After The Raid I had high hopes for Merantau Warrior, the previous film by it's writer/director Gareth Evans. Merantau also features the same star, Iko Uwais, presumably chosen for his skills with the Indonesian martial art silat.
Unlike The Raid, this film has a plot -- and suffers for it. Yuda (Uwais) travels to the big city, where he meets a young thief and his mistreated sister, whom he saves from being sold into prostitution. In the process, he falls afoul of the villainous foreigner doing the buying (Mads Koudal), and is forced to fight a great many minions.
The fighting is the only reason to watch; the fight choreography and cinematography is world-class and whoever is responsible deserves, if nothing else, a career in that field. The script, however, and any scenes involving dialogue... impress less.
After The Raid I had high hopes for Merantau Warrior, the previous film by it's writer/director Gareth Evans. Merantau also features the same star, Iko Uwais, presumably chosen for his skills with the Indonesian martial art silat.
Unlike The Raid, this film has a plot -- and suffers for it. Yuda (Uwais) travels to the big city, where he meets a young thief and his mistreated sister, whom he saves from being sold into prostitution. In the process, he falls afoul of the villainous foreigner doing the buying (Mads Koudal), and is forced to fight a great many minions.
The fighting is the only reason to watch; the fight choreography and cinematography is world-class and whoever is responsible deserves, if nothing else, a career in that field. The script, however, and any scenes involving dialogue... impress less.