Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan perform martial arts. Their fighting prowess and acrobatic agility is so impressive and stylish that their work can literally be called an art form.
“The Raid: Redemption” is an Indonesian martial arts film, and it is a stunning one, but it is such a gruesome action movie that it hardly feels artistic. It is remarkably made, immensely creative and yet drenched in cold blood to the point that it no longer feels fun.
That’s because it’s packed with non-stop violence from start to finish. It squeezes in time for a story, but characters, names and dialogue hardly matter amidst all the rapid fire, bullet-ridden set pieces. A SWAT team has been assigned to infiltrate an apartment complex run by a gang lord and capture him after battling through 15 stories of crazed killers. The dull acting and flimsy plot twists are there to remind us we’re not watching the best YouTube montage ever compiled. Continue reading “The Raid: Redemption”