I was lucky enough to catch a limited release screening of this film here in Australia as I was in high anticipation to see it after more than enjoying the first Raid film and in no way was I disappointed with this film. This is honestly, by far, one of the best sequels in existence today. The isolated first film is completely removed of all boundaries and expanded it to this ultra-violent masterpiece. First the possible negatives for some people; this movie is very long and structured differently to the first (Beginning Story - Action Centre - Ending Story) this film follows a back and forth style of (Story - Action - Story - Action) so the accumulation of story is quite large meaning a lot of reading for English viewers. Another possible negative is the fact this film feels almost nothing like the first film, the first being like an action survival story while this film is an action, espionage, martial arts film filled with gangs and all different personalities though in my opinion this gives the film a fresh style for viewers. If you were expecting same old style you may be disappointed but there is an American remake of the first film in production. The final possible negative is the vast amount of brutal and graphic violence throughout the film, this is one of the most violent action films I have ever seen but I enjoy the extreme violence side of cinema but those with a light stomach may find this film difficult for the sheer amount of blood there is in this movie in comparison to the first. These negatives in my eyes are strong points for the film in my eyes but to others might not be. To the positives which there are plenty of, firstly and most important; the action. As you probably would've expected the action in this film is the greatest bone crunching action you will most likely see in your whole life, its gritty and incredibly well planned style makes it like a form of bloody art. Gareth Evans knows exactly what he is doing here. One of my favorite aspects of the films was the direction. The slow pans and zooms Evans uses to build suspense as well as a perfect use of slow motion, not over the top in any way, just give the film an added visual style which boosts it even further. Evans also knows exactly how to build up an action scene, one of my absolute favorite fight scenes in the film in the prison yard fight which is so incredibly well choreographed whilst having this dark and suspenseful build up to the fight. This film try's a lot of new things and all of which work for example are car chase scene which is one of the best I've seen in any movie. The story in this film delivers what the first film was lacking, putting characters in the flesh and making you care a lot more, even for the villains. And with good story and characters of course comes excellent acting which is often rare in action films, these actors are absolutely teeming with talent, all of which can act and can fight. As I read the credits I could only see two stunt doubles for the whole film which is saying something. This is an absolute must see for any action film fan, it is nothing short of a masterpiece and needs to receive the credit it absolutely deserves
