I was lucky enough to grow up when action movies were comin’ in hard and fast at the theaters.  Maybe not so lucky — I did have to sit through more than my fair share of Steven Seagal — but my formative years were spent in a haze of Stallone (Rambo, not Judge Dredd), Jackie Chan (Police Story, not Shanghai Noon), and of course, Ah-nuld.  Which is to say I’m a geez.  So when my crotchety ol’ self got wind of a new martial arts movie from Indonesia, a film that promised to bring back the awesome fight choreography I loved from Chinatown-theaters-only films of the 80s, I was all in.  And I’ve gotta say that if tough-as-nails action is your thing,  The Raid: Redemption is the movie you’ve gotta see.

If you’re thinking “but I don’t like subtitles!  Reading hard!”  Then really, you need to rethink your priorities.  Do Not Let Subtitles Put You Off This Film.  Because if you love badass martial arts, if you enjoy nonstop action, you will enjoy The Raid: Redemption.  This is the type of film that has me slinging overused reviewer cliches like “action-packed thrill ride!”, “best film I’ve seen all year!” and “instant genre classic!”  Why?  Because they’re true.

Rookie police officer Rama kisses his wife goodbye and heads off to work.  But today isn’t the typical cop day of hanging out at the station drinking coffee.  The orders for this force is to raid (get it?) an apartment complex that has been the hideout of a well known crime kingpin.  As soon as they make their way inside, it’s obvious that things aren’t going anywhere near as planned.  With police officers dying left and right, there’s a question of a mole in the department, as well as the possibility that this assignment wasn’t even official.  One by one good guys and bad guys get taken down, but who will survive…and what is the truth behind it all?

Lately, big budget martial arts movies from the Hollywood grindhouse have done what just about every other exploitation genre film has done; they’ve added humor to the mix.  That’s fine if you want to trot your kids out to see Rush Hour 2 with you, but not so great if all you want is a little of the old ultraviolence.  A little of the old ultraviolence never hurt anybody.  Y’know, as long as you’re only watching it.  The Raid: Redemption does what it’s characters do, it comes out swinging and doesn’t stop until the final scene is played.  Does Rama kiss his dear pregnant wife goodbye at the beginning of this film?  Yes.  Is it adorable?  Of course.  But that’s the calm before, my friends.

This film is quite a bit different than the martial arts films that have come along lately.  Let’s just say this ain’t yo mama’s martial arts film.  Think of it as a martial arts Quarrantine and Saw mashup: a group of people (police, in this instance) trapped in a deathtrap of a building, nobody knowing that they’re in trouble.  There are bad guys ready to lay the beat-down with some seriously beautiful martial arts moves.  So the good guys have to silat their way out of a very bad situation.  And as is the way with many movies in this genre, the bad guys are much better at it than the good guys.

What is silat?   Basically, silat is an Indonesian martial art that emphasizes takedowns, joint locks and breathtakingly fast footwork.  It’s a badass martial art.  This is a badass film.  Somewhere, Bruce Lee (who embraced many fighting styles, and whose Jeet Kune Do style is often taught alongside silat)  is smiling.

The fight choreography is amazing.  Realistic.  Snuff-film realistic.  Simply breathtaking.  Sound editing is just as excellent.  Almost disturbingly so.  Oh how I wish that this movie would get an Oscar nod.  Because for people who are dipping their toes into the world of Sound Editing as a career?  This movie is a shining example of how to do it right.  And the special effects are mind-blowing. There’s a  Peckinpah-esque execution of police officers, and that’s just the start of things.  Blood.  Everywhere.  Pouring down the floor, all over the wall, dripping down the actors, splattered all over the screen.  It even gets on the camera lens.  How’s that for meta?  Yes, the in-your-face bloody violence is shocking, but appropriate for this story.

I loved the police teams working in silence, like the real po-po.  No silly Hollywood jibber-jabber.  I raised my eyebrow at some of the gun battles though, to be fair.  There’s no way anyone could shoot, let alone carry, the amount of ammo they use.  But it’s all part of the fun.  (The Ever-Loaded Gun.  Ah, how wonderful.)  Writer/director Gareth Evans has a few other genre films under his belt (including another film that features silat, Merantau), and this may well be the film that jumps him into the big leagues.  Evans has a way of editing that keeps the action flowing without becoming hard to follow or desensitizing his audience.  He also keeps several smaller storylines in play, weaving them into the main story with ease.  I wanna see this man helm a zombie flick.  I’m greedy that way.

The Raid: Redemption could elevate silat to start martial arts status worldwide, and I hope it does.  It’s cool to see moves I’ve only ever seen in practice situations (while sitting in the bleachers, of course) “in use”.  Law enforcement, feds are gonna cream themselves when they see this movie.  It’s a cop wet dream.  That’s a good thing, by the way.

This film should be on the Blu-Ray shelf of every genre fan.  But don’t wait.  See it in the theater and have a blast.