The Raid 2: Berandal

THE PITCH

WORTH

$$$$$

THE VIEWING

"Everything is possible"


Look at this teaser... no really, watch it, its only a minute.

The Raid 2: Berandal - Teaser Trailer from Merantau Films on Vimeo.


 

This is the GREATEST action movie that you’ve ever seen.  I know that’s clishe’-ish and it’s sooooo over the top… only thing is I’m oh so sincere.  Oh, you haven’t saw it yet? I’ll bet!  I almost didn’t see it.  I loved RAID:REDEMPTION so much I was prepared to take a turn-around road trip to Chicago to view this sequel.  Raid 2 took forever to get to Michigan… Well maybe not that long but to an eagerly awaiting fan it sure seemed like it.  This could be one of the most anticipated sequels of my life and it did not disappoint, not one bit… Ohhhh where do I begin?  TR2 starts approximately 2 hours after the The RAID:REDEMPTION ends. So no kinetic energy from the original story is lost. TR2 picks the story right up with an emotional opening scene that will prepare you for the next two hours (that fly by) of extreme emotion oscillation…meaning you're in for a killer ride (no pun).  The action in these RAID movies rival only the horror genre.  I can’t say enough about how real the action looked so I shouldn’t try. I will mention the behind the scenes hard and sometimes brutal work of these actors/actress certainly showed off.  Every hit, swing, duck , counter, stab, etc… choreographed to sheer perfection… and no I don’t exaggerate… perfection.  It’s just a shame that this film along with the first one may end up in the pit of the forgotten.  Today the theater was nearly empty and it just opened here this week… it’s the first Saturday!  It’s so hard to try and fathom that a film of this magnitude can’t be marketed any better than this.

     

    The pace was pretty good for a complicated story.  If I was a stickler, the only gripe that I could find would be in the beginning it can be a bit confusing, especially with all the new characters being introduced.  However, the director did a superb job of building up all the villains dispositions.  A superlative job of making them all varying and interesting.  Again, if I was a pedant and HAD to be unhappy about one more thing, the use of the actor that played “Mad Dog” reappeared in TR2 but had no relation to Mad Dog from the first film.  The actor’s name is Yayan Ruhian and he played the character “Prakoso”  which was more frustrating than weird.  Imagine the actor Michael Imperioli appearing in another season of The Sopranos but not as and of no relation to his known character Christopher Moltisanti… Val Kilmer acting in the next Top Gun movie but not as Ice Man… but again, I’m nit-picking.

    

    One thing I love about these new age action features is the new ethos of the modern hero.  Back in the 80’s and 90’s, the good guys never die.  The hero back then could recklessly fight through a multitude of highly trained and armed men and come out the other side without a scratch and still smelling of Old spice… Enter the Bourne Identity and the precedent it set with a plausible, realistic guy that can get hurt or shot.  The Daniel Craig James Bond is very scruffy and unpolished in the fight scenes…. He’s bloody after fights.  The HBO “Game of Thrones” just proves to everyone season after season that they are not afraid to kill off ANYONE… hero, good guy, it doesn’t matter.  Its with all of that in mind that we watch TR2 and wonder if Jaka will make it back to his family… to me it is that dynamic that keeps the whole film balanced.

    Usually when I feel this invigorated about a film I wait a few days to settle down.  The last thing I want to do is make a judgment while still being held a “prisoner to the moment.”  Having said that, I’m going to ask that you simply take my word for it… This movie is as perfect as it gets in the action/martial arts genre…. Ohhhh did I mention theres probably one of the greatest car chase scenes in this flick as well?  No matter… if you don’t believe me after the first 3 paragraphs why should you believe that last little tidbit right???  GO SEE THIS MOVIE but not before you rent the first one called The Raid: Redemption.

   I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the score music… Mmmmph!!! (smh) perfect, just perfect.

More than Worth Watching, this movie IS the reason I watch.

careful parents thinking about taking younglings, these stories are extremely violent.

grade: A+

here is a link to my review of the first film:  The Raid: Redemption

The Grandmaster

THE PITCH

WORTH

$$$


THE VIEWING

"If life had no regrets it would be really boring."

I’ve enjoyed all 3 of the original Ip man movies so far.  That is why I became more than anxious to see this new rendition of the legend that trained Bruce Lee.  Not a bad film, but I prefer the original Ip Man movie that is now available for rental.

     The Grandmaster’s cinematography is at it’s best along with the martial arts choreography.  Every movement seemed to have incredible precision.  Masterful camera and editing work just fantastic to watch.  My only gripe is that it was more of a love story than anything else.  Normally, that would be a good thing but not for a martial arts movie.  I want to see fighting.  The threshold for sappiness in a martial Arts film would  be Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and even in there may have been too much artsy, lovey doviness… but  at least we had enough action to compensate for all of that. Here, not so much.

      I think it’s a good movie to watch, but you may want to wait for DVD.

      Worth the price of the admission simply because of the quality of the film. Marginally worth watching because your time is priceless and I feel like the original Ip man movies can suffice your need for Wing Chun/ Kung Fu fighting.

letter grade: B-