Sometimes you hear about an upcoming film, it’s gathering momentum with the hype machine, but everything you see about it gets you excited, so you help the hype machine by hyping it yourself. You get so amped for the film that when you finally sit down to experience it, it’s bound to disappoint, to not quite live up to the superhuman expectations you had for it.
The Raid was like this, in the beginning, but it changed course when I sat down in that dark room we call a theatre. Rather than not living up to my expectations, this little movie far exceeded my expectations, and now lives in a coveted space in my memories as the most intense action film I have ever seen.
The Raid has a simple premise, an elite special-forces team sets up a covert mission to infiltrate a mob bosses 30 story apartment block slash headquarters, and bring the brutal crime lord to justice.
But as with all simple plans, this one goes south very quickly, and in fact, we get the feeling right from the start that not everything is as it seems. Read the rest of this entry »
