The Bat Cave

Starring: Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra, Yayan Ruhian
Director: Gareth Evans (The Raid: Redemption)

Bottom Line: Honestly, I feel like that poster says it all. The Raid 2 deserves any and all praise heaped upon it. Gareth Evans – who already wrote and directed the excellent original – has now established himself as the premiere action director in the industry – at least for anyone paying attention. While stars Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian deserve a lot of the credit for the phenomenal fight choreography, Evans’ ability to make everything look stunningly real is nothing short of amazing. I can assure you, you have never seen fight scenes as awesome as the ones in The Raid series.

The Raid 2 continues the story of Rama (Uwais), a rookie police officer in Indonesia that is now being recruited by a secret task force to go undercover as a prisoner and befriend the son (Putra) of a known crime lord in order to infiltrate their organization and gather evidence against dirty cops. What results is an action epic with a surprisingly swift 2.5 hour run time that rarely takes a breather from its astonishing action sequences – we’re talking prison mud fights, baseball bat and hammer action, and possibly the best car chase scene ever captured on film. Gareth Evans is a true master of his craft. How his films haven’t attracted more mainstream attention boggles my mind.

The Raid 2 is every bit as good as the original when it comes to action, but packs significantly more substance. The more I ponder it, the more I think it might be one of the greatest action movies of all-time. It’s a clear classic in its genre and one of the best and most overlooked movies of 2014. A clear must see and probably a future classic. I can say with confidence that I’m eagerly looking forward to anything Gareth Evans has planned in the future and if Iko Uwais is really in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as he is rumored to be, I have a feeling people are going to be talking about his character afterwards.

Replay Value: I had to watch it twice before I sent it back to Netflix. Possibly a must own film.
Sequel Potential: The Raid 3 has been announced (directed by Evans but Iko Uwais is not attached) and an American remake is on its way.
Oscar Potential: None.

Grade: 9/10 (Potential Classic)