I went in with high expectations and the movie greatly exceeded them. ![]() The Raid is the best martial arts action movie I have seen in a long time. I was never confused about who just got hit, or where people were coming from, and that is impressive because some of the sequences have quite a few people crammed into a small hallway. The fight sequences in The Raid are filmed in such a way that you can keep track of everything that is going on while still being able to pull off interesting angles and rapidly switching between cameras depending on who is fighting whom. In a lot of action movies, especially super hero movies, I lose track of what is happening during some of the fight scenes and at a certain point I’m just watching a rapidly moving screen and not knowing what is going on. Not only is the action very well done, the various fights are also shot very well. If you’re still not convinced, check out the trailer for a small taste of what to expect. The variety coupled with the sheer craziness of the action scenes is what makes The Raid so great. There are two on one fights, four on one fights, shootouts, stealth kills and much more. The fights are not just one-on-one either. The cast is ridiculously talented, and just about every fight has one of those unbelievable moments that would make you want to rewind and watch again if you had the DVD. After a short introduction, the movie goes completely bananas and it is just fight after fight after fight. There really isn’t anything I can say about the action in The Raid that will do it justice. This guy shouldn’t be too hard to take down… right? The best thing about the music is you always know it’s there, but it is subtle enough to not draw you out of the movie. At times, like when someone is hiding, it will stop completely and really ramp up the suspense. The music is very aggressive during a fight and atmospheric otherwise. Almost the entire movie has an instrumental soundtrack created by Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park. ![]() The sound effects are your standard gunshots, punches, etc, but the music really adds some intensity to the movie. As you probably expected, the movie is entirely in Indonesian with English subtitles, which is perfect for a movie like this. The audio was an interesting aspect of The Raid. There are obstacles such as furniture and holes in the floors and ceilings, but most importantly there are plenty of walls and edges to slam criminals against. The cramped apartments and hallways also give way to some thrilling close quarters combat. The building itself is rundown, dusty and dirty, and it looks like the kind of place you would find the scum of the Earth inside. It almost feels like a video game and each floor of the building is a different level. The apartment building setting is a great idea. There are a few small twists, but there really isn’t enough character development to make you care about anyone other than the main character, and at a certain point you will stop caring about the story all together and only focus on the action. After the SWAT team’s cover is blown all hell breaks loose and that’s when the story flies off for a while. The only problem is that crime lord rents out the apartments to murderers, gangsters and other criminals who need a safe haven. A SWAT team is tasked with taking down a crime lord who has taken up residence in an old apartment building. The story hangs out for a bit every now and then, but after a little while The Raid swats it away to continue its mayhem. The Raid handles its plot like we handle an annoying fly buzzing around our head. Throughout the course of this movie you will see guys get shot, punched, thrown, stabbed, elbowed and kneed, and just when you think a fight is all finished The Raid boots your ass right into another one. The Raid is right up there, if not past that one. You know, the one that made you involuntarily jump out of your seat during that one ridiculous fight. Think about the craziest action movie you’ve seen.
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