We're not yet done with Rama

Can you just imagine? If its release had been delayed further or, worse, had not been consummated at all. If our local ratings and classification board had decided to heavily trim it down to accomodate a less strict rating. If this film had never ever happened. Then, we could have definitely missed something great. And that's not a hyperbole. I'm speaking of "The Raid 2", Gareth Evans' follow-up to his 2011 surprise hit and stunner. 

The blurb on the film's poster says that it is "one of the greatest action movies ever made". It's a rather cliché-sounding description that we might not just pay much attention to. But more often than not, that's just how clichés work - there's a ring of truth in them. This time, we just have to believe that "The Raid 2" is indeed a great film. And just how great is it? Or, just what is it that makes for a great cinema? The matter can still be purely subjective. From the point of my own viewing experience, if at any given moment that I am watching a film and I am brought to that kind of euphoria where I gush, "Wow! The magic and possibilities of cinema!", then it could just be great. And "The Raid 2" is a welcome addition to such exemplary films that transported me to that particular euphoric state. 

Alright, it's an action film, the kind that gives one an adrenaline rush (as was the first part). But oh boy, it doesn't often happen that watching an action film like this can also give me the feeling like I was reading a pleasurably dense and labyrinthine crime novel. It may not be a masterpiece of art in the strictest sense of the word, but after being done with it, the work leaves one with the feeling akin to being bestowed a newfound wisdom from above or attaining a state of grace. The film has all the designs of a grand tragedy, approximating the breadth and depth of a Shakespeare play, with added hues of droll humor and melancholy poetry. At the heart of "The Raid 2" is a tale of honor, power, corruption, madness and betrayal, of deadly missions and impossible tasks, of unlikely friendships, of superiors and subordinates, of fathers and sons. And adding gravitas to this, as in any of The Bard's tragedy, are the lean-and-mean verbal exchanges, the rogue gallery of vicious henchmen and assassins, the ferocious battle-fights, and the unflinching violence. 

Of course, all of these would not have come to its astounding fruition if not for the immense and intense filmmaking talent on display. From the seemingly simple and claustrophobic plot of the first part, Gareth Evans' screenplay for the second part intricately expands from thereon to cross over into criminal empires, with their kingpins and minions and territorial acquisitions, and into a veritable war-zone and death-trap out in the streets or in any public space. The visual aesthetics are likewise a true delight for any avid cineaste, as the director, in more ways than one, shoots and frames his scenes (whether steeped in violence or not, both in calm and fiery moments) from astonishing angles and with rhythmical movements that it's almost impossible to look away from the screen even for a second. You can even sense his delight in capturing the movement of even the minute objects, in a way that forebodes something (like a dropped screw or a rotating coin). Just consider (among many):The nerve-wracking fight scene inside a moving car;the scene wherein the brash kingpin's son does an unspeakable act against his father;a loyal assassin's death (bathed in Handel's classical "Sarabande");and the prisoners' riot among thick and dirty mud which, in its bravura intensity, instantly ranks along The Battle on Ice in Sergei Eisenstein's "Alexander Nevsky" and The Battle in the Rain in Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai". 

And the actors. Well, I can only sing praises to the principal performers in the film. But if I will cite just one, then it goes undoubtedly to the man who bears all the burden of a nearly-impossible, totally-bonkers and death-defying mission - Iko Uwais as the undercover policeman Rama. This guy is just unbelievable. In nearly all of his ferocious fight scenes, he simply relies on his bare martial arts skills, battling through his vicious and deadly attackers with brazen and feral energy - blood, bruise, sweat and all - that the pain just becomes so real. And amid all of the body count, broken bones and bloodbath, he is able to endear himself to the viewers. Off the beaten path, but still with some dignity left, so it goes. This is the kind of action talent that Hollywood should take notice of and learn to respect. 

A sequel that equals its predecessor is enough of an achievement. But a sequel that surpasses its predecessor is a sterling cinematic achievement, like a prized diamond. And "The Raid 2" aptly fits that description. (I wonder if a third part is already in Evans' mind, even if Rama finally says, enigmatically, "No, I'm done", much like Alex's last words in Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange".) 

(Photo below:The bloodied and bruised hero preparing for another ferocious battle in Gareth Evans' "The Raid 2".)