Kicking Ass And Not Taking Names

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆The Raid:Redemption, which had its North American premiere at New Directors/New Films on March 22, one day before hitting theaters,is an action film that doesn't waste time getting started. In a brief prelude, the main character Rama (Iko Uwais) is revealed to be family man who loves his wife who is expecting their first child. Promising to return, he leaves to go to work. Within minutes he is dispatched to an Indonesian S.W.A.T. team to wrest control of an urban residential building from the crime lord that is holed up there running a drug operation.

Tight and efficient camera work on high definition video, taut and well rehearsed direction, and creative production design that stretches a modest budget to its limits, The Raid:Redemption is a remarkable achievement. The first half of the narrative is a series of explosive machine gun exchanges between the dedicated police team and the merciless thugs who protect a monstrous criminal; the second half, after both sides exhaust their ammunition, features some beautifully filmed mixed martial arts fights that rival those in the classics of this genre. The tension increases as the police team learns that they were led into an ambush by a corrupt and ambitious commander, Rama learns that his brother is one of the evil henchman, and the ultimate enemy, Mad Dog, a brute that seems impervious to injury,is unleashed.

In the end, the film succeeds in what it set out to do, provide the pure and simple, an action film that mixes conventional shoot em up verve with mixed martial arts entertainment. What is particularly impressive is the finely polished result, given that the film is an independent feature with a modest budget.