The Raid: Redemption (2012)

I am against the idea of movies being solely and entirely about violence for the sake of violence. That's the whole reason I hate video games. What does it say about a society that is content to spend hours staring at a TV screen pressing buttons that simulate all varieties of murder? Why is this fun? Even from an artistic standpoint, I don't see the point of making a movie like a video game, where all the violent actions of one person or group just happen over and over in a line like dominos. What's creative or even enjoyable about that? So, here I am with these opinions sitting through a movie like The Raid: Redemption, which was directed in Indonesia by a Welshman named Gareth Evans who seems bent on changing my mind. The movie is nothing but the "story" of a soldier who is one of many sent into an enormous apartment building to kill all the criminal residents. That's it. It should be one of the most nauseating movies of the year, but it isn't.

While watching this movie, and long afterwards, I find myself at war with my own opinions. I enjoyed the darn thing, actually had a good time watching it, yet it is a by-the-numbers example of everything I say is wrong with the movies. How can this be? On one hand, there's the whole video game aspect, which is how the whole movie is set up. The opening scene shows the main character soldier getting ready for the day and saying goodbye to his pregnant wife. He is then briefed on the mission. Then the fighting starts and doesn't end for another hour and a half when the movie does. This opening is like the silly introductions to video games under the pretense that their violence is telling a story. The hero is the good guy. Everyone in the building is bad. The bad guys get increasingly hard to defeat, but the game can't end until the good guy wins. On the other hand, I can't very well say the movie isn't imaginative in a very general way. If violence is a modern art, then this is one of its great masterpieces. The fight sequences are like a dance, with the sparring bodies moving in a pre-decided flow that is perfectly precise. Nothing is ever out of place in this film. The artistry of the direction cannot be denied. There is an ugly beauty to the images of the film, which does leave the impression that its own mayhem is evil, reinforced by the persistent symbol of that evil towering above the innocent. At the same time, it cannot be denied that the movie relishes its material. It is very much in awe of itself.

Action fans will adore The Raid: Redemption, and I can't blame them. When I wrote about Fast Five last year, I was favorable, explaining that it was a roller coaster and therefore didn't require the usual ingredients of a great movie, just excitement. There is no real difference between that movie and this, but it feels like there should be. This movie is good at what it wants to be, but could never be considered good when compared to movies of any other genre. It is nearly impossible to critique, so I will leave it at this. Movies should be more significant than just action and reaction. A movie that has really good writing delivered by terrible actors, is still a bad movie. Therefore, logically, a movie that is really good at one thing and nothing else is bad, but there are some bad movies that still manage to entertain.

5/10