The Raid

[QualityChimp]

The Raid
I've not watched all of the trailer, I stopped half-way as I know this is going to be immense, but for those of you who need convincing...


I seriously cannot wait to see this next week!

Welsh director, Gareth Evans, went to Indonesia to do a documentary about a martial art called Silat. He really liked working with some of the people he met, especially Iko Uwais, and set about making an action film called Merantau with them. Now he's teamed up with them again to make The Raid.

Batman 3 and Prometheus are at the top of many people's "must see" films for 2012, but for me, it's all about The Raid! I seriously cannot wait to see this next week!

Check out the full-on trailer on YouTube, see how it's got an IMDb rating of 8.3 and it's the 23rd highest rated action film there ever, observe the Metacritic score of 73 (critics) 8.1 (users), look how the previews at the Toronto and Dublin film festivals gave it the People's Choice Awards and look at some of these quotes:

"This Indonesian cops-versus-criminals epic puts every other action film to shame."

"THE RAID: REDEMPTION is one of the finest action movies I've ever seen."

"The gore and brutality are sure to get all the attention, but a film like this is most of all an achievement in choreography."

There are moments when The Raid: Redemption doesn't feel like an action movie so much as pure action itself, delivered in strong, undiluted doses and with the sort of creative one-upmanship capable of rejuvenating a stale, seen-it-all genre.

American action movies are almost entirely defined by cutaways, blaring music cues and grunts. The Raid: Redemption, a hyper-energetic Indonesian martial arts movie, delivers an effective rebuke to that meek norm. Bones break, blood flows and swift, excessively complicated fight choreography puts virtually everything released in North America since "The Bourne Ultimatum" to instant shame.

Gareth Evans' Indonesian martial-arts throwback The Raid: Redemption has a look and feel that resembles the best of '80s cult action movies: half John Carpenter, half John Woo.

Lean, fast-moving, and filled with game-changing fight sequences that have a brutally beautiful (or beautifully brutal) quality, Gareth Evans's Indonesian martial-arts film The Raid: Redemption lives up to its viral hype.

Taking the genre to a higher level of intensity, the Welsh-born Evans continues what he started in previous Indonesia-set actioner "Merantau," but this picture will seal his cult status.

The Raid is maniacal in its pacing and assault tactics. It's also, absurdly, rated R. Fantastic. I love that a film this gory secured the same Motion Picture Association of America rating as "The King's Speech."

Seeing this film is part of the Man Plan.

You have never seen anything this awesome

This has to be seen to be believed (4 stars)

Mind-blowing (4 stars)

The best action movie of the year (5 stars)

Extraordinary. 2012's best action film

Spectacular

Like nothing else around, an instant hit

Jaw dropping (4 stars)

Pulse-pounding

...and so on and so on!

['Press Start']

I watched a similar trailer for this movie a few months back. It looks legendary and I can't wait to watch it.

[Kit]

Saw a trailer for this before The Avengers started. Looks epic.

[nakamura]

This looks amazing. Saw something about it last week and really can't wait to see it.

[megatron]

Got a free preview ticket for Tuesday.

[fuse]

Don't often post in these parts, but the stealth quote made me lol

[QualityChimp]

Don't often post in these parts, but the stealth quote made me lol

Ha ha ha! Brilliant! I didn't think anybody was going to spot it!

Good eyes, Fuse!

[teddymeow]

Saw a trailer for this when I saw both Avengers & American Reunion. Looks utterly immense! Just all-out, action-packed, ball bustingly good!!

[Neon Ignition]

Seen the trailer at the cinema a few times, gonna wait to see what peeps think of it. Doesn't look bad, but not great either.

[bash]

This comes out tomorrow!

[Herbalizer]

Watched this tonight. It's fantastic. The fight scenes are so brutal, I felt myself wincing several times, you really feel the iimpact of each blow. The choreography for the fights is the best I've seen, having said that I'm not a massive watcher of martial arts films. Can't imagine there being many better than this though.

[QualityChimp]

So I saw this on Friday and I'm in the middle of writing a full review for The Chivalrous Inn, but I thought I'd post a few thoughts here.

First off, this is amazing! It has the feel of many classics but manages to retain an identity of its own. The start feels like pure Carpenter, especially Assault on Precinct 13 with that impending feel of dread that had my stomach churning with nerves.

Once it all starts going wrong, it's pretty much a non-stop thrill ride of shoot outs, fighting, violent deaths and tension.

The audience was all going "ooh" at the painful take-downs, but on some tense sequences you could hear a pin drop.

The Avengers was a great and exciting film, but you never really had any doubt that they'd save the day and none of them would die, but with The Raid, you're not sure who's going to make it out alive or how they're going to die, which makes for a much tenser experience.

I'm hoping that even with a summer full of big-hitters like Avengers, Batman and Prometheus, people will give this low-budget gem a chance. A few of my friends only want to see these three, but they're missing out.

Seriously, go with a bunch of mates and you're guaranteed to have a blast.

I'm so pleased that it not only reached my expectations, but exceeded them.

I'm going to see it at the cinema again, and I've not done that for a long time - Blade maybe?!

[prinnysquad]

Excellent.

I'm a tad annoyed I missed out on this trip.

[QualityChimp]

I've done a longer review on The Chivalrous Inn, but basically, if you've got any interest in action cinema, you need to be checking this out! I think in years to come it'll be held in the same kind of regard as Die Hard, Hard Boiled, Assault on Precinct 13, 28 Days Later and Enter the Dragon!

http://thechivalrousinn.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/raid.html

[prinnysquad]

But not in the same esteem as Ninja The Final Duel.

Cool review. Gotta see it. I hate quick shaky cuts, hopefully they're going out of fashion.

I really need to do a new review. I might watch a real piece of **** at the weekend and post a review of it.