You know an action hero is the baddest of badasses when he or she walks in and the room goes silent. The drug lord’s bodyguards, the mastermind’s henchmen, or even the foolhardy pack of drunkards outside a roadside bar stand at attention, ready for a challenge. It’s just one person. This shouldn’t be too hard. …
A good fight scene is built into the fabric of an action film such that you can sense it coming like a storm on the horizon. It’s in the details of the opponents: the cracking of knuckles, the puffing of chests, the staredowns that say, “It’s about to go down.” A good fight scene makes …
The Raid 2 Written and directed by Gareth Evans Indonesia, 2014 If there is an art to the visceral brutality of cinematic violence, Gareth Evans may well be one of the new masters. His breakout 2012 feature, The Raid: Redemption, was a master class of simplicity, placing a rookie cop (Iko Uwais) in the middle …
The Raid 2 Written and directed by Gareth Evans Indonesia, 2014 The first reaction to Gareth Evans’ highly anticipated sequel to his blistering 2012 action movie is to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority. Despite the title’s implication, there is no specific raid here, at least not upon a single, individual location, a design mandated by the …
To say that none of the 40 + films on our staff-voted list is universally beloved is putting it mildly; but then, that’s the nature of polls like these. Every year we’ve run this poll, there’s been a runaway winner; this year, the top film crossed the three-hundred-point threshold, a first here at Sound On …
With The Raid: Redemption now in cinemas around the world or on the cusp or release, the names of its stars have been gaining traction, those names being Iko Uwais, the star and master practitioner of Pencak Silat, and the director, Gareth Evans, from the Welsh valleys, who grew up with a love of Bruce …
Not long ago, Sound on Sight’s editor Ricky D emailed myself and fellow contributor Michael Ryan for the purpose of compiling some of our individual favourite martial arts pictures to celebrate The Raid‘s theatrical release across North American this Easter weekend. I would never consider myself to be a scholar of the genre, but it …
The Raid: Redemption aka Serbuan maut Written and Directed by Gareth Evans Indonesia, 2011, imdb For the martial arts aficianados out there, don’t even bother reading this review, just go to the theatre now. The Raid: Redemption is everything that you have heard it is and more. Offering a rare glimpse of the Indonesian martial …
Fans of martial arts cinema won’t want to miss out on The Raid: Redemption, an Indonesian martial arts action film directed by Gareth Evans and starring Iko Uwais. The film has been hailed as one of the best action films in years showcasing the traditional Indonesian martial art Pencak Silat. I’ve heard nothing but great …
The Raid Written and directed by Gareth Evans Indonesia/USA, 2011 The Raid is an action thriller with unmistakable, specific influences, but one that combines them with its own unique qualities to provide a particularly potent collection of thrills. Made in Indonesia but directed by a Welshman, the simple but effective plot of Gareth Evans’ film …