12 "Important" Movies That Are Actually Terrible

8. The Raid 2 (2014)

2012's The Raid was one of those rare, wonderful instances in which the hype proved entirely justified. Gareth Evans' brutal action film was a true tour de force of martial arts filmmaking, whilst also boasting a genuinely gripping story, told in a nicely understated manner.

When its sequel arrived two years later, many were quick to declare it just as great if not better than its predecessor. I'd have to respectfully disagree. I have to question whether Evans and company really wanted to make a sequel to The Raid in the first place, as The Raid 2 is pretty much everything the original wasn't.

While it makes sense that they decided against revisiting the single day/single location format of the original, the overlong, overindulgent crime saga plot (more or less a direct retread of Donnie Brasco) is so far removed from what went before that it's really a sequel in name only.

Worse yet, the fight scenes feel completely incongruous. All the hand-to-hand combat of the first film made sense in the setting; here, you have to question why the gangsters stand idly by and don't just get their guns out when the fights start. Where in the original the action served the narrative, here it all just feels like a diversion, not there advance the plot but simply to keep the fans happy.

This is also true of the overlong and utterly inconsequential cameo from the original's Yayan Ruhian; and the cartoonish new characters Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Boy belong in a different movie entirely.