If you've ever felt like you've had a really hard day at the office, spare a thought of Iko Uwais' protagonist in The Raid. This dude goes through abject hell. SWAT Officer Rama joins a twenty-man squad who are preparing to raid an Indonesian tower block in the slums of Jakarta. A playground for drugs trafficking and wide illegal activities, the fleet are aware that their efforts to bring justice might come under heavy scrutiny from those without the apartments, but what happens as they enter seems unimaginable. Floor after floor in the high rise presents criminals armed and ready for war; mere mortals wouldn't last five minutes inside, but Rama surges through all 101. Uwais' incredible martial-arts abilities sees him prosper as he thrills and kills seemingly endless waves of baddies. So brutal, so precise, so brilliant. As action heroes go, he might be the most ballistically efficient one to ever grace the cinema screen. Advanced weapons training only aid his insane psychical prowess, but this is a survivor who lets his fists and feet do the talking, not his bullets.
Film and UFC obsessive with a passion for scribbling words about them. Avid NFL fan and big Chelsea supporter too.
Film Studies degree graduate from the University of Brighton.
