And so begins a mini-landslide of impossibly exciting movie releases.
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Starring: Iko Uwais, Julie Estelle, Arifin Putra
Director: Gareth Evans (Merantau, The Raid)
Rating: R18+
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The limited release of The Raid 2 (full name The Raid 2: Berandal) in Australia and indeed around the world suggests that not enough people saw the first The Raid movie. That’s perfectly understandable; after all it’s an Indonesian language film without any instantly recognisable Hollywood stars. The only probable way you’d have heard about it is if a friend recommended it to you. So if this is the first you’re hearing of it, please, friend, go see that film. If you like action movies for their action sequences above all else, you will be hard pressed to find a better film in recent memory than The Raid. That is the highest and most honest praise I can send its way. It is a brutal, stylishly framed triumph and several Hollywood blockbusters are already attempting to emulate its approach.
Now that I’ve said this, go track down the movie and watch it. When you’re done, come back here and read on.