The Raid 2 Berandal

I've seen it. First one is better. The first is a simplistic nonstop action film, the sequel tries to be some Indonesian Godfather in a good way. The pacing though feels really off and the story parts drag on and felt like some cheap student film to be honest. There is definitely great action sequences in this, especially the car chase, but nothing beats the brothers vs Mad Dog from the first. I did thought the last battle with The Assassin was lacking compared to Mad Dog's fight which was more of a novelty I guess. Overall decent, but I was hoping for more, after those glowing "best action film ever" reviews from Sundance.

 

After second watch...

I felt the movie was better the moment you get to the prison yard fight. Personally I was surprised at how different and fresh this movie felt even though you are pretty much only watching for the action. My only complaint is that the middle act felt a bit too drawn out. There is so much action though, goddamn.

I liked the Bolivian Army Ending but how are they going to continue the series with Rama?

We know at the end the Yakuza still pretty intact. The third movie could be about them taking over Jakarta.  So maybe they'll use another main character and leave Rama's destiny up to imagination? Or will they show a complex plot of how he was saved? Because he was pretty much fucked at the end. Though I liked that ending I was pissed of they didn't deal with the corrupt police officers which was the entire reason Rama went undercover to begin with. I thought the whole point was to discover dirty cops dealing with the mob but that was forgotten for a gang war movie so that made Rama going undercover basically pointless.