Movie · 2014 · Action, Crime, Thriller · 2h 30m · R · ID
Curator score: 8.2/10 (273.9K ratings)
It's not over yet.
Overview
After fighting his way through an apartment building populated by an army of dangerous criminals and escaping with his life, SWAT team member Rama goes undercover, joining a powerful Indonesian crime syndicate to protect his family and uncover corrupt members of his own force.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.2/10
IMDb: 7.9/10
Letterboxd: 4.04/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
Metacritic: 71
TMDB: 7.6/10
Director
Gareth Evans
Production
XYZ Films, PT. Merantau Films
Cast
Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra, Tio Pakusadewo, Oka Antara, Alex Abbad, Cecep Arif Rahman, Julie Estelle, Very Tri Yulisman, Ryuhei Matsuda, Kenichi Endo, Kazuki Kitamura, Yayan Ruhian, Cok Simbara, Roy Marten, Epy Kusnandar, Zack Lee, Deddy Sutomo, Marsha Timothy, Donny Alamsyah, Mike Lucock
Curator Review
Verdict
A ferocious, ambitiously scaled action-crime sequel with elite fight choreography, brutal set pieces, and a surprisingly dense undercover-gangster plot. It’s less lean than the first film, but for viewers who want maximal physical filmmaking and operatic violence, it’s a standout.
Best for
action fans who value choreography over realism
viewers who like crime epics with undercover tension
fans of hard-hitting, body-forward stunt work
people who enjoyed the first film and want a bigger canvas
Skip if
you want a tight, simple plot
extreme violence is a dealbreaker
you prefer dialogue-driven crime dramas
you dislike long runtimes or sprawling ensemble stories
Overview
The Raid 2 takes the stripped-down assault of the original and expands it into a full gangster epic. That expansion is both its gamble and its thrill: the story gets more tangled, the world gets bigger, and the violence becomes even more elaborate and punishing. It’s a sequel that refuses to play safe, aiming for scale, texture, and sheer physical impact.
Worth noting
What it does best is action as cinema, not just action as interruption. The fights are staged with ruthless clarity and escalating invention, from cramped hand-to-hand brutality to larger, more chaotic bursts of carnage. The film’s confidence is in how it uses movement, geography, and pain to tell you who these people are.
Bottom line
It can feel overstuffed compared with the first film, and the plotting occasionally strains under its own ambition. But if you’re open to a crime saga that treats combat like choreography and violence like language, this is one of the defining action films of its era.
Top Letterboxd reviews
matt lynch (4★) · 1388 likes
in most movies, a guy gets shot in the face once and you barely see it, so it's really terrific to find one where you get to see him get shot 17 times through his motorcycle helmet with an Italian machine pistol and then run over by a truck.
Todd Gaines (4★) · 910 likes
Rama is back and ready to kick some fuckin' ass and take some fuckin' names. Shotgun mother fucker. The Bad Lieutenant. The man that was never there. The only fuckin' choice. If you're a fuckin' badass, you will look even more badass in a mother fuckin' hoodie. Deep fuckin' Cover. Shit fight. Wall boxing. The Mop of Death. Curb fuckin' stomp. Mud wrestling. Rama's Magic Mike moment. A flat screen tv. Yummy SIM card. A strap-on king-kong dong. An oriental… more Rama is back and ready to kick some fuckin' ass and take some fuckin' names. Shotgun mother fucker. The Bad Lieutenant. The man that was never there. The only fuckin' choice. If you're a fuckin' badass, you will look even more badass in a mother fuckin' hoodie. Deep fuckin' Cover. Shit fight. Wall boxing. The Mop of Death. Curb fuckin' stomp. Mud wrestling. Rama's Magic Mike moment. A flat screen tv. Yummy SIM card. A strap-on king-kong dong. An oriental… more
Evan (4.5★) · 660 likes
IN-FUCKING-CREDIBLE!!!
The Raid 2 is single handedly the best action movie I ever seen! The action choreography was absolutely mind blowing. The Raid 2 is a mixture of Die Hard and Kill Bill on steroids. I'm sorry young Bruce Willis, Iko Uwais has taken your place as my favorite action star of all time. The hand to hand combat is insane. I witnessed the great car chase sequence of my life. If you ever see a chick wielding hammers, RUN!… more
George Carmi (4★) · 392 likes
The Raid 1 = Knives OutThe Raid 2 = Glass Onion
It’s familiar in design but larger in scale. The action pieces upheld the stellar choreography and brutality, and the stakes feel more important.
However, the tight and simple nature of The Raid 1 will always stand out to me.
LeSchroeck (4.5★) · 373 likes
Ein „knochenbrechendes Vergnügen“. Ein „monumentales Erlebnis“. Der „Dark Knight des Action-Kinos“: Die weltweite Kritiker-Euphorie zu „The Raid 2“ kennt keine Grenzen – und ich kann es bis in die letzte Faser meiner Gestalt nachvollziehen. Deswegen sollen die folgenden Zeilen weder wie die x-te 17-Semester-Filmethik-Abhandlung klingen, noch beim Eloquenz-Schwanzvergleich der globalen Filmpresse mitwirken. Sie sollen einfach eine kleine Geschichte erzählen. Darüber wie „The Raid 2“ meinen Körper in Besitz nahm.
Wie es der Job und das Schicksal so wollten, war ich… more
2008 · Drama, Action, History · 1h 46m · R · Curator 7.3/10 (365.6K ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, FlixFling, Hi-YAH, Peacock Premium Plus
Elegant martial-arts storytelling with strong emotional stakes and disciplined, highly readable fight scenes.
2010 · Action, Thriller, Crime · 1h 59m · R · Curator 8.1/10 (58.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, MUBI, Rakuten Viki, Hi-YAH, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
A revenge-driven crime thriller that balances emotional motivation with tightly staged violence.