The Midnight Madness (MM) programme at TIFF has quite the reputation among action and martial arts fans as bringing us some the freshest, most kickass films from the around the world. Last night’s opening film delivered every possible punch, kick, knife, machete and gun wound we could think of. I think I’m still recuperating!
The Raid is set in a drug infested apartment building in Jakarta. One of the local police lieutenants gathers a SWAT team to take down drug lord Tama.The take down is not as easy as it sounds as Tama has several men to call upon including the infamous Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian). Two SWAT teams that will not bow down to Tama and his gang are Jaka (Joe Taslim) and Rama (Iko Uwais). The film starts off with Rama readying himself for the take down then moves to non-stop, adrenaline-driven action! Taslim and Uwais make a great team and their fighting skills are impressive to say the least. The fighting style in this film is that of silat, also known as pencak silat, a martial arts style unique to Indonesia.
Director Gareth Evans (Merantau, 2009) wrote the script with the main purpose to showcase the silat style. The film’s bone-breaking, face-kicking action is unapologetic of its nature. For those of you who enjoy major action and love martial arts, this film will not disappoint. The fight choreography by Uwais and Ruhain is impressive in their inclusion of weapons and execution of every move. What is great in The Raid is that no only the “good guys” kick butt; Tama’s gang can deliver and deliver they do!
The long camera shots give us a taste of the intricacy involved in silat fighting. Yet the rest of the film is filled with stunts that will have you drop your jaw many a times. During the premiere at MM, the audience cheered so much through the film that some of us left almost with no voice. The fight in the drug lab and the last bout in the film will leave you stupefied.
We’ve learned that Sony Pictures Acquisitions nabbed rights prior to the films premiere and also Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda has come on board to do a new soundtrack. Here is hoping for a North American release at some point. Evan’s film is sure to become a cult film and its stars Uwais, Taslim and Ruhain will definitely be fan favourites.
For more news on The Raid, visit director Gareth Evans’ webpage.