The Raid (2011)

	Also Known As: Serbuan maut
	Year of first release: 2011
	Director: Gareth Evans (Merantau, V/H/S 2)
	Actors: Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy
	Country: RI, USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 15.10.2013, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: A police assault team is set to conquer an appartment building controlled by a tyran and hosting junkies and other violent types.
Review: The concept is utterly simple: send an assault team clear the building floor by floor and let them face hordes of violent junkies. As the whole thing taking place in Indonesia you can expect some good fist fights, and this is what you get. The British director Gareth Evans was attracted by Indonesia to produce Meratau (I have to see that one) and he stayed there for The Raid. He did there what he couldn't have done in Europe: a simple and efficient action film with Martial Arts. Thailand produced Born to Fight and Ong-Bak and he wanted to use the same energy that can be found in Indonesia. The image quality was quite poor on this Blu-ray (likely due to the cheap camera used) and the fights are a bit too long sometimes, but you get some exciting moments and I would recommend The Raid to people searching for some original and fresh action, far from Hollywood and European standards.
Rating: 6 /10