The Raid 2 (; also known as The Raid: Retaliation) is a 2014 Indonesian action thriller film written, edited and directed by Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans. Serving as the sequel to The Raid (2011), Iko Uwais reprises his role as the tactical squad member Rama, with Arifin Putra, Oka Antara, Tio Pakusadewo, Alex Abbad, Julie Estelle, Ryuhei Matsuda, Kenichi Endō and Kazuki Kitamura joining in new roles. In the film, Rama is sent undercover to expose the corrupt police officials colluding with the crime families of Jakarta's criminal underworld.
Like Evans' previous films Merantau and The Raid, the fight scenes showcase Indonesian fighting style of pencak silat. The film was released in the United States and Canada by Sony Pictures Classics on 28 March 2014, where it received positive reviews from critics, who praised its direction, cinematography, visuals, soundtrack and action sequences, though some criticized its graphic violence.
Plot
Hours after the events of the first film, police officer Rama brings his injured colleague Bowo and corrupt officer Wahyu to Lieutenant Bunawar, who is heading a secret unit investigating police corruption. Bunawar sends Bowo away for medical treatment and kills Wahyu. He then attempts to recruit Rama to help expose the extent of corrupt police commissioner Reza's operation. Initially refusing, Rama takes up the offer upon learning that his brother and mob boss Andi has been executed by rising crime lord Bejo, and that his own wife and son are now in danger.
Rama is tasked with infiltrating the Bangun family, a major crime syndicate that controls Jakarta alongside a powerful Japanese yakuza clan led by Hideaki Gotō. Placed in the same prison as Bangun's hot-tempered son, Uco, Rama gains his favor after saving his life during a prison riot. Once released, Rama is introduced to Bangun and begins working for the family. Uco later drunkenly expresses frustration at feeling sidelined within his father's organization. Rama uses the opportunity to plant a bug in Uco's wallet, and learns that Uco is secretly plotting with Bejo to start a war with the Gotō family.
To fabricate a pretext for war, Bejo's hitmen kill Prakoso, Bangun's loyal enforcer. Pinning the attack on Gotō, Uco asks Bangun to retaliate, but Bangun refuses. In a meeting between Bangun and Gotō, Uco lashes out in anger, embarrassing Bangun, who concedes territory to maintain the peace. Later in his office, Bangun beats Uco for insubordination. When Bejo storms the office with his henchmen, Uco kills his father and wounds his father's right-hand man Eka. Having recently survived an ambush by Reza's corrupt cops, Rama intervenes, allowing Eka to escape, but is subdued and driven away to be executed. Eka saves Rama and, as he lies dying, reveals himself to be a fellow undercover officer, and asks Rama to take down the entire underworld. Meanwhile, Gotō is informed of Bangun's killing and that Reza is shifting his allegiance to Bejo and Uco. Enraged, Gotō declares war on Bejo, Uco, and Reza.
Rama calls Bunawar, who claims that Eka had gone rogue, and informs Rama that Reza is meeting Bejo and Uco at Bejo's restaurant. After being assured that his family is safe, Rama storms the restaurant, singlehandedly dispatching all of Bejo's henchmen. Uco, noticing that Bejo carries the same tattoo as the prison rioters and realizing that he had been set up, kills both Reza and Bejo amid the chaos. He then fires at Rama but Rama stabs him dead. As Bunawar makes his way to the restaurant, a badly wounded Rama encounters Gotō's men, led by Gotō's son Keiichi. An impressed Keiichi offers a deal to Rama, presumably a position within the yakuza. Rama declines, claiming that he is done.
Cast
Iko Uwais as Rama/Yuda, one of the three surviving police officers of the first film's eponymous raid, and a special forces member turned undercover agent. His alias "Yuda" is a reference to Uwais' character in his debut film Merantau. Arifin Putra as Uco, a vicious, petulant mobster who is the son and heir to Bangun. Oka Antara as Eka, Bangun's consigliere who holds a secret of his own. Tio Pakusadewo as Bangun, a notorious kingpin who is one of the two mob bosses in control of Jakarta's underworld. Alex Abbad as Bejo, a self-made Jakarta crime boss who considers himself very ambitious. Cecep Arif Rahman as "The Assassin", Bejo's top enforcer who uses the karambit as his signature weapon. Julie Estelle as Alicia/"Hammer Girl", Bejo's hitman, a merciless assassin who uses claw hammers as her signature weapon. She is deaf, and later revealed to be missing an eye, the reason she wears sunglasses at all times. Kenichi Endō as , founder and head (oyabun/kumicho) of the Goto family, a powerful yakuza family from Japan and one of the two mob bosses in control of Jakarta's underworld. Ryuhei Matsuda as , Goto's son and heir. Kazuki Kitamura as , Goto's lieutenant and interpreter. Yayan Ruhian as Prakoso, Bangun's most loyal and dedicated hitman. Ruhian previously portrayed Mad Dog in the first film. as "Baseball Bat Man", Alicia's brother and one of Bejo's top three hitmen. as Bunawar, the head of the internal investigation unit who recruits Rama to bring down the police–mob collusion. Roy Marten as Reza, a corrupt high-ranking police official affiliated with the Gotos but whom Bejo wants to buy out in his plans for expansion. Epy Kusnandar as Topan, operator of an illegal "porn den" in Bangun's territory, who receives a visit when word gets out he's expanded into the drug business. Zack Lee as Benny, an associate of Uco in prison who betrays his trust. Donny Alamsyah as Andi, Rama's gangster brother who is executed by Bejo. as Bowo, Rama's colleague and one of three surviving officers of the first film's eponymous raid. Alain O. as Wahyu, the corrupt lieutenant and one of three surviving officers of the first film's eponymous raid. Marsha Timothy as Dwi, Prakoso's estranged wife.
Other cast members include and , who reprise their roles as Rama's father and wife, Isa, respectively. and make cameos as the mediator and police commissioner, respectively. Additionally, Joe Taslim appears in photograph as Sergeant Jaka from the previous film.
Production Development Writer-director Gareth Evans decided to make the sequel after The Raid hit at the box office. He saw it as an opportunity to receive funding for a script he wrote in 2009, Berandal, which he had trouble funding for two years. Berandal was originally conceived as a standalone action drama film which incorporates bigger action scenes and according to Evans tells the story of "a young guy who goes into prison, befriends the son of a mob boss, comes out, joins him as an enforcer and then has to survive a gang war". After The Raid, Evans began significantly rewriting the Berandal script to connect its storyline with that of the first film; the process included tweaking the protagonist's character motivation and adding a police procedural subplot.
Casting and filming Julie Estelle was cast as "Hammer Girl" in December 2012; Evans also tweeted that internationally renowned silat practitioner Cecep Arif Rahman was also given a major part in the film. Marsha Timothy, Mathias Muchus, Tio Pakusadewo, and Alex Abbad, who worked with Evans in Merantau, were also cast in the film. Japanese actors Matsuda Ryuhei (known for his roles in Taboo and Nana), Kenichi Endō (known for his roles in Crows Zero, Crows Zero 2 and Dead or Alive 2: Birds) and Kitamura Kazuki, known for his roles in Young Thugs: Innocent Blood, Dead or Alive and Ley Lines, but also known for being the only one of the three Japanese actors appeared in Indonesian films, following his appearance in the 2014 film Killers.
Evans also revealed on Twitter that Yayan Ruhian, who played Mad Dog in The Raid, will return for the sequel as a new character called Prakoso, the machete-wielding chief assassin of Bangun. He claimed that he would not do a martial arts film without Ruhian being involved. Ruhian, who is also a choreographer for the film, trained Estelle in pencak silat.
In January 2013, PT Merantau Films and XYZ Films announced the start of production. The filming process took about seven months and ended in July 2013.
The film's lead cinematographer Matt Flannery tweeted that at least three RED cameras were used in a test shoot of a chase scene. Gareth Evans mentioned that they were using RED Scarlet for 95% of the shoot, Epic for slow mo, and Go Pro 3 for quick cuts during the car chase.
Marketing A teaser trailer was released at Twitch Film on 6 November 2013. The Hollywood Reporter stated that the trailer "unleashes more action than most Hollywood blockbusters." A longer Indonesian trailer was released on 31 December 2013. The American trailer was released on 21 January 2014. On 26 March 2014, a deleted scene (given the title "Gang War") was released to promote the film.
International release The film was marketed internationally through Celluloid Nightmares, a partnership between US-based XYZ Films and France's Celluloid Dreams.
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions acquired the film's distribution rights for the United States, Latin America and Spain; and Kadokawa Pictures for Japan. Distribution rights to other countries were sold to eOne Entertainment for Canada and the United Kingdom; Koch Media for Germany, Switzerland and Austria; Calinos Films for Turkey; HGC for China; and Madman Entertainment for Australia.
Release
The film had its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2014. It also screened at South by Southwest on 10 March 2014 and ARTE Indonesia Arts Festival on 14 March 2014. Following a wide release on 11 April 2014, due to low returns, the majority of theater owners pulled the film from their theaters one week later, similar to what occurred during the theatrical run of the first film.
Censorship The Raid 2 was banned in neighboring Malaysia. The film was scheduled to hit Malaysian screens on 28 March, but had not been shown anywhere in the country due to its excessive violence. Indonesian politician, and former Army Chief of Staff, Pramono Edhie Wibowo criticized the decision and demanded an explanation. He further asked the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to "actively perform its mediation function with the Malaysian government."
The US release was given an R rating by the MPAA for "strong bloody violence throughout, sexuality and language", cutting a few frames of graphic violence. Director Evans stated the cuts are very minimal and similar to his original cut. The film received an R-15 rating in Japan with 4 minutes cut, and the uncut version, which was given an R-18 rating, was screened in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Reception Box office In Indonesia, the film sold 1,434,272 tickets at the box office in 2014.
Overseas, the film grossed $2,627,209 in the United States and Canada. In Japan, it grossed () at the box office.「キネマ旬報」2015年3月下旬号 93頁 In other overseas territories outside Indonesia, the film grossed $3,939,707, for an overseas total of outside of Indonesia.
Home media In the United States, the film grossed from physical DVD and Blu-ray sales, . In the United Kingdom, The Raid 2 was 2015's best-selling foreign-language film on home video.
Critical response , the film has an approval rating of 82% on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 175 reviews, with an average rating of 7.50/10. The site's consensus states: "Although its high-energy plot and over-the-top violence may play better with genre aficionados, The Raid 2 definitely delivers more of everything audiences loved about its predecessor." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100 based on reviews from 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".