Finally

Finally, after 3 weeks I watched The Raid! I skipped it by prioritizing The Hunger Games and Wrath of the  Titans. My main concern was the violence because hearing other people, it was extremely violent. So, this week in my country there's no decent films coming out. We have Act of Valor and Titanic 3D opening but I'm not interested at all in Act of Valor, but I kinda wanna watch Titanic but without the 3D, so I skipped both of them. Which means, opening the gate for me to watch The Raid, which has already became a massive hit locally with more than a million audience all over Indonesia. I'd like to think that it is a responsibility as an Indonesian to watch this film.

The story is soooo simple. A rookie SWAT team raids a building full of criminals, and something goes wrong. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a film. The criminals are led by the sadistic Tama (Ray Sahetapy) and aided by two gangsters, Mad Dog (Yayan Ruihan) and Andi (Donny Alamsyah). Our main character here is Rama (Iko Uwais) who is apparently smarter and more skillful than any other members because he's pushed by another motive than only to take Tama into custody.

For action fans, this film is like the oasis in the desert and the sweater in snow storm. However, I wouldn't mind adding another 10 minutes for more story to balance action and substance. The story can be expanded more so that the final act would actually be logical and understandable. Some things just came out of the blue here. Another thing that bothers me is that the action is too much that it bores me. Maybe it's just me, i dont know. But also there's a lack of creativity and simplicity in the fight choreography. It's simpler to hit someone's crotch than hitting his head repeatedly or using complicated fight moves. No one does it here. Like the fight (spoiler) between Mad Dog and Rama+Andi. It's supposed to be easy when you actually make use of that 'two-player' advantage and do some team work (and hit his crotch with that bloody heavy-looking boot). Other than that, this film is far better than any Indo films out there right now. The scenes are expertly staged and crafted. [Personal favorite: the-machete-in-cheek scene!] I also loved the humor in the story. Thanks for making it unexpectedly funny at unexpected times. Also, I should give a praise to the sound guys cos the sound effects are amazing. It sounds very Hollywood-ish and even better than some Hollywood action films' sound effects. The Raid is just one of the very few Indonesian films that actually made me satisfied when I walked out of the cinemas. So proud that Indonesian film industry is getting a lot better these days. The Raid: rated 3.5 out of 4 stars

PS. stupid Americans, why do you want to add 'Redemption'? It makes no sense at all.