain-darkened Jakarta streets lit by sickly fluorescents, sodium-orange car headlights, and the cold blue of pre-dawn, with a tight handheld camera that stays close to bodies in motion and holds long, unbroken takes through brawls so the choreography reads clearly. The score is a driving mix of synth pulses and tense strings that swells under chases and drops to near-silence before a blow lands, while the sound design makes every impact feel heavy and wet. The vibe is grim, relentless and propulsive, a sprawling underworld thriller that rarely lets up for breath. Its pacing is long and escalating, the central figure a weary, loyal man pushed deeper into rot, with a crime-family dynamic of betrayal and paternal rivalry running beneath the violence. Intensity is high: frequent, brutal hand-to-hand combat, blades, shootings, bloody gore and a cruel, unflinching tone, plus some sexual menace and profanity, so it does not suit anyone wanting something gentle. It is for viewers who love kinetic martial arts cinema, gangster intrigue and crime sagas with a dirty, unromantic texture.
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