100 movies: The Raid

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100 movies of 2012
Every year I set myself a target, usually of about 100, of films to watch. These are new films. Not new, new films. But films that are new to me. Any time I’ve seen a new one, I post a bit of a brain dump of my thoughts on the film here. Enjoy!

The RaidThe Raid (25/11/12)

A SWAT team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.

The Raid is one serious action film. Seriously epic. The story is simple. SWAT team need to get to the top of a block of flats and along the way encounter, what is effectively, an army of guys whose one and only goal is to stop them.

It’s light on storyline but heavy on the action. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen action sequences choreographed quite like those in The Raid. Ridiculously tight and intense to watch. And they look like they HURT. Big time.

There are some excellent moments of very highly strung tension. Moments where everything goes deadly silent and you’re honestly not sure where the guys are going to burst out of! There’s a fair few horror films that could learn a thing or two about real tension from this film.

For a pure action film, it’s hard to beat The Raid. There’s a short set up and then you’re thrown straight into the action and you’ve got a pretty satisfying ending. The pacing is as tight as the action. You’re not left bored for a single second. Well, at least I wasn’t.
Rating: 5/5

Read on to see all the films watched this year…

82 Films so far this year

  1. The Tourist 1/5 (02/01/12)
  2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 5/5 (03/01/12)
  3. World’s Greatest Dad 2/5 (14/01/12)
  4. Haywire 3/5 (19/01/12)
  5. Dead Snow 3/5 (20/01/12)
  6. The Artist 5/5 (21/01/12)
  7. Priest 2/5 (05/02/12)
  8. The Muppets 5/5 (15/02/12)
  9. Faster 4/5 (19/02/12)
  10. Chronicle 4/5 (22/02/12)
  11. Safe House 4/5 (24/02/12)
  12. Reservoir Dogs 4/5 (25/02/12)
  13. This Means War 4/5 (02/03/12)
  14. The Royal Tenenbaums 3/5 (03/03/12)
  15. Reign of Fire 3/5 (04/03/12)
  16. Dear John 2/5 (04/03/12)
  17. Road to Perdition 5/5 (05/03/12)
  18. The Three Musketeers 3/5 (06/03/12)
  19. The Eagle 2/5 (10/03/12)
  20. Everybody’s Fine 2/5 (14/03/12)
  21. Frankenstein 4/5 (15/03/12)
  22. Love and Other Drugs 2/5 (15/03/12)
  23. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger 2/5 (17/03/12)
  24. The Big Lebowski 5/5 (18/03/12)
  25. The Hunger Games 3/5 (23/03/12)
  26. Headhunters 4/5 (07/04/12)
  27. Super 1/5 (07/04/12)
  28. The Cabin in the Woods 5/5 (13/04/12)
  29. Watchmen 4/5 (14/04/12)
  30. The Hurt Locker 3/5 (21/04/12)
  31. Avengers Assemble 5/5 (26/04/12)
  32. 22 Bullets 2/5 (28/04/12)
  33. Bad Teacher 1/5 (29/04/12)
  34. Red Riding Hood 1/5 (04/05/12)
  35. A Perfect Getaway 4/5 (05/05/12)
  36. Ca$h 1/5 (13/05/12)
  37. Kung Fu Panda 2 3/5 (14/05/12)
  38. Everything Must Go 2/5 (24/05/12)
  39. New York, I Love You 2/5 (25/05/12)
  40. Beginners 4/5 (26/05/12)
  41. Prometheus 4/5 (03/06/12)
  42. The Tree of Life 2/5 (04/06/12)
  43. The Lovely Bones 3/5 (05/06/12)
  44. Snow White and the Huntsman 3/5 (06/06/12)
  45. The Devil’s Backbone 4/5 (07/06/12)
  46. Britain in a Day 5/5 (11/06/12)
  47. The French Connection 4/5 (15/06/12)
  48. Insomnia 3/5 (16/06/12)
  49. Rebel Without a Cause 4/5 (22/06/12)
  50. A Lonely Place to Die 3/5 (26/06/12)
  51. Killer Joe 3/5 (29/06/12)
  52. The Amazing Spider-Man 4/5 (03/07/12)
  53. Raising Arizona 4/5 (04/07/12)
  54. Horrible Bosses 4/5 (06/07/12)
  55. Broadcast News 3/5 (07/07/12)
  56. We Need to Talk About Kevin 4/5 (07/07/12)
  57. Miller’s Crossing 4/5 (18/07/12)
  58. The Dark Knight Rises 5/5 (20/07/12)
  59. 21 Jump Street 5/5 (29/07/12)
  60. The Mystery Team 3/5 (07/08/12)
  61. The Help 4/5 (11/08/12)
  62. The Bourne Legacy 3/5 (13/08/12)
  63. The Expendables 2 4/5 (17/08/12)
  64. Brave 5/5 (19/08/12)
  65. Dracula 3/5 (19/08/12)
  66. The Woman in Black 3/5 (24/08/12)
  67. The Mummy 4/5 (28/08/12)
  68. Lawless 3/5 (30/08/12)
  69. Real Steel 2/5 (31/08/12)
  70. [REC] 3 Genesis 2/5 (04/09/12)
  71. Take Shelter 4/5 (15/09/12)
  72. Dredd 3D 3/5 (19/09/12)
  73. The Apartment 5/5 (23/09/12)
  74. Young Frankenstein 5/5 (25/09/12)
  75. Looper 5/5 (28/09/12)
  76. Sinister 3/5 (10/10/12)
  77. Skyfall 5/5 (26/10/12)
  78. The Prince & Me 3/5 (31/10/12)
  79. Crazy, Stupid, Love 4/5 (03/11/12)
  80. Argo 5/5 (07/11/12)
  81. Super Troopers 3/5 (22/11/12)
  82. The Raid 5/5 (24/11/12)

10 Comments

  1. I loved this movie too. I like that fact that they didn’t use stunt doubles or wires. The fighting scenes are amazing. I like the twist with the brothers. I was not expecting that. I had a feeling maybe they were friends or something. This movie is a prime example on how we gotta step it up with our action movies. Enough with this CGI stuff. Let’s get real and raw.

    • Yes. Real, actual fighting. Makes a world of difference. Though, the people in question doing the fighting do need to have some ability to act!

  2. Nice to see you have also given it a perfect score, one of my favorite movies of the year for sure, top 5 material.

  3. I’m gutted I missed this in the cinema. Glad you rated it so highly and I’m assuming you saw it at home rather than big screen.

  4. Nicely choreographed movies with some really impressive hard hitting fight scenes. And the plot is simple and doesn’t waste any time getting you to enjoy what you came there to see. Glad you loved it Jaina!

  5. Nice to know that The Raid is one of the movies you’ve picked for your 100 movies, and also the perfect score! I agree that it was light on story but heavy on action. Yes, the fighting looked hurt. And, best of it all was the choreography. Such an excellent movie, and I am not a fan of action ones.

  6. The RAID!! 😀 Glad to see you dug this one. It IS non-stop action isnt it? Kind of hard to collect your thoughts with so much fighting going on! 😀

    Loved it!

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