The large outdoor spaces contrast with the claustrophobia of the first film, releasing the frenzied action into city-wide skirmishes in a frenzied second act. The film’s long opening shot affirms this, featuring a wide-angle shot of grasslands, with one small corner of the screen containing the action of the scene. Evans’ distinctive directorial style which earned him much attention in The Raid: Redemption is once again on display. Special mention must go to “Hammer Girl” (a decidedly literal name) for one of the most wince inducing train sequences ever committed to film, and to “Baseball Bat Man”, whose sadism results in some of the best carnage in the film. They now seem to appear in such surreal numbers (while usually only attacking one at a time) that they take on the cannon fodder quality of video game minions, spawning only to be dispatched seconds later. Look no further for inventive “offing” of the many henchmen, whose appearance is also amped up from the previous film. Once the action kicks in, this becomes everything an action sequel should be. The Raid 2 may be longer than the first film, but it is certainly no slouch. Instead of staging a repeat of The Raid: The Redemption‘s small scale plot involving a single SWAT team taking down a single mobster, here Rama is sent undercover to protect and befriend the imprisoned son of one of Jakarta’s most notorious gang lords, and in the process bring the organisation to its knees. Where the first film contented itself with the sense of a larger threat, a deeper conspiracy, a broader web, of which Rama was systematically ripping through the centre, Gareth Evans’ sequel at times seems barely Rama’s story at all. In The Raid 2 the web of intrigue is spread so much wider. The trouble is 2011’s The Raid: Redemption was an instant action classic a pulsating mix of martial arts and Western action sensibilities which rocketed along for 90 minutes of peerless, visceral violence and was content to tell Rama’s story in isolation of any extensive world-building. Is it worth your time? Absolutely, unless of course you’re of a nervous or squeamish disposition, in which case it’s probably best avoided. So, does The Raid 2 better its predecessor? Of course not. The Raid 2: Berandal seems to subscribe to the “bigger is better” school of thought that hamstrings as many sequels as it helps.
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