The Raid

The Raid (Renamed to The Raid: Redemption in the US due to some trademark concern, but that seems to be a totally random subtitle they added since there wasn't exactly any redemption in this film...) is an absoluely brilliant martial arts film from Indonesia. After an extremely positive reception at film festivals it got picked up by Sony Pictures for a US theatrical release, but it's still a pretty limited release (I guess the average movie-goer doesn't want to watch a subtitled Indonesian film...) so I would recommend seeing it while you can.

I saw it last night and I must say there aren't enough movies like this. Sure the setup is pretty basic, but once it gets going you are in for some of the best choreographed fight scenes you will ever see. This movie is unapologetically nonstop action. Rather than depending on some hackneyed cliche plot to keep things moving The Raid presents you with the basic players and motives from the start and relies purely on the action to draw you in. But actually although it's not the focus there is a real story going on, they just decided to deliver it in subtle bits and pieces rather than lead the audience around by the nose. You only need to pay attention.

I'm sure that some people will look at a movie like this and think it's just violence without purpose, but I don't think that's true at all. This film turns violence into art. It's an exploration of the cruel side of human nature.