04-12-2014, 04:02 PM
Lady Cranefly and I ran out of coffee on Friday, so we decided to wake ourselves up proper Saturday morning with the next best thing: The Raid 2 at 9:05 am, Shoreline Theater.
Did I mention we rented the theater out just for ourselves? Okay, we didn't have to. Just the two of us.
The hero is played by Iko Uwais, the same dude in Merantau, and presumably the star in The Raid (which I tried to get beforehand at the library, but it's currently checked out).
The evil young Turk is a dead ringer for Brandon Lee (we both made this observation).
Wow. I'm going to recommend seeing this on the big screen. Three massage therapists were listed in the credits. They needed a whole lot more. I haven't seen this tight of choreography since Jackie Chan circa Project A. By tight, I mean you're up close in the fight but miraculously following the action. That's hard to pull off without a lot of takes. I fear for the well-being of so many stuntmen. This was Concussion City. Absolutely brutal sequences, and they just kept coming.
There was a sameness to some of the fights, but the techniques were so impressive and filmed so well that one didn't get bored. Other fights were unique and absolutely brilliant.
The movie had pacing. Yes, there was time for plot and character-building. What a concept. Even so, there was enough fight action for ten decent martial arts films.
We both liked it a great deal.
Highly recommended.
P.S. DM, I still have the Merantau you loaned me. Honest, I will return it (along with 13 Assassins). But let me check with Lady Cranefly. She may now be interested in watching it.
Did I mention we rented the theater out just for ourselves? Okay, we didn't have to. Just the two of us.
The hero is played by Iko Uwais, the same dude in Merantau, and presumably the star in The Raid (which I tried to get beforehand at the library, but it's currently checked out).
The evil young Turk is a dead ringer for Brandon Lee (we both made this observation).
Wow. I'm going to recommend seeing this on the big screen. Three massage therapists were listed in the credits. They needed a whole lot more. I haven't seen this tight of choreography since Jackie Chan circa Project A. By tight, I mean you're up close in the fight but miraculously following the action. That's hard to pull off without a lot of takes. I fear for the well-being of so many stuntmen. This was Concussion City. Absolutely brutal sequences, and they just kept coming.
There was a sameness to some of the fights, but the techniques were so impressive and filmed so well that one didn't get bored. Other fights were unique and absolutely brilliant.
The movie had pacing. Yes, there was time for plot and character-building. What a concept. Even so, there was enough fight action for ten decent martial arts films.
We both liked it a great deal.
Highly recommended.
P.S. DM, I still have the Merantau you loaned me. Honest, I will return it (along with 13 Assassins). But let me check with Lady Cranefly. She may now be interested in watching it.