3 out of 5

Directed by: Gareth Evans

2.5 hours??  Sure.  The first ‘Raid’ stampeded into American with proper acclaim: devastating choreography, with masterful editing and composition by Evans.  The story mostly just served as the barest template for getting people to kick one another, and even at an hour and forty minutes there was some drag from bit to bit, with some fight scenes sweating it out for just a dash too long to maintain momentum.  But it was still visceral and impressive, and due to Evans rather un-American sensibilities to not ramp the fight scenes up and up – they’re all pitched at the same level of intensity – the movie actually withstands re-reviewing, with the added bonus that, once your expectations are in tow, the dialogue actually proves a bit more solid than perhaps first assumed.  Those who were privy to the pre-Raid ‘Merantau,’ or, like me, viewed it after ‘Raid,’ realized that Evans was capable of expanding the fighting movie palette a bit.  His experiment with straight horror (‘V/H/S/2’) and an early flick (‘Footsteps’) would support the same notion.  But still, we couldn’t help but expect BIGGER for ‘Raid 2.’  And though it IS bigger, again, it’s not quite the typical Summer Blockbuster version of bigger.  The cast is larger, the drama is expanded, and the settings are allowed to be more varied, since we’re not limited to a building.  It’s also… slower.  By design.  Which is brave, but definitely makes the film more effective at home when you cause pause and pee.  ‘Raid 2’ was actually the film ‘Raid’ was intended to be before budget got in the way, but the added experience served Evans well: it’s denser than Merantau, and more focused than Footsteps.  The story of ‘Raid’s Rama, who goes deep undercover in crime boss Bangun’s organization to root out some dirty cops, surges with some relatively dense plotting and patient dialogue to set up the dynamic of Bangun, his restless son Uco, Bejo, an up-and-coming gangster, and Takashi Miike regular Kenichi Endo as crime boss of the Goto family.  Evans also gives ample time to pairing Rama with Uco in jail, done to solidify their friendship, which is appreciated: in movies with this theme, the initial undercover move is often glossed over to get us to the present-day conflict.  But it’s a martial arts flick.  And when those scenes hit, they’re a blazing fury – Evans keeps most of them short and harsh, excepting a few key, awesome scenes – but because of the attempted scope, the film is saddled with a perpetual feeling of holding back.  We can never fully get into the gangster-war vibe, nor are we sure we’ve ever really started the martial arts movie.  To underline, both aspects are good; better than would be expected from most genre flicks.  But where the films succeeds in creating a greater sense of depth and, once again, madly stunning choreography and editing, it can’t compare to the originals comparative laser-focus.  Evans has stated he’s taking a break from fighting before Raid 3, which is a good thing.  He’s grown from flick to flick in various ways, and taking a genre breather shows signs of an artist wanting to get the next one right.  ‘Raid 2’ might not satisfy as directly as ‘Raid,’ but it’s still worth its runtime, and by no means disappoints as a sequel.