The Raid 2
The Raid 2 is a 2014 Indonesian action thriller film written, edited and directed by Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans. Serving as the sequel to The Raid, Iko Uwais reprises his role as the tactical squad member Rama, with Arifin Putra, Oka Antara, Tio Pakusadewo, Alex Abbad, Julie Estelle, Ryuhei Matsuda, Kenichi Endō and Kazuki Kitamura joining in new roles. In the film, Rama is sent undercover to expose the corrupt police officials colluding with the crime families of Jakarta's criminal underworld.
Like Evans' previous films Merantau and The Raid, the fight scenes showcase Indonesian fighting style of pencak silat. The film was released in the United States and Canada by Sony Pictures Classics on 28 March 2014, where it received positive reviews from critics. who praised its cinematography, visuals, soundtrack and action sequences, though some criticised the film's violence.
Plot
Mob boss Andi is executed by Bejo, a criminal lord, on the orders of corrupt police commissioner, Reza. Andi's brother, police officer Rama brings his injured colleague Bowo and corrupt officer Wahyu to their lieutenant Bunawar. Bunawar informs Rama that he is heading a secret unit investigating police corruption. He sends Bowo away for recovery and kills Wahyu to prevent their investigation from being exposed. Bunawar then recruits Rama to help expose the extent of Reza's operation by placing him undercover. Initially refusing, Rama eventually takes the offer upon learning of Andi's death.Assuming the alias Yuda, Rama is tasked by Bunawar to infiltrate the Bangun family, the largest crime syndicate in Jakarta which act as peacekeepers between Bejo's growing criminal enterprise and a powerful Japanese yakuza clan led by Hideaki Gotō. Rama deliberately places himself in the same prison as Bangun's hot-tempered son, Uco, and gains his favor by saving his life during a violent prison riot. After being released from prison, Uco introduces him to Bangun and Bangun's right-hand man Eka, and begins working for him. Rama assists Uco in a violent extortion of Topan, a local porn producer. Uco later drunkenly expresses frustration at feeling sidelined within his father's organization and violently harasses a prostitute. Rama uses this opportunity to secretly plant a bug in Uco's wallet.
Uco secretly meets with Bejo and agrees to secretly finance Bejo in a war with the Gotō family. In gratitude, Bejo rounds up members of the prison riot and allows Uco to kill them. Prakoso, Bangun's eldest enforcer, is recruited to protect the family from Bejo as Uco attempts to convince him to join the war. After dismissing Uco, Prakoso is attacked by Bejo's hitmen and eventually killed by the Assassin, Bejo's top enforcer. Uco attempts to convince Bangun that Prakoso's death was caused by Gotō but he refuses to retaliate. In a meeting between Bangun and Gotō, Uco lashes out in anger, embarrassing Bangun into conceding territory. Bangun later beats Uco for disrupting the peace between the two organizations.
Rama escapes an ambush by Reza's corrupt cops and is urgently called to Bangun's office by Eka. Bejo arrives with the Assassin and his henchmen and Uco kills his father and wounds Eka. Rama intervenes, giving Eka the chance to escape, but is subdued by the Assassin and is driven away to be executed. Eka becomes critically injured as he rescues Rama. A dying Eka reveals that he knew Rama was working undercover, proclaimed that he's not a criminal, and asks Rama to take down the entire underworld. Meanwhile, Gotō's henchman, Ryuichi, informs Gotō of Uco's killing of Bangun and that Reza is meeting Bejo and Uco. Enraged, Gotō declares war on Bejo, Uco, and Reza.
Rama calls Bunawar, who instead claims that Eka is a traitor. He also informs him that the commissioner was killed and that a meeting will be held between Reza, Bejo, and Uco at Bejo's restaurant. After being assured that his family is safe, Rama singlehandedly attacks the restaurant, killing all of Bejo's henchmen, including the Assassin.
Uco discovers Rama's bug in his wallet and that Bejo carries the same tattoo as the prison rioters, realizing that he had been set up. Bejo pulls out a shotgun and shoots Rama as he arrived at the meeting. He attempts to throw a gun to Reza but it is intercepted by Uco, who kills Reza and Bejo, who he believes planted the bug. Uco begins firing at Rama but he fatally stabs Uco. As Bunawar makes his way to the restaurant, Rama encounters Gotō's men, led by Gotō's son Keiichi. Keiichi smirks as he silently offers a deal to Rama, who definitively declines.
Cast
- Iko Uwais as Rama/Yuda, one of the three surviving police officers of the first film's eponymous raid, and a special forces member turned undercover agent. His alias "Yuda" is a reference to Uwais' character in his debut film Merantau.
- Arifin Putra as Uco, a vicious, petulant mobster who is the son and heir to Bangun.
- Oka Antara as Eka, Bangun's consigliere who holds a secret of his own.
- Tio Pakusadewo as Bangun, a notorious kingpin who is one of the two mob bosses in control of Jakarta's underworld.
- Alex Abbad as Bejo, a self-made Jakarta crime boss who considers himself very ambitious.
- Cecep Arif Rahman as "The Assassin", Bejo's top enforcer who uses the karambit as his signature weapon.
- Julie Estelle as Alicia/"Hammer Girl", Bejo's hitman, a merciless assassin who uses claw hammers as her signature weapon. She is deaf, and later revealed to be missing an eye, the reason she wears sunglasses at all times.
- Kenichi Endō as Hideaki Goto, founder and head of the Goto family, a powerful yakuza family from Japan and one of the two mob bosses in control of Jakarta's underworld.
- Ryuhei Matsuda as Keiichi Goto, Goto's son and heir.
- Kazuki Kitamura as Ryuichi, Goto's lieutenant and interpreter.
- Yayan Ruhian as Prakoso, Bangun's most loyal and dedicated hitman. Ruhian previously portrayed Mad Dog in the first film.
- as "Baseball Bat Man", Alicia's brother and one of Bejo's top three hitmen.
- as Bunawar, the head of the internal investigation unit who recruits Rama to bring down the police–mob collusion.
- Roy Marten as Reza, a corrupt high-ranking police official affiliated with the Gotos but whom Bejo wants to buy out in his plans for expansion.
- Epy Kusnandar as Topan, operator of an illegal "porn den" in Bangun's territory, who receives a visit when word gets out he's expanded into the drug business.
- Zack Lee as Benny, an associate of Uco in prison who betrays his trust.
- Donny Alamsyah as Andi, Rama's gangster brother who is executed by Bejo.
- as Bowo, Rama's colleague and one of three surviving officers of the first film's eponymous raid.
- Alain O. as Wahyu, the corrupt lieutenant and one of three surviving officers of the first film's eponymous raid.
- Marsha Timothy as Dwi, Prakoso's estranged wife.
Production
Development
Writer-director Gareth Evans decided to make the sequel after The Raid hit at the box office. He saw it as an opportunity to receive funding for a script he wrote in 2009, Berandal, which he had trouble funding for two years. Berandal was originally conceived as a standalone action drama film which incorporates bigger action scenes and according to Evans tells the story of "a young guy who goes into prison, befriends the son of a mob boss, comes out, joins him as an enforcer and then has to survive a gang war". After The Raid, Evans began significantly rewriting the Berandal script to connect its storyline with that of the first film; the process included tweaking the protagonist's character motivation and adding a police procedural subplot.Casting and filming
was cast as "Hammer Girl" in December 2012; Evans also tweeted that internationally renowned silat practitioner Cecep Arif Rahman was also given a major part in the film. Marsha Timothy, Mathias Muchus, Tio Pakusadewo, and Alex Abbad, who worked with Evans in Merantau, were also cast in the film. Japanese actors Matsuda Ryuhei, Kenichi Endō and Kitamura Kazuki, known for his roles in Young Thugs: Innocent Blood, Dead or Alive and Ley Lines, but also known for being the only one of the three Japanese actors appeared in Indonesian films, following his appearance in the 2014 film Killers.Evans also revealed on Twitter that Yayan Ruhian, who played Mad Dog in The Raid, will return for the sequel as a new character called Prakoso, the machete-wielding chief assassin of Bangun. He claimed that he would not do a martial arts film without Ruhian being involved. Ruhian, who is a choreographer of the film, also trained Estelle in pencak silat.
In January 2013, PT Merantau Films and XYZ Films announced the start of production. The filming process took about seven months and ended in July 2013.
The film's lead cinematographer Matt Flannery tweeted that at least three RED cameras were used in a test shoot of a chase scene. Gareth Evans mentioned that they were using RED Scarlet for 95% of the shoot, Epic for slow mo, and Go Pro 3 for quick cuts during the car chase.