Photo via Sony Pictures Classic.

On the surface, Gareth Evans’ 2011 feature The Raid: Redemption was merely just another martial arts film: an Indonesian tactical police squad plans a raid of a lone apartment complex, run by a crime boss and teeming with the city’s seedy criminals. The film’s narrative, which can only be described as a video game-esque, centered on Rama (Iko Uwais)—a young, noble police officer—as he and his comrades fight there way up the complex, beating up baddies as they get closer and closer to a final showdown with the main boss.

The plot was minimal—there’s a minor subplot with Rama reuniting with his delinquent brother amid the action—but it was a masterfully shot and incredibly choreographed martial arts film that even people who aren’t fans of the genre could admire. It had cross-over appeal in the same vein that Ang Lee’s award-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon did when it was released. In his follow-up, The Raid 2: Berandal, Evans drops the singular location and threadbare plot of the first one in favor of a sprawling, ambitious, lengthy (a whopping 150-minute runtime), plot heavy crime thriller that manages to awe in its visuals as much as it slogs in its narrative. The Raid 2 is Evans trying to make his own martial arts version of The Godfather. Unfortunately, it’s the intensely detailed and intricate plot that keeps the film from being as great as its fore-bearer.

Taking place shortly after the first film left off, Rama’s brother, Andi (Donny Alamsyah), has been apprehended by rising mobster Bejo (Alex Abbad) for helping Rama and his surviving team escape from the crime block from the first film. Needless to say, he doesn’t live much longer. Not soon after Rama recovers from his injuries, he’s tapped by some high up police officials to go undercover and try to infiltrate Bangun (Tio Pakusadewo ), who is the head of Jakarta’s biggest crime family, and his crew, in order to gather evidence of deep police corruption in the Indonesian government. It’s a dangerous and lengthy task, and one that starts with him getting thrown in prison.

Via Sony Pictures Classic

There he meets Uco (Arifin Putra), Bangun’s son and the heir to his organization. After saving his life in a massive prison riot, Uco, indebted to Rama, gives him a job in his father’s organization. We’ll stop with the plot summarization there because, frankly, it gets far too convoluted and complex for a single review, but let’s just say it involves a lot of different crime families, struggles for power, and daddy issues. Like I said, this Evans’ Godfather.

Evans is a gifted director who knows how to turn elaborately staged fight sequences into a kind of graceful dance. The grace and smoothness with which he films fight scenes in The Raid 2 cannot be understated: it’s poetry in motion. But while The Raid: Redemption flourished because it was basically a non-stop thrill ride, the action in The Raid 2 is few and far between. The heady, intricate plot gives way to many scenes of superfluous dialogue and needless plot building. For instance, Evans wastes about 15 minutes setting up the background of one of Bangun’s trusted, but briefly present henchmen only to make his death feel somewhat significant a mere ten minutes later. It’s this kind of unnecessary plot that makes the film a bore at times.

With a good editor to shave off about 45 minutes, The Raid 2 would be a masterpiece; an intriguing, classic crime thriller coupled with some of the best action sequences ever put to film. In fact, I’m sure some clever amateur editor might do that once it’s release on DVD/Blu-Ray and we’ll see (albeit illegally) a much cleaner, tighter cut of the film. As much as Evans is a terrific director, he lacks in writing and editing. But despite these messy narrative flaws, The Raid 2: Berandal is as much of an awe to watch as the first one.

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The Raid 2: Berandal
Directed by Gareth Evans
Written by Gareth Evans
With Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, and Arifin Putra.
Rated R for sequences of strong bloody violence throughout, sexuality, and language.
Running time 150 minutes
Opens today at E Street Cinema, AMC Loews Shirlington, Regal Bethesda, and Angelika Film Center