Odd. Remember last week I saw Dredd 3D? It was an interesting futuristic sci-fi movie that focused on a small team of cops who are sent to flush out a criminal kingpin who basically owns an entire tower-block of low lifes, and even runs a drug empire from one of the upper floors. There’s a rookie, and some corrupt cops, and there’s a great deal of blood and action as the protagonists fight their way from floor to floor. Amazingly, the plot of the ferocious Indonesian movie The Raid follows almost identical plot concepts, as a the good guys storm a high rise and get monumentally shafted in the process.
So what you’re seeing is nothing new. Unlike Dredd however, The Raid differs in HOW it’s told. Both current and wince-makingly realistic, The Raid is a visceral martial arts whirl of feet and fists and machetes and breaking bones (plus chairs, doors and other bits of household furniture.) It’s pretty astounding filmmaking, all told, and its target young male audience should have an adrenalin-fueled field day. With such elevated and virtually constant levels of violence, I must admit I found my own attention waning towards the end. More amazingly: The Raid was directed by a Welshman. Great soundtrack too.