![]() ![]() While Evans is content to not throw in many plot developments until the second half of the film - two of the cops have different objectives from the start - he does just enough with each character to make their individual stories mean something when they start beating to each other to a pulp. If you prefer machetes, one seems to be one of the few amenities provided under all the dining room tables in the otherwise shabby tenement building.Īs clearly stated as its title, “The Raid” pits the cops in black against the ragtag group of drug dealers, murderers and thieves dressed in appropriately motley clothing, each side winnowing down the other side in glorious fashion until the film’s leads are able to take center stage and square off directly against each other. If you like gunplay, each gunshot will ripple through walls and rattle the speakers. If you like martial arts, there's a bone-breaking kick around every corner. Little do they know that once inside, Riyadi will offer free rent to all his tenants, who have probably all done things in their past to land them in this version of hell and won’t have an issue with slashing up a few cops to save a few bucks.įrom there, what writer/director Gareth Evans delivers is a little bit of nirvana for action fans. The cops need to take out Riyadi and his two henchmen, one serving as the brains (Joe Taslim) of the operation and the other the brawn (Yayan Ruhian). The filmmakers don’t even make much of an attempt to hide the fact that all the exposition for the hour-and-a-half ahead is in the instructions the captain (Doni Alamsyah) gives to his men in the back of the van, including Uwais’ Rama. team rides to the apartment complex of Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy), a slumlord cum crime kingpin. The beauty of “The Raid” is in its simplicity, its premise and 80 percent of the plot explained away in the first 10 minutes as a fully armored S.W.A.T. ![]() Iko Uwais appeared to be a somewhat diminutive man when he appeared onstage at the Toronto Film Festival, genially complaining through a translator that he was suffering from jetlag and “I haven’t been able to enjoy a meal yet” since he made the trip all the way from Indonesia to present “The Raid.” But even at half-strength, I would steer clear of him if I suspected he was grumpy after seeing the film because he could kill me in at least 60 different ways. Read all our coverage of the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival here. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |