The Raid: Redemption

There are 63 individually described fatalities in “The Raid: Redemption,” and enough maimings to overwhelm a regional trauma center. The film is a sort of high-speed demolition derby except with human actors. It is 100 percent highly concentrated whoop-ass, and it is sensational. It follows the Aristotelian unities of action, place and time, following an Indonesian police SWAT team through an attack on tenement housing the scurviest thugs on the archipelago. The battle rages. Through group melees, one-on-one duels and every form of warfare in between, the action pauses only long enough to reload. Yet the film doesn’t stint on character and story. Director Gareth Evans knows how to tell a frenetic story with fastidious care. Action star Iko Uwais plays Rama, a young cop who is at the point of the spear.  He practices silat, an Indonesian martial-arts discipline that’s closely associated with the teachings of Islam as a form of character building. The objective is to capture Tama (Ray Sahetapy), a coldblooded drug lord whose chief enforcers are the brutal Mad Dog (stunt choreographer Yayan Ruhian) and brainy Andi (Doni Alamsyah). Amid spattery death by machine gun, machete, stair railing and filing cabinet, there are revelations and complications aplenty, with hidden corruption, secret family ties and innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. Every element fits (including the propulsive score by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park), adding richness to the story without slowing the action. There are stunt set pieces here that will be talked about for years. The movie is a kick that will leave your head ringing for days.