If The Raid: Redemption came along as a surprisingly brutal martial arts flick no one saw coming, the announcement of the sequel generated a huge buzz of excitement rarely seen for a foreign language movie. Could Welsh director Gareth Evans top his gloriously action-packed debut? In a word: yes. And then some. While sequels can often fail to live up to the standards of their predecessors, The Raid 2: Berendal went well beyond expectations and kicked things into overdrive. While it featured far more narrative and character development than before, the action scenes are some of the very best ever committed to film. From the huge, sprawling prison brawl to the final fight in the spotless kitchen - which gradually becomes soaked in the blood of the knife-wielding pugilists - this is outrageously choreographed combat at its best.
