20 Action Movies From The 21st Century That Didn't Actually Suck

Whereas most action sequels tend to stick a little too close to the templates set by their predecessor, Gareth Evans' follow-up to The Raid goes in the completely different direction. While the first movie was lean, mean and confined to a single location, The Raid 2 aims to be The Godfather of marital arts movies. It doesn't quite hit those heights, but it comes pretty damn close.

With a complex plot, several interweaving narrative threads and an abundance of supporting characters, the movie has a lot of moving parts but manages to both be a sprawling crime epic and an often-brutal genre flick at the same time, with Iko Uwais showing that he can both deliver a strong acting performance as well as an ass-kicking.

Evans cements his reputation as one of the best action directors in the industry with some expertly-choreographed and crisply edited set-pieces that offer plenty of variety; from a mud-soaked prison brawl to the final showdown between Rama and the ominously-named Baseball Bat Man and Hammer Girl via an incredible combination of car chase and fight scene, The Raid 2 is packed full of action that makes most of Hollywood's output seem positively tame by comparison.