Films-U-Missed: The Raid: Redemption Movie Review 

The Raid: Redemption was one of those movies that came into my consciousness via word of mouth. This isn’t entirely uncommon, but usually I choose my movies on my own with some reviews sprinkled in. This film wasn’t even on my radar, which makes for a bit of a unique story. Anyway, the film – made even more mysterious by the fact that when I sat down to watch it, I had no idea what it was about – is an Indonesian martial arts film mixed with drama with a relatively miniscule $1.1 million budget. When I sat down to watch it all unfold, I came away pleasantly surprised.

I am not a huge martial arts film type of guy. The Jackie Chans, Bruce Lees and Jet Lis of the world don’t particularly move the needle for me. That is not to say I am averse to them, but they don’t get me excited to see a film. So, while The Raid: Redemption has tons of fun martial artistry in the film, I am rarely blown away by the “innovation” of it. What made The Raid fun was the actual bit of dramatic story to the film. So, a bit more about that is necessary I guess.

Gun vs. Knife is rarely a fair fight.

The Raid stars Iko Uwais as Rama, a rookie cop who is entering a drug lord’s project building trying to take him down once and for all. Rama is about to have a child, as his pregnant wife awaits his safe return. Rama and a 20-some member SWAT team embark on their quest to enter the project tenement and capture the drug lord. The names are less relevant than the story, as Rama sees his team of neophytes begin to get obliterated after they are discovered by the drug lord and his innumerable henchmen. All the while, Rama is uncovering a surprise as to who is involved with the drug lord.

‘The Raid: Redemption’ Rules As A Martial Arts Movie

Rama finds out that his brother is deep undercover as a cop in tight with the drug lord. He is so deep in fact, that he may be beyond saving. Additionally, Rama’s team ends up dwindling to a small few, with the henchmen piling on the surrounded cops and shooting them to death. Using martial arts is one of the only ways Rama can kick some ass, so therefore the movie continues to gain steam as his skills continue to come out. All the while, he is protecting a bloodied mate and trying to figure out whether to leave (hopefully, alive) or go after the drug lord, which might have been a raw deal from the start. It’s fairly heady stuff.

The inability to truly fly marred the henchman’s fight ability little.

Mike Shinoda of “Linkin Park” and his own solo rap career “Fort Minor” helped bring awareness of the film to American audiences. He also performs on two songs of the relatively cool, up-tempo soundtrack. That soundtrack helps to support an increasing number of choreographed fights as the movie moves along, between Rama and the henchmen as well as the drug lord’s top fighter and the cops. There is some impressive bone breaking, neck snapping and some unique death sequences throughout the film. What ties it all together is a cool story with a nice ending that doesn’t sell out. Director Gareth Evans will undoubtedly be a name to watch for, as he directs with flair here.

The Raid is not a perfect film and unless you are fluent in the language, you have to read the sometimes quick to pass by subtitles which can take you out of a few moments here or there, but not much. There actually is not a lot of dialogue needed in the piece, as it is all shot in one location essentially and the action paces the film, which allows the viewer to experience the movie visually – the way a film like this should be taken in anyway. The Raid is a quality movie, particularly for fans of martial arts films as you will undoubtedly get a lot of fighting and there is a lot of gore in the piece. If it sounds up your alley, don’t delay and check it out ASAP. Enjoy.

Five Minutes of Heaven is a 2009 film starring Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt about a man meeting his brother’s murderer. It’s based on real events. In 1975, Alistair Little (Neeson) killed Jim Griffen, the brother of Joe Griffen (Nesbitt) in a semi-random act of cold blood, right in front of Joe. Thirty-three years later, the media arranges a “60 Minutes” style face to face interview, where Joe and Alistair can clear the air surrounding the events.

The film uniquely juxtaposes each man’s predicament. Alistair is a changed man, having done 12 years in prison for his transgressions. Joe, meanwhile, has lived with the stigma of his mother blaming him for Jim’s death, with the young Joe doing nothing to “stop it” from happening. Not that he could. Alistair admits to the media that he would have killed Joe, if he had known he was Jim’s brother.

Five Minutes of Heaven refers to Joe’s desire to gain revenge on Alistair, a major twist in the story. Joe simmers with rage that is right beneath the surface at any moment ready to erupt. He is prone to outbursts of anger and has serious trepidation about meeting Alistair; alas he wants to kill him. He can’t do it with the cameras in his face all the time though, so the interview goes astray.

A young Alistair (Neeson) was clearly a Nas and 'The Sopranos' fan as he "got himself a gun."

Alistair is genuinely inflicted with pain over the child that he was, just 17 when he killed Jim Griffen. He has struggled with the idea that he has destroyed the Griffen family; namely Joe, his mother and father, who passed due to heartache over losing Jim. Alistair understands Joe’s pain and seems genuinely interested in an attempt at reconciliation. The murder eats at him daily and he really wants to go on with his life.

Despite being slow, the film takes some unique twists and turns with the leads displaying their anguishing existence in expertly different ways. Heaven made only $13,217 in the U.S. box office, according to IMDB, so it naturally failed to connect with fans. The somewhat ironic thing about that is that Heaven reminds me most of Frost/Nixon, the film that only a year earlier earned kudos for Michael Sheen and grossed nearly $20 million in the U.S. The pacing and tone seem similar to me in my recollection, with this having some serious suspense and even a few moments of genuine action. This is a film that rewards your patience, despite its swift, 90 minute running time. It’s a slow burn that builds to a legitimate crescendo and may be of interest to acting fans or fans of stage-like screen setups.

What Just Happened stars Robert DeNiro as Ben, a Hollywood Producer who is dealing with a difficult time both in and out of the business. This film was released in 2008 to little fanfare, took a largely critical drubbing and was a box office disaster. The film was reportedly made for $25 million and grossed just over $1 million domestically and $3 million total worldwide. Still, the film has its merits that warrant inclusion as a film you likely missed.

Ben is balancing a divorce, a Sean Penn starring film “Fiercely,” which is in its final cut before premiering at Cannes and a new action film starring Bruce Willis, which is under major duress due to a prickly issue with its star. What Just Happened is essentially a satirical, yet seemingly realistic snapshot of the movie business from an insider’s viewpoint. Directed by Barry Levinson, the film has the trappings of one worth seeing if you seek a look behind the scenes in Hollywood.

Bruce Willis and Stanley Tucci add to the heartache for Robert DeNiro in "Happened."

“Fiercely” has an unhappy and gruesome ending, where a dog is murdered at point blank range. The film test scores reveal it needs changes if it hopes to earn some of its anticipated losses back. Ben struggles with the director (a genius Michael Wincott) to get him to sell his soul to change the ending. Ben is receiving pressure from the studio head, played by Catherine Keener, to make the changes or risk killing its Cannes premiere. While it appears the changes are eventually made, they might not be just as planned.

Meanwhile, Ben’s wife is sleeping with a screenwriter, played by Stanley Tucci, who wants to work with Ben on a future project starring Brad Pitt. But Ben sees an inherent conflict of interest due to the personal nature of his affairs. Also, Ben’s film with Bruce Willis may get scrapped all together because the charismatic lead is off the artistic deep end, having gained significant weight and grown a scraggly beard when the film is in need of a clean cut, action hero. The jokes aren’t loud guffaws, but relatable for those that know a bit about the industry itself. Robin Wright Penn, Kristen Stewart and John Turturro add to the strong cast. There is enough to go around here to please film fans.

It’s understandable why the film didn’t do well financially. It is a dark comedy and not a particularly neat portrayal of the struggles of the life of a powerful Producer. However, the film features some solid acting, a good storyline and a realistic look at the trials and tribulations of the film game. While this ground has certainly been covered before, its still a movie worth seeing if you are interested in the film business, even though the results aren’t a great film per se. While this one wouldn’t have lasted at Cannes, it still may be worth your time.