“I don’t typically go for foreign flicks, but I saw the trailer for The Raid: Redemption and was kinda blown away. The action junkie in me has been left wanting lately, and this seemed like just the ticket to whet my appetite for adrenaline. The buzz that was building was pretty favorable as well, so by the point when showtime rolled around today, I was rather excited.
Alas, this seems like another case of unfulfilled potential. Although, I suppose that’s unfulfilled potential by Hollywood standards. When you consider that this was created in the foreign (specifically Indonesian) market with a minimal budget, it is quite incredible. But Im a bit picky about my action movies. They have to be something truly special to impress me.
I’m willing to forgo a fully fleshed out plot in favor of stunning action sequences. For example, there really isn’t a whole lot going on story wise with Kill Bill (particularly Vol 1) but those are some of the best fight scenes ever committed to film. The Raid: Redemption did have a pretty thin plot, but I was willing to forgive it, or I would have if it didnt take so long for the action to really pick up. The set up seemed prime for the sort of on screen explosiveness I crave, but the first hour or so wasn’t anything too special, and events of the past week had me falling asleep. Things did eventually get kicked up a notch and there were some truly inspired moments in the fight choreo sprinkled in here and there. It just wasn’t enough to carry the film.
I’d really love to see what director Gareth Evans and his team would do with a big summer blockbuster type of movie. Again, so much potential, there were just a lot of gaps to fill in around the good stuff.
Oh and the trailer says that the score is by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, but I dont see him listed at all on the credits on IMDB. Curious. Though I will say I do like this trend of rock stars scoring movies. See also Trent Reznor (The Social Network, …Dragon Tattoo) and The Chemical Brothers (Hanna).
The Raid: Redemption – \m/ \m/ \m/