The Raid (2011)

Gareth Evans is a Welsh director who relocated to Indonesia after meeting his future wife, a practitioner of pencak silat (the traditional Indonesian martial art that became central to his work), and it was there he made his debut feature Footsteps before assembling much of the same team for this 2011 breakthrough. Shot on a reported budget of just over a million dollars, the film was a co-production between Indonesian outfit PT. Merantau Films and the US-based XYZ Films, with the latter handling international distribution and generating considerable festival buzz before a wider release. Evans cast Iko Uwais, a silat practitioner he had already worked with on Merantau, in the lead, and the choreography was built around that discipline's close-quarters, elbow-heavy style. The film was re-edited and rescored for its English-language release, with Welsh band Linkin Park collaborators Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese providing a new soundtrack for Western markets.

The Raid is basically two hours of non-stop punching, kicking, shooting, and climbing stairwells. No frills, no breaks, and barely any plot. It’s a simple premise: a rookie cop and his team get trapped in a high-rise full of criminals and have to fight their way out. That’s it. No twists, no deep characters, no emotional arcs, just action from minute one to the end. And honestly? The action is incredible. The choreography is tight, brutal, and insanely well-shot. You can actually follow what’s happening, which is more than you can say for most modern action films. But outside of the fight scenes, there’s not much here. The story’s paper-thin, the dialogue is forgettable, and the whole thing’s drenched in a dull, grey-green filter that makes every scene look like a damp basement. It’s functional, sure, but it doesn’t exactly scream visual flair. You’re not watching this for the cinematography or the script, you’re here for the roundhouse kicks and bone-crunching takedowns. And that’s fine. Sometimes you just want a solid beat-’em-up. But The Raid never tries to be more than that, and it never really surprises you either. It’s one-dimensional, no doubt. Great for a Friday night with zero brainpower required, but don’t expect anything deeper.

Rating: ★★★  | Year: 2011  | Watched: 2025-08-26

View on Letterboxd →

Where to watch (UK)

Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK

Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.

Related on Movies With Macca

More with Iko Uwais: The Night Comes for Us (2018)
More from Indonesia: The Elixir (2025) · The Night Comes for Us (2018)
More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
More thriller: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Angst (1983) · The Long Walk (2025) · Punishment Park (1971)