“The Raid 2” is significantly longer than the first “The Raid.”
Due in late March, “The Raid 2” promises lots of beatings and blood and splattered guts over a running time that will hurt your butt. (Also, this is decidedly NSFW.)
The Indonesian hit “The Raid” (called “The Raid: Redemption” in America, for reasons still unknown) did something that most action films dare not dream of: It eschewed everything that wasn’t action. There was no character development, no requisite romantic subplot. Just a bunch of dudes killing a bunch of other dudes and then one of the surviving dudes fighting other dudes until almost everyone was dead.
It was nifty if also exhausting because, as it turns out, those thumb-twiddling sections of action films about stuff that no one cares about were there as buffers, to give us a break before fighting once again commenced.
So please be terrified that the inevitable sequel, “The Raid 2: Berandal,” due in late March, is longer than “Goodfellas.” Then again, great action is great action, even if you’re probably better off watching it in large chunks at home.
And also consider that this teaser makes it look more expansive than the single-location first. Of course, that may be a sign of misplaced ambition, like the “Matrix” sequels or the third “Hangover.” But if we can offer yet another about-face, Gareth Evans’ insane, ever-escalating contribution to the anthology horror “V/H/S 2” suggests he may not be a one-off. He may actually have the goods.
