The Raid

*****
Release Date: May 18th 2012

A S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.

Director: Gareth Evans (Merantau)

Starring: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Ray Sahetapy, Pierr Gruno

The Raid has a very similar premise to Dredd, which could be taken as a western version of the Indonesian outing. There stories and set-ups are almost identical. It's hard not to compare the two, but The Raid wins every time on intensity and action.

Let's start with the weakest point of the film; the plot. It's basic, but (as above) it's all you need to know. The main character, S.W.A.T rookie Rama (Uwais) starts his morning with exercises and kissing his pregnant wife farewell, promising to come back unharmed (you know sh*t's going to hit the fan).

All begins well until a minor slip-up incurs fatal damage. They enter the building, and do okay up to the 6th floor (out of 30), before one of Tama's goons raises an alarm. The building becomes immediately locked down. Full-scale carnage befalls the team. All hell breaks loose.

There's non-stop action for the next 80 minutes. Forget all other actions movies, this is like nothing you've seen before. Remember watching your favourite movie for the first time and the impact it had? The Raid is like that the more you watch it.

The majority of the film exhibits set-piece after set-piece. It's a constant exhilarating head rush. A combined use of martial arts and action means you'll be on the edge of your seat the whole time. After all their guns are depleted of ammo, the S.W.A.T team (what's left of them) and the bad guys get rough with machetes, knives and pretty much anything they can use around them (a fridge comes in to play somewhere). With no CGI and fantastic choreography of fights that abuses the scenery around the characters, the sheer bombastic raw energy this film evokes is unmatchable.

The choreographer Yayan Ruhian plays Mad Dog, one of the main badasses under Tama's command. His choreography is relentless and very well thought out. You'll see deaths befall people (good and bad) unlike anything you've seen before. Director and writed Gareth Evans has treated us to something new. Let's hope that western cinema don't attempt to reboot it.

Overview: An incredible action film that's going to be hard to beat. The only competition will be The Raid 2...