From its opening moments, which sees supercop hero Rama beating the hell out of a punching bag before he prepares to infiltrate an enemy stronghold, The Raid feels closer than most action movies; indeed, its in the many claustrophobic, expertly and arguably unrivalled - choreographed martial arts sequences, sweaty and raw, that The Raid thrives as one of the most accomplished action pictures of all-time. If that sounds somewhat hyperbolic, just skip to a random point in the movie and prepare your jaw for major droppage. The plot is a thin affair, stripped back on purpose to make room for Welsh director Gareth Evans (thats right; hes Welsh) to utilise The Raid as a showcase for little known Indonesian martial art pencak silat, which he does to dizzying effect. After a short perfunctory build-up, which sets our unstoppable protagonist Rama loose against hundreds of goons in an apartment block, The Raid never slows; indeed, the resulting 90 minutes of relentlessly inventive and bloody action makes for one of the finest action spectacles ever committed to the big screen. For action junkies, this is will prove something of a nirvana.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
