Serbuan maut 2: Berandal (2014)'s comments - page 2

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Jordan95

Undeniably the best action film of 2014. Gareth Evans outdoes himself after the brutality of the first film with even more insanely awesome and sickeningly violent sequences.

The film is much more plot driven than its predecessor, devoting much of its running time to world-building and the introduction of some brutally efficient killers such as Hammer Girl, the Assassin and Prakoso, who stars in probably the most violent fight of the entire film next to the climax. Despite the sometimes confusing plot and some overlong segments, Evans fulfills expectations even better than expected with a final hour filled with sequence after sequence of shocking and tremendously shot and edited action. It's really a relief that in this time of overuse of quick cuts that Evans allows you to see and feel every bone crushing punch. The only technical flaw I can find to the fight sequences is that Evans overuses shaky cam, but not to the point of disorienting you spacially, as you can still see everything clearly.

The climatic car chase and the final kitchen showdown, a grueling six minute sequence, is probably one of the greatest and certainly the most brutal fight scene I've ever seen in a movie. It's hard to imagine how Evans will top himself when he releases The Raid 3, but if he managed with this sequel, I trust him to do it one more time.

9 years 3 months ago

spireitedaz

I'm not one for martial arts films usually but the Raids are fantastic.

10 years ago

Earring72

Great sequel with some incredible brutal action scenes. Movie is overlong and storywise a bit standard but action scenes will blow you away.

7 years 7 months ago

meysam_a

The duology is a must-see for martial art fans.

9 years 6 months ago

rhitwick

Surpassed all my expectation. Must watch for all action movie lovers.

9 years 7 months ago

Scratch47

There wasn't much doubt given the first Raid, but Gareth Evans has just laid waste to all echelons of mainstream action directors. He has a peerless mastery of how to capture the percussive beats of a scene; a use of Steadicam cinematography that swoops and whips round, over, under, with, and through the opponents with the grace of a ballet dancer; pinprick-level control of editing, the strength to stop a scene dead to build the intensity, a knack for visual composition, sound design, dark humour and atmosphere, and of course: a gleeful brutality that's physically quite sickening. A film this violently unrestrained is seen as transgressive in the modern climate: fists, blades, bullets, bats, axes, walls, doors, floors, glass, hotplates, hammers, scalpels, Uzi blasts and shotgun hits to bones, skin, neck, veins and face? How did this not get an NC-17? As mentioned by another critic, 'the most violent mainstream film since The Passion Of The Christ' INDEED, blood literally pouring down onto the floor in the climatic duel. I'm almost left without comment. That it remains exciting despite its' joyful sadism and ruthless, unrelenting chewing through bodies is testament to Evans' precision, economy of motion, and exacting restraint, and the storyboarding and framing must have taken a lifetime.

So, do Evans' grander ambitions towards crime odyssey work as well? Sometimes. The dialogue is servicable and the acting rather good in a stoic, simmering, impenetrable way. The plot holds up OK, once you are able to get your head around the numerous characters, allegiances and plot twists. I somewhat advise taking a trip to the Wikipedia page prior to watching this as you may get lost, as many characters are referenced but barely have screen time.
These elements gel fairly well with the action, and some strong performances occasionally grant a certain sense of mythology that deepens the emotional blows of the carnage, admirably raising the stakes to almost Greek tragedy by the final reel, as indeed, everyone pays for their mistakes. Uco's character journey against Rama is quite interesting, and the unravelling of his seditious ambition, the almost operatic heart of the film. But I won't lie, I lost interest during a few moments of bloat and secondary character development that drew attention away from that central dynamic, remaining just a perfunctory setup to the technique. I'm content for the assassins to be foils. So my first view left me admiring this work, yet a little cold from repetition and indulgence. Perhaps a second watch seems necessary.
A little tighter and sharper with the story elements and this could have been an instant classic, as it stands, it's pretty good - perhaps very good, an action masterclass that fulfills many of its pretenses to Godfather-level even if its' overstuffed ambitions betray some of the lean fluidity of the combat. Judged by its' feverish hype, I grant a cautious thumbs up, but judged on its own merits I grant it a much more enthusiastic approval. Cinema needs and deserves this kind of shot in the arm. Guys? Bring your friends. Women and children? Stay home and watch The Notebook.

10 years ago

Siskoid

The Raid: Redemption was a brilliant and relentless action film out of Indonesia. The Raid 2 follows right from that film, but isn't quite as brilliant. A lyrical, still opening shot makes it clear it will not have the original's pace. Instead, the heroic cop Rama is sent undercover in the criminal organization responsible for his brother's downfall, and so the scope is greater in both space and time (and kind of stunts). Problem is, we lose sight of Rama half-way through the overlong film (action flicks like this shouldn't be 2½ hours long). The first half is quite good, with the brand's trademark hard-hitting action, real emotion and tension, and black comedy. Once the gang war hits, while I'm quite happy to see some of the "super-villains" the film spawns, a lot of that drops into the background along with Rama, and you start to get impatient with it. There are just too many characters whose back story must be served, and in fact, many villains are better served than our hero. The ending is a mirror of that whole second part, with no real satisfaction for Rama or for the audience, because by then, the movie is about the wrong people.

8 years 4 months ago

Groovy09

The first movie was one of the greatest actionfilms I had seen in a very long time and believe it or not, this violent extravaganza of a sequal is even better. Like the original, the action and fights scens are absolutely mind-blowing and will definitely be remembered as some of the best ever put to film.

The film is unlike the first one, more heavy on plot and characters and has a longer running time, 2 and a half hours which might turn some people off. But personally it was some of the fastes 2 and half hours i had ever witnessed.

The only problem i have with the film, is that the plot can get a bit more convoluted than it needed to be and some of the dialog scenes could have been cut down just a little bit.

But that is only minor complaints, because this is without a doubt one of the best action-films I have ever seen and if you're an action-junkie you should not miss it or just if you want to watch a damm entertaining movie in general.

Hollywood action-directors, watch and learn.

8 years 6 months ago

BigAwesomeBLT

So good! I really like the first film but it's eclipsed by this sequel. There is some plot to complement the insane action, and the 2 1/2 hours just fly by. I loved the undercover cop angle which added a lot of tension and the loyalties of characters changing frequently throughout. It might have just entered my top 50 if not my top 20!

8 years 7 months ago

Chikamaharry

Holy fuck. What a movie. So ultra-violent. So grotesque. Loved it! The plot is hard to follow. Not really sure what happened, but got the big strokes, at least. But that's not really the point of the movie, anyway. The action sequences was bananas, just out of this world. Also, the car chase was amazing, the way theyfilmed it and all. Just very good. Not sure if I prefer the first one or this. the actual action sequences in this movie was better than the first, but I felt like the plot was a bit unneccesary. The first one doesn't really have a plot, just constant action. though that can be tiering at a certain point. Anyway, a really good movie, seems like they had a lot of fun making it.

9 years 5 months ago

jseingaldt

Not as good as the original. Over the top fighting scenes. Still an enjoyable movie, if you like violent martial arts flicks.

9 years 8 months ago

mysteryfan

a bit too long, but some really fantastic action sequences there in the movie

9 years 9 months ago