#foregin

Introduction: The Raid: Redemption (or simply The Raid) is a martial arts action film starring Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Ray Sahetapy, Yayan Ruhian and Donny Alamsyah. Directed by Gareth Evans, this film was first released at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 8, 2011 before being released in theaters on March 23, 2012 in Indonesia and on DVD and Blu-Ray in the United States on August 14, 2012. The film received positive reviews with 86% out of 155 critics giving an average score of 7.5/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. The film ultimately made a total of $9.1 million worldwide, plus $9.4 million on DVD and Blu-Ray sales in the U.S.. With a reception like that, it makes one wonder if there’s more to this film then just impressive martial arts or if it’s just style over substance. Well, let’s dive in to this and judge for ourselves, shall we?

The Plot: The plot of this film is as follows: Rama (Iko Uwais) and a team of 20 men infiltrate an apartment building to take down the infamous crime lord, Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy). However, Tama has his goons get the jump on the team and only 5 members remain: Rama, Bowo (Tegar Satrya), Jaka (Joe Taslim), Wahyu (Pierre Gruno) and Dagu (Eka Rahmadia). As they traverse the building trying to complete their mission, Rama encounters his estranged older brother, Andi (Donny Alamsyah) and we learn what’s happened to him and why he’s part of Tama’s gang. The “Redemption” part of the film comes into play when Andi questions his loyalty to Tama. The reality is this film is very much a survival story with Rama and his team trying their best to stay alive while also finding Tama and taking him out. This film takes the time in between the amazing action scenes to tell a coherent story about survival and loyalty without being overly preach about either moral.

Cast and Characters: While none of the cast is recognizable by American audiences, these men leave a lasting impression with their memorable performances. Iko Uwais brings a level of charm and grit to the character of Rama, making the character likable and sympathetic throughout the picture. Donny Alamsyah brings the right amount of sympathy to the character of Andi, and his chemistry with Rama is spot on. Bowo, Jaka, Wahyu and Dagu are each portrayed with a level of realistic and sympathetic as they try their best to stay alive. Then there’s Tama, the main antagonist of the piece and the one Rama and his team are trying to get. Ray Sahetapy plays the roll very calm and collected as he shows a certain form of apathy towards the team, seeing them as mere bugs to be squashed. His most trusted henchman is Mad Dog, played brilliantly by Yayan Ruhian, who shows no mercy when he’s hunting down Rama and his crew.

Awesome Action: As a martial arts movie, it’s only fitting that this film is littered with amazing action sequences. The type of martial art used in this film is NOT kung fu, but Pencak Silat, in which every part of the body is subject/used to attack. The choreography for the film was lead by Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian, and it shows in the final product how much the actors practiced their techniques. The film uses plenty of wide shots and long takes to showcase the skill and accuracy of every punch, kick and blow to the body. One of the best action scenes in the flick is Rama’s first hallway fight when he’s trying to protect Bowo. It’s such a perfect, well timed sequence and it was all done in 1 continuous shot. The actors and director deserve credit for their commitment to making the action as memorable as possible.

Where it Falters: Bowo, Jaka, Wahyu and Dagu aren’t really given much character development in the picture, so you’d be forgiven if you did’t remember them by the end. Also, the first action scene in the film is a standard shootout. While not bad, it’s not really as memorable. 

𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒅.

This is Eric Hansen.

He’s from a foreign horror movie called “Gonger”.

There are two Gonger movies.

Eric is telepathically gifted. He possesses control over the abilities telekinesis, and pyrokinesis.

He is also able to see into other people’s minds. ( This being the main gift that was exploited by the church in town where he lived. Essentially, Eric would have to point out sinners. As seen here.

𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙀𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚’𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨.

𝘽𝙪𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙀𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨. 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧.

𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑬𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒂𝒍, 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈.