The Raid 2 (Indonesian: The Raid 2: Berandal — English: "Thug" Japanese: ザ・レイド Gokudo - English: "Gangster") is a 2014 Indonesian martial arts crime action film written, directed and edited by the Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans; it is the sequel to the 2012 hit The Raid: Redemption and was announced in 2011. The film was released on 28 March 2014. Iko Uwais reprises his role as Rama. The film also stars Arifin Putra, Julie Estelle, Alex Abbad, Tio Pakusadewo, Oka Antara, and Cecep A. Rahman. The film also featured Japanese actors such as Ryuhei Matsuda, Kenichi Endo, and Kazuki Kitamura.
Synopsis[]
Couple hours after the Jakarta apartment raid, rising gangster Bejo assassinates Andi for taking charge after the death of Tama Riyadi. The only surviving police officers of the raid, Rama, Bowo and Wahyu, meet with Bunawar, the trustworthy police Andi sent him to at the previous film's end. After sending Bowo to receive medical attention and executing Wahyu, Bunawar invites Rama to join a small anti-corruption task force which seeks to expose police commissioner Reza's backroom dealings with the Bangun and Goto gangs. While Rama initially declines, he ultimately assents after learning of his brother's murder by Bejo and the imminent threat to his family.
To ingratiate himself into Bangun's organization, Rama assaults the son of a politician who opposed the family, earning imprisonment with Bangun's son Uco. Rama, under the alias "Yuda", saves the mobster's life during a prison riot. Bangun subsequently hires 'Yuda' when the latter's prison sentence ends. As 'Yuda' proves his value to the organization and earns the family's trust, rifts grow between him and the unreliable Bunawar. Uco grows increasingly discontented with his father's lack of faith in his abilities and placidity towards the Japanese, desiring to take on a larger role in the mob's operations.
Plot[]
The surviving officers of the Jakarta apartment raid - Rama, Bowo and Lieutenant Wahyu - rendezvous with Lieutenant Bunawar on the advice of Rama's brother Andi. Bunawar, the head of an internal investigation unit, sends the injured Bowo for treatment but executes the corrupt Wahyu, assuring Rama it is to protect him and that testifying would only endanger him and his family. Bunawar asks Rama to go undercover to expose the other corrupt officials' dealings with the local Bangun and Japanese Goto crime syndicates, but Rama refuses.
However, following Andi's death at the hands of crime boss Bejo, Rama agrees to go undercover and is tasked with infiltrating the underworld by going to prison and befriending Bangun's son Uco. To be arrested, and to gain favor with Uco, Rama is instructed to assault the son of the official who put Uco in prison. During a prison riot, several inmates led by Benny, Uco's former associate, attempt to kill him before Rama saves him. Upon Rama's release two years later, Uco takes him to meet his father, who hires him out of gratitude. Rama proves himself to the syndicate through his work under Uco and his father's adviser Eka. Rama also manages to plant a bug in Uco's wallet.
Bejo invites Uco to dinner at his restaurant and explains his plan to take land from the Goto syndicate with Uco's assistance by starting a gang war and by gaining the support of corrupt police official Reza. As a gift, Bejo brings Benny and the assailants from the prison riot for Uco to execute. Frustrated and unsatisfied with his current standing in the syndicate, Uco accepts Bejo's offer. Uco then lures Bangun's hitman and family friend Prakoso into an ambush, where he is killed by The Assassin, Bejo's top enforcer; Uco lies to his father, and blames the Japanese for Prakoso's death. When the two bosses meet, Bangun decides not to retaliate and instead apologizes to Goto, further enraging Uco. He then instructs Bejo to proceed with their plan; Bejo has his hitmen - Hammer Girl, Baseball Bat Man and The Assassin - kill several of Goto's men, sparking a gang war between the two syndicates.
During the conflict, Rama defeats assailants sent after him and discovers a police ID on one of the attackers, and Bunawar reveals that they are corrupt officers working for Reza. During another meeting, Uco lashes out against Goto, embarrassing Bangun into conceding territory. Afterwards, Rama receives a call from Eka asking him to pick up Uco from Bangun's office. While Rama heads to the office, Bejo and The Assassin barge in with their henchmen. Revealing his betrayal, Uco kills his father and incapacitates Eka. Before Bejo can finish him off, Rama arrives and gives Eka time to flee. The Assassin subdues Rama, and Bejo commands his men to get rid of him. Eka follows them in his car to save Rama, and eventually drives them both to safety.
Goto's lieutenant Ryuichi informs Goto and his son Keiichi that Reza was seen entering Bejo's restaurant, and further explains that Bejo is not alone and informs him of Uco's betrayal. Goto then declares war on Bejo, Uco and Reza. A critically wounded Eka reveals to Rama he was also undercover before dying. Rama contacts Bunawar, who informs him that the gang war has further escalated and that Reza, their true objective, is meeting Bejo and Uco at the restaurant. Rama breaches its warehouse and fights through Bejo's men before killing Hammer Girl, Baseball Bat Man and The Assassin.
Bejo and Uco meet Reza to discuss terms against Goto, and Uco eventually discovers the bug in his wallet. Uncertain who planted it, he notices Bejo has a similar tattoo to Benny’s, and realizes the prison riot may have been an attempt to spark a gang war with his death. Rama manages to make his way to the meeting area and dispatches the remaining guards. When Bejo attempts to shoot Rama, Uco grabs a gun and kills both Bejo and Reza. He then tries to kill Rama, who throws a knife at Uco before fatally stabbing him. Rama leaves the premises and encounters Keiichi, Ryuichi and their men. While Bunawar drives to the site, Keiichi and Rama have a short conversation, which Rama concludes by stating that he is done.
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[]
Julie Estelle 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 (known for his roles in Taboo and Nana), Kenichi Endō (known for his roles included Crows Zero, Crows Zero 2 and Dead or Alive 2: Birds) 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.
Marketing[]
A teaser trailer was released at Twitch Film on 6 November 2013. The Hollywood Reporter stated that the trailer "unleashes more action than most Hollywood blockbusters." A longer Indonesian trailer was released on 31 December 2013. The American trailer was released on 21 January 2014. On 26 March 2014, a deleted scene (given the title "Gang War") was released to promote the film.
International release[]
The film was marketed internationally through Celluloid Nightmares, a partnership between US-based XYZ Films and France's Celluloid Dreams.
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions acquired the film's distribution rights for the United States, Latin America and Spain; and Kadokawa Pictures for Japan. Distribution rights to other countries were sold to eOne Entertainment for Canada and the United Kingdom; Koch Media for Germany, Switzerland and Austria; Calinos Films for Turkey; HGC for China; and Madman Entertainment for Australia.
Release[]
The film had its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2014. It also screened at South by Southwest on 10 March 2014 and ARTE Indonesia Arts Festival on 14 March 2014. Following a wide release on 11 April 2014, due to low returns the majority of theaters closed the film one week later. This was similar to what occurred during the theatrical run of the first film.
Censorship[]
The Raid 2 was banned in neighboring Malaysia. The film was scheduled to hit Malaysian screens on 28 March, but had not been shown anywhere in the country due to its excessive violence. Indonesian politician, and former Army Chief of Staff, Pramono Edhie Wibowo criticized the decision and demanded an explanation. He further asked the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to "actively perform its mediation function with the Malaysian government."
The US release was given an R rating by the MPAA for "strong bloody violence throughout, sexuality and language", cutting a few frames of graphic violence. Director Evans stated the cuts are very minimal and similar to his original cut. The film received an R-15 rating in Japan with 4 minutes cut, and an R-18 uncut version which was screened in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Trailer[]
