The Raid
The brief
The Raid is basically Die Hard meets every brutal martial arts movie you've ever seen, except it actually delivers on that promise. Gareth Evans traps you in a concrete tower with nowhere to go but up, turning each floor into a perfectly choreographed ballet of bone-crushing violence that never lets up for 101 minutes straight. Iko Uwais moves like water through broken glass, and the Indonesian pencak silat fighting style makes every punch feel like it could cave in your ribcage. If you loved John Wick's relentless momentum or thought The Raid 2 was too talky, this is your pure adrenaline hit.
The verdict
If you crave relentless, bone-crushing action with minimal plot getting in the way, this is pure adrenaline-fueled perfection that never stops punching. If you need complex characters or can't handle 101 minutes of brutal martial arts violence, you'll be bored or overwhelmed within the first twenty minutes.
Watch with
- 👥 Action movie fans craving pure intensity
- ⚠️ Not for those sensitive to brutal violence
Heads up
- Extreme graphic violence throughout (extreme)
- Frequent brutal hand-to-hand combat (frequent)
- Multiple deaths by stabbing and gunfire (frequent)
- Blood and gore in fight sequences (frequent)
Credits
- Director
- Gareth Evans
- Cast
- Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Pierre Gruno, Ray Sahetapy, Tegar Satrya
Official synopsis
Deep in the heart of Jakarta's slums lies an impenetrable safe house for the world's most dangerous killers
The Double
Make a night of it
Pair this with You Were Never Really Here (2017)
Both feature lone warriors infiltrating dangerous spaces with brutal precision.
Total runtime: 1h 41m + 1h 29m = 3h 10m
