Piranha 3DD

Logline: After the events at Lake Victoria, the pre-historic school of blood-thirsty piranhas make their way into a newly opened waterpark.

Cast: Ving Rhames, David Hasselhoff, Christopher Lloyd, Gary Busey, Danielle Panabaker, Matt Bush

Directed by: John Gulager

As promised, here is my review of the sequel to the HIM acclaimed Piranha 3D that I reviewed as my Throwback Thursday special in which you can view here.

Summary

The town of Victoria Lake is deserted. No one wants to live there with the bad memories of last summer haunting them. This journey takes place in a new town, not so far from the site of the notorious massacre.

The films protag, Maddy, comes back from school for the summer to find that her step-father has opened up a waterpark which has an "adult pool" section - the first stripper swimming pool ever. The park is opening soon, and by God, wouldn't you know it... piranha eggs have been sighted and Gary Busey has been killed.

The piranhas are very smart this time around - and due to Christopher Lloyd's huge knowledge on their history, he deems it scientifically possible for these piranhas to chew through walls and that they have a high possibility of following streams of chlorine. New waterpark opening - piranhas attracted to chlorine - UH OH.

Review

As you've read in my Throwback Thursday review of this film's predecessor, I really enjoyed its ability to controllably switch through genres without overdoing it. I also admired that it never took itself seriously.

Piranha 3DD tells you right from its trailer that it doesn't take itself seriously either. I knew that before I even pressed play. So, I wasn't expecting much. That being said, I was expecting not to waste 1h and 22mins of my life. Which, I didn't totally. I'd say I only wasted about 1h and 10mins, give or take a few. God was this disappointing. I knew when this film got rushed to theatres and was barely advertised that the creators didn't take their time. I gave it a try anyways, just to see if it'd generate some laughs.

It's so bad I can't even begin to brainstorm reasons as to why any studio would read the script for this and agree to greenlight it. There is literally a part where a girl has a piranha go up her vagina, stay there for a day, and come out during sexual intercourse to bite off a male's penis. LITERALLY. When I said I enjoyed how Piranha 3D didn't take itself seriously, I also should have said that it wasn't totally over the top ridiculous. Maybe some parts were, but never so glaringly obvious.

There were only 2 things I enjoyed about this movie - saving me 10 minutes of my life.

1) Every scene Ving Rhames is in - the guy has titanium legs with shotguns attached to them.

and

2) David Hasselhoff's cameo is pretty funny.

Neither of them are in it much, unfortunately.

Topic of the Day

DO NOT RUSH A SEQUEL WHILE THE ORIGINAL IS STILL HOT JUST TO GET MONEY - IT DOESN'T WORK.

I can't elaborate on today's topic.

Piranha 3D has made $83.1 mill.

Piranha 3DD  has made $0.4 mill.

Absolute bomb and a waste of $20 million. If only they took their time & seriously thought of something decent to follow up the original.

Consensus

According to my rating system, a complete waste of time is rated as 2. This is exactly what the movie deserves. However, due to Ving Rhames and David Hasselhoff - I'm going to be a bit more generous because they both had some pretty awesome scenes. Find the clips on youtube if you want, I don't suggest suffering through the movie to get to them.

2.5/10

Throwback Thursday - Piranha 3D

Logline: After a sudden underwater tremor sets free scores of the prehistoric man-eating fish, an unlikely group of strangers must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area's new razor-toothed residents.

Cast: Elisabeth Shue, Jerry O'Connell, Ving Rhames, Christopher Lloyd, Adam Scott

Directed by: Alexandre Aja

Piranha 3D... I chose this one for two reasons.

1) It's definitely a challenging review to tackle.

and

2) I'm going to do a back to back Piranha end of the week hurrah. Both will be posted on Thursday because I have a wedding to go to out of town this weekend. Excited for that. :)

Summary

After reading the logline posted just a little bit above this section, you already know how these prehistoric piranhas got to Lake Victoria, Arizona. Their presence is quickly known as Richard Dreyfuss dies within the first five minutes to them. What the hell? That actually happens.

The story follows a family of 1 single mother, a teenage son, and 2 younger children. The mother is a cop that doesn't take shit & the son is a guy that keeps chasing this girl, but never does anything out of the ordinary - basically, he doesn't have fun because he's stuck taking care of duties his father would have if he was there - so she isn't very interested.

Piranhas have perfect timing. It's the biggest party of the year. Spring has arrived and the party has begun. Not just any party though, it's one on the beaches/docks of Lake Victoria that all popular, hot, and fun college kids attend to. DJs, loud music, alcohol, boats, you name it. Try being a cop trying to stop these party animals - you can't; everyone's been waiting for this party.

Let's just say, things don't end well for the party animals.

Review

I never went into the theatre for this movie thinking: "I can't wait to be thrilled by storytelling, power directing, character development, etc." I actually never go into the movie theatre saying that line exactly, but you know what I mean. I wasn't expecting much from this. I think that's why I enjoyed it so damn much. So much that I've chosen to watch its sequel and review it on my blog.

This movie picks its action, implements just enough story to keep you interested, and substitutes character development with what I like to call - fun and energetic summer popcorn thrills. This movie never takes itself seriously, and that's what makes it funny and dare I say it, good.

The last portion of the movie is an absolute blood bath. So many awesome things happen (for people that love gore that is). A girl gets her hair wrapped in a motorboat's propellers, Piranhas are killing everything, and it's just a huge bloody massacre. Ving Rhames during this scene is hilarious.

I just reviewed this movie with pure bias - and I broke my code of not rating movies based on comedy due to the variety of preferences people have. But, if you're watching Piranha 3D, there is nothing else to rate it by. It is what it is, you either like it or you don't.

Topic of the Day

Considering this movie doesn't have a meaty story, any memorable characters (other than Christopher Lloyd - missed him), or a containment for the creatures of the movie. Remember for The Raid I talked about trapping your characters in a situation they can't easily escape? Piranhas are in Lake Victoria... so what? Go home and stay out of the water. This movie relies simply on the fact that college students are dumb, which in some cases they can be, but it's quite the cliche.

So why does it work?

God, I've been trying to figure this out for the longest time. Maybe it didn't for some of you, but I sure as hell enjoyed it. I think, really, the main reason why I liked this movie was because it had this certain vibe to it. That vibe where the creators know the cliches of the genre, know all the things people have seen before, but do them anyway with their own style. And they do it rather comically too. It's almost like this movie was filmed as a dark comedy, even though it may not seem like it all the time. It never takes itself seriously, goes through standard and somewhat bland plot, but dresses it up with nudity and piranha carnage.

There isn't much more I can say on the topic, but to conclude what I'm saying, I guess this worked because it was a parody in some sense, a dark comedy in another, a horror/thriller for some, and a flat out comedy for the rest. For what this movie lacks in fundamentals, it thrives in genre switches, something I haven't seen much. I won't compare this to Cabin in the Woods which doesn't really have a genre - but they follow the same kind of path. You know? 

Consensus

Piranha 3D is exactly what its trailer sets it out to be; a summer popcorn flick that brings the nudity, the carnage, and the blood and guts. If you watch it with high expectations, it's highly unlikely that you will be satisfied when you finish. I personally enjoyed it due to its controlled genre switching back and forth & its awesome blood bath in the movie's final act. Definitely give it a watch just for your opinion, unless you have a weak stomach, because I thought it was on the verge of being well done.

6.6/10

The Amazing Spiderman

Logline: Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner.

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dennis Leary, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Irrfan Khan

Directed by: Marc Webb

To add on to yesterday's article, Jennifer Lawrence just signed on to do Ends of the Earth, another great screenplay choice. Can't wait.

--- Back on topic.

I chose The Amazing Spiderman because if you know me personally, you'd know spidey is my favorite superhero. I was more pumped for this than I was The Avengers. That being said, I don't really know much about comics, so my review will be completely based on the film alone.

Summary

Much like Sam Raimi's version of Spiderman in 2002, the story begins with Peter Parker living with his grandparents. To add a twist to the old, we actually see his parents leave and their departure has something to do with the plot later on. Peter sneaks around Oscorp, finds himself in a room in which Doctor Curt Connors - a partner of his father in the past - had been working on a device to mutate/heal/recreate limbs of animals & eventually humans. Peter touches things he shouldn't, a spider crawls in his coat from the room, bites him, and we all know what happens from there.

Review

I will always be biased towards Spidey. I loved this movie.

However, I can honestly say I felt more satisfied after watching the 2002 version. I think this is mainly because that story had a lot more meat packed on it, and its plot was original and never been done before. This 2012 re-boot visits a lot of old plot points, so you can kind of see them coming, and when they happen it's kind of been there, done that. You know? It isn't all too bad, though. It certainly didn't ruin the movie for me.

There were also a few scenes that didn't sit well with me. For instance, when Peter Parker throws a football and it makes the foul posts on the field bend because it's thrown so hard. And then the scene with the basketball net exploding seemed kinda hokey. I think this is nitpicking though, again, neither ruined the movie for me.

The chemistry between Garfield and Stone was amazing. Garfield played shy and nervous better than I've ever seen on the big screen before, and Emma Stone was sweet, edgy, sophisticated, and intellectual. Makes for a great mix and a weird romance when Peter starts shooting webs. Plus, the web-twirl-kiss was pretty awesome.

The Lizard looked AMAZING. As a villain, we could care for him because Connors was only trying to heal himself. A man would go to great lengths if he knew he could re-grow his own arm that he'd lost many years prior. As Lizard, the CGI was beautiful and the chaos was... chaotic.

Spiderman follows typical structure, but does it with style and flare. Three huge blockbuster movies this summer: The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spiderman. All three used the same technique to keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Add a time to a place - make something like a bomb to go off at that time, and you create the ultimate stakes and urgency needed. Hey, it worked all summer, who am I to knock the formula.

Topic of the Day

Reboots.

After Spiderman 3 in 2007 I couldn't wait for the next one to come out. Who was going to be the villain? Who were they going to cast? etc etc. When I found out they were going to reboot the entire franchise, as a fan of the series, I was disappointed. I get that there were different series of comic issues, so there are many spins to put on the story of Spiderman, but I just didn't get it. Why reboot a series that's been doing so well, so soon? Just 5 years after? Really? They didn't need to wait that long. And, just for the record, I'm brave enough to admit that I enjoyed the third - even with the jazz dance.

So, after watching the rebooted version, I can kind of see why they did it. Going back, what else could they have done with a 4th movie? It had the possibility of being stale. Now, what they did, was add something to make the series much more meaningful. They added the storyline of his father and made it so Peter will one day discover that his father was actually murdered - and then shit will hit the fan and it will become the most personal Spiderman to date.

Trouble with rebooting a great movie is - you have to revisit plot points which will seem unoriginal and you have to live up to the hype of the old with brand new additions (it can't all be the same). This makes it so things get left out - things fans really enjoyed. Jameson not being in it disappointed me. So, for the first film, fans had to suffer through the issues that a reboot inevitably has to have.

However, this sets up the second film perfectly as expectations for the sequel of this film will not be the same as the sequel from the first in '02. It's a different story, but it took The Amazing Spiderman to distinguish that, now the second has room to pave its own path. Feel me?

Consensus

Although not as meaty as the first Spiderman in 2002, The Amazing Spiderman still packs a solid punch. Well acted, well scripted, and well directed, this reboot paves way for a whole new series that I personally cannot wait to see unfold. This will go down as one of the most underrated movies of the summer, unfortunately - it's pretty damn amazing. 

8.3/10

The Hunger Games

Logline: set in the future where the Capitol selects a boy and a girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match.

Cast:  Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Wes Bentley, Lenny Kravitz

Directed by: Gary Ross

In light of Jennifer Lawrence's pay raise from $500,000  to $10,000,000 for the sequel Catching Fire and that this will be released on DVD very soon... why not? Right?

This movie opened up to a huge audience at the start of the summer, made a ton of money, received high critic acclaim, and pleased fans of the novel series.

Summary

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are District 12's warriors for the next annual Hunger Games, a live broadcasted reality show in which members from each District are sent/selected to participate in. This isn't just any reality TV show, this is one where they kill each other; a last man standing type of thing. This becomes very complicated when Katniss and Peeta start falling for each other. Only one is supposed to survive... how can that work?

Review

This is one of the few movies that I can honestly say after reading the novel, lived up to expectations. Harry Potter will always go down as one of the best adapted film series of all time, but if Catching Fire and Mockingjay are anything like The Hunger Games - expect them to be in competition for that title. Unfortunately, this series only has three entries where as Harry has 8 films - kind of hard to defeat a series that has 8 films done really really well.

I only had two problems with this adaptation. 1) There wasn't enough blood for such a gruesome logline - probably to fit a younger demographic and keep it from an R rating... and 2) the character of Peeta was lesser of a man than I expected him to be. I found him to suffer under the acting of Josh Hutcherson who I felt was a major disappointment.

Topic of the Day

I usually discuss what went right and what went wrong about the movie in this section, but today I'm going to do it differently. I felt that the film stayed true to the novel & therefore didn't have any story issues/character issues. This movie isn't perfect, but I can't really expand on its flaws. I'd be nitpicking. So today I'm going to feature J-Law.

Jennifer Lawrence is going to be a huge star. Maybe one of the best female actresses out there. I believe she already is, and she's only 21! (Happy Birthday to her on the 15th, btw). A lot of good looking actresses go to Hollywood, have dreams of becoming movie stars, making millions, etc. But, it's so much easier when you actually understand the art of acting.

For her, this art came naturally. Apparently she grew up in Kentucky and paved her way through modelling, which led her to an opportunity to cold read for agents at only 14. She was immediately loved and clearly, now, the studios in Hollywood love her too. A natural.

Winter's Bone was her coming out party. Nominated for best actress in a leading role. Like Crazy, The Burning Plain, and The Beaver were just so you could feel her out. She then got some exposure in X-Men: First Class. And now The Hunger Games is where she will thrive in Hollywood and make a name for herself. Let's hope the fame doesn't get to her head - she has a bright future ahead of her if she stays level minded.

Upcoming you can find her in Silver Linings Playbook where she stars opposite De Niro and Bradley Cooper as a troubled young woman. In House at the End of the Street  - a horror in which she is the lead (not a fan of horror, but she's picked some pretty good scripts to date, so). And sequels to both X-Men and The Hunger Games. 

If you didn't know about J-Law before reading this review - go watch this movie - do it for her. She deserves it.

Consensus

Aside from the two criticisms I've made above, the film sticks to its novel's roots and doesn't stray from original source material. Jennifer Lawrence power acts her way through the character of Katniss Everdeen and director Gary Ross makes the ride as intense as possible for the rating it needed to satisfy its demographic. I loved it, will watch it again, and will recommend that everyone give it a try. It's really really good.

8.1/10

Detachment

Logline: a substitute teacher who drifts from classroom to classroom finds a connection to the students and teachers during his latest assignment.

Cast: Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, Betty Kaye, James Caan

Directed by: Tony Kaye

So, I didn't do a Friday review simply because Total Recall came out and I really didn't want to go to the theatres to see it. The weather was nice and I decided to take the day off rather than quickly put up a review of something older. That being said, this will probably show up as originally posted on a Tuesday, and that is correct to some extent, but in the west coast I still have time to make my Monday deadline. :)

If you didn't tune in last Thursday, I reviewed a not so old throwback called The Troll Hunter which, like Detachment, debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2010. Why so long for Detachment to get released? Probably because it wasn't very marketable to begin with. It has since earned a high IMDb rating of 7.7 and has generated a bit of buzz upon its release. Ratings on RT have dropped significantly since this weekend, though.

Summary

In a nutshell, this film is about Henry Barton, a substitute school teacher that could be full time, but chooses not to be. It is also a study of school systems and the philosophies involved in teaching/raising students. In particular, this school happens to be in ghetto America; full of delinquent teenagers.

I'll keep my summary short. It's basically all I can give you. 

Review/Topic of the Day

This movie wasn't made for me.

It raises a ton of points, has a lot of realistic occurrences, and makes you think about certain issues. But it doesn't really stick. I can barely remember most of the issues other than the obvious one which is made very clear in the film's final scene. Why? Because this is material that most people have already thought of and the story itself is unstructured. Yes, Indie movies are supposed to have their own flare. Yes, they're allowed to be different. Yes, I enjoy when writers/directors come up with something unique. BUT, you can't just re-write the basic fundamentals of film making and expect audiences to get you. You have to help them connect to the story, make them feel for every character that's hurting, give them backstory, give them something to cry about when something terrible happens, give them something that they can remember.

Detachment is filmed and written in a way that annoyed me. They'd show scenes from school, then they'd have Barton mumbling about philosophy of raising kids, then they'd cut to a scene with him and hooker, then school, then philosophy, then his dying grandfather who constantly confuses him with his mother that killed herself due to his Alzheimer's disease, then he lets the hooker live in his house, then a student falls for him. Never ever ever does the story stop to take a breath. It constantly pumps characters at you, then throws a montage at you, then throws Barton's backstory at you, which is shown through oddly directed flashbacks that unravel something easily predicted, then scenes that deal with issues other than school issues. It's just one big mess.

This is the same director that did American History X and a documentary on abortion. He likes to take issues by the horns and raise points. I loved AHX, I've watched it numerous times. But, the reason I was so connected to that movie is because the main character's flaws were so real and in your face. The character of Barton does what the movie title says: he detaches himself from society because he doesn't want commitment/the pain that comes with it. He even says at one point that he's "not really there". Talk about a floating character. I felt bad for him, but that doesn't mean I have to be interested in him. In order for me to be connected, I have to be interested. The movie failed from the point I decided that Mr. Barton was boring.

I do have to say though, Adrien Brody continues to impress me and has kept his spot on my underrated actors list for a long time now. This is a guy who won an Oscar and starred in Peter Jackson's King Kong, yet he still continues to do Indies and movies that inspire him. I hope he stops doing Gillette commercials and gets back into doing feature films more often.

Consensus

Detachment is one of those movies that not many people will hear about simply due to the fact that its story and characters are not marketable to a mass audience. The film's ultimate goal is to raise awareness towards the failure of school systems and their curriculum. Although powerfully acted by Adrien Brody, this ultimate goal is derailed by an uninteresting main character, a lack of solutions to the problems presented, and a cluttered story that, fittingly, left me feeling detached from the film's vision. 

5/10

Throwback Thursday- The Troll Hunter

Logline:  A Group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.

Cast: Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Glenn Erland Tosterud

Directed by: André Øvredal

I discovered this hidden gem while reading an article on the movies to look out for at the Tribeca Film Festival back in April of 2011. Being a Norwegian film, The Troll Hunter hasn't gotten the exposure over here that it deserves. I figured, hey, we just did a review on a foreign film yesterday, and last week's throwback was about a hunter, so combine the two...

Summary

This is a "Found Footage Film". Everything observed is through the camera of young researching students who tag along for an unexpected journey. While researching why bears have been dying so much in the forest, the group crosses paths with a mysterious looking man named Hans. This guy dresses like a bounty hunter and smells like he's been through some dirty work. They begin to follow him along and pester him with questions. He gets more and more annoyed as they keep meeting up with him. So he tells them - that's it, stop following me, no more questions.

Instead of giving up, they stake out by his trailer and wait for him to leave. When he does, they follow him into a forest in the middle of nowhere. Trying to keep up with him, they hear a loud noise - inhuman. They start to get creeped out. Their car is now trashed too, so they're stuck. Out of nowhere Hans appears from the bushes and tells them they need to stick close. He covers them in urine to avoid being sensed and they head out into the forest. What do you know, Hans actually hunts trolls. Real trolls. A government secret since, forever.

Review

I can't put into words how much this movie has stuck with me since last April when I watched it twice. Everything about The Troll Hunter is top notch. The characters, the production, the direction, the acting, the sound, everything. It follows the story documenting a mysterious Troll Hunter named Hans who regularly covers himself in piss & carries one of the world's biggest secrets. It's filled with humor. Not laugh out loud humor, although sometimes there is. It's the type of humor dealing with the type of person Hans is. He's funny, yet serious, and everything about him is awesome.

Topic of the Day

I've dived into the schematics of film in my past reviews, but today I've chosen to do something a little different. I want to rant a little bit. It's Thursday...

A lot of people are getting frustrated by the flux of "Found Footage" or "Point of View" camera techniques that have seemingly come in abundance over the past few years and will continue to come in the future. I mean, really? I can only name as many to count on my fingers that were popular.

People love to hate on Cloverfield for its shaky camera techniques. Ever since that movie, POV camera has been publically hated on by many people. Why? I have no idea. I find it adds a realistic touch to the movie - as if you're watching it by what these people actually saw and what they obtained footage of. People always claim that movies aren't doing anything new, directors and writers are following formulaic technique and structure to appeal to the masses. Well, here's something new, and it's not that bad. In fact, take a look at some of them. Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity 1, 2 & 3, Chronicle, The Troll Hunter, Project X, etc. These have not only done well for themselves; all except Project X (which is highly rated by fans) are critically acclaimed. These are the main brunt of the FF/POV genre these days. Yeah there are some mishaps like The Devil Inside and Apollo 18, but that just comes with the business. Devil Inside had no ending and Apollo finished faster than seabiscuit.

I shouldn't say this is new. There are movies dating back into the 80's using this technique. However, they are becoming more popular lately and they are beginning to get produced more, you will see soon enough. Not every one of them is like Cloverfield, and directors are finding ways to keep the cameras from shaking but still seeming real. Troll Hunter is a prime example of that.

Consensus

The Troll Hunter is an amazing character and an amazing movie. The graphics and CGI are top notch for a foreign film and this will go down as one of the craziest rides that most North Americans will miss out on. If you haven't heard of it, or have but haven't watched it yet, give it a try. It's well worth your time.

8.2/10

The Raid

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

Cast: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy

Directed by: Gareth Evans

I will admit that kung-fu movies have never been my forte, but I've been waiting for this movie since last August when I read its plot synopsis on the TIFF list. I actually had no idea that it was a kung-fu movie until the trailers were released. I was still interested & it was followed by a lot of buzz upon release, making me even more interested.

So. The Raid. Did it live up to the hype?

Summary

Tama Riyada is a brutal crime lord who effortlessly kills without remorse. Tama has two men that he holds close - Andi the brains and Mad Dog the crazy hitman. He runs a building that tenants many other criminals that all obey his commands. This building is unanimously known as untouchable.

Enter SWAT. A team of about 15 or so drive up to the building and attempt to take it over. Our films protag is named Rama, a rookie SWAT member who shouldn't have been raiding in such an important task this early in his career. The team bursts in and clears their way to the 6th floor without any problems. When they get there, Tama is alerted and he begins watching surveillance through cameras placed all over the building. The SWAT team is trapped. Criminals are rising from the lower levels and criminals are descending from the top floors. It is learned, through the team's panic, that backup will not be called as this is a mission off-the-books and the team is all alone.

Intense.

Review

The Raid is everything I wanted it to be. Coming from an indie director without much of a name, the camera work was artsy and fresh. The soundtrack was brilliant and almost every scene meant something. For a movie with 1h 41mins, it goes by really quickly due to the fact that the movie rarely ever floats. It's filled with action and the dialogue constantly advances the plot. 

There is a twist near the end that makes the raid personal for Rama and in doing so, makes the movie even that much better. I won't reveal the twist, but it leaves room for a sequel. If they plan on making one, I can't wait.

Topic of the Day

This worked due to pacing and location.

This movie never floats. By that I mean there is never a point in time where I wanted to pick up my tablet and browse the internet while I waited for something to happen. So many movies think it's okay to float in order to add runtime. This one never did that. Why? Location.

Look at location movies in the past that have worked. Jurassic Park, Alien, Phone Booth, etc. They worked because there was literally NO WAY OUT. Imagine being stuck on an island with no escape filled with carnivorous dinosaurs on the loose. Imagine being stuck on another planet in a space ship that has a creepy & malignant alien predator on it. Imagine being stuck in a phone booth with a sniper constantly having his crosshairs on your forehead preventing any escape. Imagine being trapped on the 6th floor of a huge building with the town's biggest crime lord ordering his goons from the floors above and below you to leave no man alive. Get where I'm goin' with this? Location can be used to make a movie intense for the entire time. The audience knows the stakes right from the beginning of the plot - escape or suffer a dreadful death. By having the SWAT team placed in this location it creates a constantly flow of things happening. The key to location movies is having no route of escape. Location allowed for this movie to be paced just right. Even the dialogue scenes are tense because in such a hostile environment anything could happen. However, the dialogue did provide a breath of fresh air from the action and it always kept the film moving forward.

Consensus

Not sure of what to think knowing that this was a kung-fu movie, I went into this with an open mind. I still felt the hype I created for myself last summer though - and it lived up to every bit of it. The only criticism I had was the lack of character development. It does great to eliminate a lot of the SWAT team early in order to focus on a core group of people, but there wasn't much backstory to go along with it. I forgive the makers none-the-less because I thoroughly enjoyed watching regardless.

The Raid is a fast paced, well directed, well acted, and well plotted action/location hidden gem of a movie. The action stops to breathe with dialogue that advances the plot and then dives right back in to greatly choreographed fight scenes with meaning behind them. It was everything I had hoped for and would gladly watch it again.

8/10