The movie opens with a SWAT team in Indonesia prepping for the raid of a 15-story building located in the absolute worst part of the town – an area so bad that the police won't even come within blocks of it. If this cut held an MPAA rating, it would most likely be NC-17 for a few very quick, disturbingly graphic shots of morbid violence. The required cut footage from the R-rated version has been restored. I never saw the R-rated theatrical cut that Sony Pictures Classics released domestically in April 2012, but I'm glad that the original cut from Sundance is what's featured on the Blu-ray. Despite being almost non-stop action, 'The Raid' never loses your attention, it never gets repetitive, and it constantly makes you giggle due to its extreme violence - and, yes, it's exceptionally violent.
That's what you're getting with 'The Raid.' While the thought of a highly concentrated action movie may make you fearful of the experience, there's no need to worry.
Do you remember that iconic hammer/hallway fight scene in 'Oldboy?' Now, imagine the violence, stylization and jaw-dropping awesomeness of that ferocious scene, only extended for a solid 101 minutes. 'The Raid' – now known as 'The Raid: Redemption' – is a high-octane action/martial arts flick that makes ' Oldboy' look like a kid's movie. Although 'The Raid' had already hit the festival circuit a few months before Sundance (it premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival), it's one title that, when I saw it, I walked away with the pride of being able to say, "I saw it at Sundance."
I take pride in having seen ' (500) Days of Summer' and ' Moon' at their Sundance premieres. Each year there are a few movies at Sundance that become exceptionally hyped, causing mainstream angst while film-lovers await distribution.
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