It was back in January of 2012 at my first Sundance film festival that I sat in on a screening of a little action flick titled The Raid. Directed by some unknown dude, Gareth Evans, it had been the most buzzed about film ever since debuting in Toronto months earlier, and the anticipation amongst the critics and industry folks was so thick you could punch it in the face. And about two hours later after a relentless barrage of gorgeously shot cinematic violence, nobody wanted to leave their seats and end what had been a a truly breathtaking experience. And now it's about to start all over again with the arrival of The Raid 2: Berandal. Prepare yourself.
The first trailer is here and all it really needs to do is sell that this one is going to be even more action-packed and energetic than the last one, and that definitely seems to be the case. Picking up where the last film left off, Iko Uwais is back as Rama, who must infiltrate a Jakarta crime syndicate to protect his family and uncover police corruption. So what makes this one different than the last one? Besides an endless stream of new baddies (including the much-hyped "Hammer Girl"), this one takes us outside of a high-rise apartment and into the streets, so expect to see Rama fighting in all sorts of different locations. Evans himself has said there are more than 17 different major set pieces with more than an hour of fight footage, so don't plan on taking any bathroom breaks for fear of missing something spectacular.
The Raid 2: Berandal will hit (pun!) theaters in 2014, and I'm praying it'll be at Sundance in two months.
The Raid 2 : Berandal - bande annonce teaser VO by cloneweb
