FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Leray97 As it stands, I think the Raid films are the best modern action films out right now. Where the first movie felt like one very long fight scene (which wasn't a bad thing), this one went bigger and took its time to create a meaningful story for the characters. With the story I began to realize that this movie's plot had multiple themes. It took its time to touch on issues of gang violence and politics, family, and blind ambition. Some of these themes can make for some really uncomfortable sequences but I believe the actors gave good performances despite what they had to do.The fights are even better here than they were in The Raid: Redemption. One major gripe I had with the first film was that the action would sometimes feel too "choreographed". In other words, Rama, the main protagonist, would be fighting his way through a hallway full of goons and he would always know when and how to turn a corner to take down the next guy. In the interest in showing the vulnerability of the hero as well as general realism, extended fight scenes should not always play out to the main guy's favor as he/she should become more reactive than proactive to survive. This, to me, is especially true in cases like this, where our hero is almost always outnumbered. This is something that this movie improves on because there were multiple occasions where I could see how susceptible to fatal wounds Rama really was, despite the main character immunity he may have sometimes. He wasn't necessarily setting the pace for the fights with his fighting expertise, but rather reacting to each and every strike in his (and ours) hopes to survive.The filmmakers for the Raid movies really seem to have a passion for action, which is awesome. Not only do they know how to shoot these sequences well, along with the fact that the actors didn't have stunt doubles, the fights always mean something. Whether its setting the tone for the next part of the story or showing the audience a glimpse of a certain character's true nature, my eyes were glued to the screen for every second of those sequences.The John Wick movies are the only contender to this film and it's predecessor. Asian action films centered around martial arts are always going to beat American ones because that style of action is deeply rooted in the culture. Despite some of the fancy camerawork in The Raid 2 (slowmos and unique angles), the close quarter combat is always the focus when it comes up. The filmmakers didn't rely on music to set the pace or excessive CGI coupled with stunt doubles to depict killing blows. Yes I'm a sucker for good action movies and this is most likely my favorite one yet.

ethanleviedwards If you looking for the coolest fight scenes and action you have seen on a movie look no further then the raid. Sadly no Silat masters near me:) I will always be an advocate for raid 1 but raid 2 and the whole syndicate stuff was a bit over the top. Raid 1 didn't have a whole lot of story but you could bond with a swat officer going to do some bad stuff but in the end of the day just wanting to get home to his wife and kids and have reconciliation with his brother. Tremendous action baby. Second one took it up a notch for better and for worse. The fight scenes and stunts were all the more BA and creative but it sort of ended there for me. They just wanted to so out do the first one which I say they did, but they had to take like the cgi gore spatting in the camera from a good amount to like 300: rise of an empire level gore.. that coupled with the constant betrayals and deceit and treatment of women, and literal slitting of throats randomly was never ending without a break. Look I know that happens, but have a little better pacing like raid 1 or else it gets a bit depressing. In scenes I would go from wow oh dang to what is even going on right now this is a little psychotic. Also it make me think of some current things going on between west papa New Guinean s and East Indonesians which adds some dislike to the movie. Good movie. A bit much. Maybe stick with raid 1. I would wait for your kids to at least be in their late teens or early twenties or unless they are real mature.

FlorianLaur First of all, I do not understand the complaints some people have with this movie. No guns? Indonesia isn't a country where it's easy to obtain guns. Do you watch war movies and complain "no a-bombs"? Too long? Why can't a movie be 150 minutes or even 230 or 500 minutes if it's good? Because too much over-stimulation has lowered our attention span? Then here's a good way to train it again(or the great "Love Exposure").Some complained that the story didn't make sense, that the first part had better fight scenes, etc...Naturally, the first part had to rely more on fight scenes, since they didn't have the budget for many locations or a bigger story. Here, we still get to see a lot of(creative) fight scenes, but we also get to see a car chase, some shootings, betrayal...For me, the only "complaints" are the snow scene(as beautiful as it is, it might as well snow in hell, it's Jakarta!) and...I think that's about it. And it's beautiful to watch, so it's not really a problem for me. Another small issue for me are the subtitles...my Indonesian is far from fluent, but I noticed that most of the time, the translation is far from what they're actually saying. Sometimes, it's just minor differences, but some differences are pretty big. For example, Uco refers to his father as "Sir"/"pa"(short for "bapak"). Now, "pak" or "pa" is indeed how you usually refer to older males in Indonesia(cab drivers, street vendors). But why would a son refer to his father as sir? But again, these are small things and especially the subtitles are not the directors fault, nor the actors.On the plus side, we have a real story this time. And it isn't just some cookie-cutter story line, but it's a pretty good one too! It has twists, it is exciting, it has interesting characters(and develops them). We get to see how Uco can't handle to stand in his father's shadow and how it eats him up inside...we can see how, despite being on the other side of the law(which he upheld so much in part 1), Rama realizes that the world isn't just black and white, good or bad...and that even among the "bad" guys, there are some who are really bad and some who may have strayed(Eka). Also, as someone who loves Indonesia and who's been to Jakarta countless times, I really love to see a movie in which we actually get to see this great city. It's a really nice change of venue and I wish a lot more movies would be shot in cities like this...it can be romantic(Thamrin at night, the underpass at Jl. Blora), it can be spooky and creepy(North Jakarta, parts of Grogol, East Jkt), it can be commercial(this city has probably 150 malls or more). Sure, it is unrealistically empty(anyone who's been to Jakarta will know that any street is basically NEVER empty, no matter how late at night or early in the day) and the car chase seems to be done, circling around the CBD only(which makes sense though, as Jakarta suffers from huge traffic issues and it would be a lot easier to stop traffic there than in any of the major roads). But at least it gives people an idea what this city looks like and might allow for more people to visit it.I hope that we'll get to see more good movies from Indonesia in the future, even with Gareth Evans having left the country. Before him, most of the movies they made were shallow soap opera-like romantic comedies or dramas, all of which not very appealing to non- Indonesians(and even many Indonesians, according to my friends). It's an underestimated country and I'd be happy to see it receive more international fame.

adonis98-743-186503 Only a short time after the first raid, Rama goes undercover with the thugs of Jakarta and plans to bring down the syndicate and uncover the corruption within his police force. The Raid 2 is an over the top bloodbath and cheesy movie that somehow got an 8.0/10 and it should have gotten a 3.0/10 because it's really that bad the acting is over the top, the action sequences are over the top and basically the whole movie is a joke that was made because of the studio to win some more money cause the first film was amazing and truly something new for the time. If you loved the first one do not bother into watching the 2nd film as well it ain't worth it really