The Raid (Film Review)

2012 PT Merantau Films
Written, Directed (and Edited) by: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Pierre Gruno, Ray Sahetapy, and Tegar Sathya
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 101 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 8/10

Rookie cop, Rama, is embarking on one hell of an early career mission. He and 19 other team members are to raid an apartment building serving as headquarters for the brutal and powerful crime lord, Tama Riyadi. The mission almost immediately goes awry, as Riyadi has converted the building into a tower of death, full of a multitude of armed henchmen. Within minutes, Rama is one of the last of his squad still alive, trapped far up in the building, and quickly discovering that this mission is not what it initially seemed--good thing he's been tirelessly training in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat for this very type of situation.
I admire how Gareth Evans' The Raid wastes no time getting to the point. We get some opening shots of Iko Uwais' Rama doing a very fast combo on a punching bag, him telling his pregnant wife goodbye, then loading up on the bus to go on the titular raid. The stakes are immediate and the character's potency quickly communicated. Nothing more is needed and nothing more is given. Likewise, as the action starts just minutes in, the story of crooked cops in bed with the criminals they're supposed be taking down unfolds organically, through that very action. All that is well and good, as are the performances, but that's just icing on the hyperviolent cake. You're coming to this party for the violence.
Gareth Evans expertly stages fight scene after fight scene here, and his production team have provided a disgustingly grimy set in which to battle. This building feels like it was likely never a nice place to live at its best, and its best was likely some time before the Vietnam War. This is about as lived in a setting as I've seen in a movie, though for The Raid's purposes, it is most used for dying. Evans, who also edited the film, doesn't obscure any of the action, filming a lot of medium to long shots that allow his star, Uwais, to clearly showcase the Indonesian fighting art of pencak silat. The result is a hearse-load of stunning, often bloody fight scenes, involving feet, fists, heads, knives, machetes, guns, and a plethora of everyday objects. The pace is relentless, even the few scenes without fighting are filled with tension that Rama and his few surviving comrades will be discovered and killed. For any fan of action films, particularly ones centered around fight scenes, The Raid is an absolute can't miss.