‘Berandal’ (2014, Re-evaluated): Gareth Evans’ Reach Exceeds His Grasp

Directed by: Gareth Evans || Produced by: Ario Sagantoro, Nate Bolotin, Aram Tertzakian

Written by: Gareth Evans || Starring: Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra, Oka Antara, Tio Pakusadwo, Alex Abbad, Julie  Estelle, Ryuhei Matsuda, Kenichi Endo, Kazuki Kitamura

Music by: Fajar Yuskemal, Aria Prayogi, Joseph Trapanese || Cinematography by: Matt Flannery, Dimas Imam Subhono || Editing by: Gareth Evans, Dimas Imam Subhono || Country: Indonesia || Language: Indonesian, Japanese

Running Time: 148 minutes

Today’s movie review will be an official re-evaluation, a re-review if you will, of one of my most beloved films in recent memory with the added benefit of a year’s hindsight and legacy served cold. This calm-downed review will be less enthusiastic than my initial review of Gareth Evan’s sequel to my favorite post-new millennium film, but keep in mind that I’m only rewriting my original review, dedicating two separate posts to one film, because I love both Raid films so much. I do it out of love, like a parent offering necessary constructive criticism to their offspring. I (over)analyze because I care.

With that out of the way, we can discuss The Raid 2, originally titled Berandal because there’s no police “raid” in the sequel. This film was originally meant to be an ambitious standalone crime epic before Evans ran into funding problems. The original Raid only got made because Evans couldn’t scrounge up the $4.5 million required to film Berandal (Indonesian for “thug,” or “delinquent”). When art was made from adversity, brilliant cult violence birthed almost by accident, and The Raid hit it big in the festival circuit, Evans established the street cred and marketability to film his original vision, which was later reworked and retrofitted to serve as a direct sequel to The Raid.

Berandal ends with one of the best fights in movie history, and also one of the longest, at over 6 minutes in length.

What most people had a problem with in Berandal was its indecisive and inconsistently paced story. I don’t think the story is that dense nor are its characters hard to understand, but its focus is indecisive and its editing isn’t the best. I’m not referring to the actual shot-by-shot editing or the construction of the action sequences, certainly, but rather the flow of the overall story and a couple key side-characters and subplots that should’ve been cut.

After watching the film numerous times since its release, I’ve noticed again and again how much the Prakoso (Yayan Ruhian)-subplot drags during the middle of the film. His character could almost stand to be in a separate film (a Merantau Pictures spinoff, perhaps?) and his impact on the story is negligible at best. No doubt Evans has such respect for the man (Ruhian co-choreographed both Raid films with Uwais and was originally set to be Berandal’s main villain) that he felt obligated to include him in a starring role, but the end result is Ruhian’s character is unnecessary in this film, and for action movie-pacing that is unforgivable.

Berandal’s pacing problems are further exacerbated by the movie’s massive ensemble cast and plethora of subplots. You have Uwais’ undercover mission as the protagonist, Arifin Putra’s memorable Mafia-prodigy arc and temptation by the veritable Devil-in-shades, Alex Abbad, Abbad’s own villainous plot, Putra’s relationship with his father, Tio Pakusadewo, and their conflict with a rival Japanese Yakuza crime-syndicate; at the end of the day, this is too much material to cover in one film, especially when you have unnecessary side plots like Ruhian’s further crowding the stage.

Complicated plots and character dynamics aren’t a problem in films like The Expendables (2010), the original Raid, or John Wick (2014) because those films are built purposefully generic to streamline their pacing and focus on the action. Something like John Wick is particularly efficient because it manages to tell a straightforward revenge tale while also building an enticing and rich universe around that central plot in 90 minutes. Berandal features an equally rich universe but takes almost two and a half hours to tell it.

What’s most frustrating about all this is that The Raid 2’s characters are so strong and well acted. Evans clearly cares about this universe and his film is impeccably cast. There’s a great story here, but it needed more room to breathe. For instance, I wanted to see more of Abbad’s antagonist and learn more about his backstory, what makes him tick, and what’s behind those classy shades of his. What separates The Raid 2 from most action films is that it neither simplifies its story nor tells a narrative that is convoluted or poorly acted. Berandal’s characters are strong, everybody has screen presence (even if they don’t say a word, like Cecep Arif Rahman’s “Assassin”), and the story has clear stakes that set up its action, not the other way around. It’s neither 2011’s Raid nor an incoherent, hackneyed Fast and Furious (2001-) flick, and that’s what makes its imperfect execution so disappointing. All that could’ve fixed this was a second screenwriter, a different editor, or second screenwriter, or a different editor. Do you get it?

Evans was keen on adding car chase elements to his sequel and he delivers in full.

Needless to say, the action itself is extraordinary and incredibly brutal. This semi-sequel manages to outclass the original Raid in terms of blood, gore, and creative, excruciating deaths. A big stylistic change that I liked is how Berandal’s visuals are clean, crisp, and diversely colored compared to The Raid’s monochromatic, dingy palette. Both styles are good in their own way, but the way Berandal embraces an almost graphic novel-esque flavor is creative and fun.

This film’s hand-to-hand combat and variety of close-quarters handheld camerawork is comparable to The Raid’s. The expanded scope of the story allows for more locations, more types of action (car chases!), and more characters equals more fighting styles. There are numerous long takes and insanely angled shots that are incredible. That being said, the absence of a constantly crowded, cramped setting requires much more suspension of disbelief as fighters continue to approach the starring characters one at a time, and it’s harder for Evans to keep extras out of the frame to help us ignore this. Much of what makes the film’s lauded vehicular chase centerpiece work so well (e.g. interchangeable combat styles, logical framing, minimal dramatic exposition) is a good summary of my nitpicks of the rest of the film.

At the end of the day, I suppose I return to the rough state-of-mind and response I had when I first saw The Raid 2 in theatres on opening night. I had a blast with the film and still love it to this day, but rewatching it several (re: many) times over has helped develop and mature my overall opinion of it. It’s vicious and ambitious, but its mediocre pacing and crowded screenplay bring it down a notch below its predecessor.

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SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION: The Raid 2 is even more ruthless and bloodthirsty than the 2011 original. It’s scope in both action-scale and narrative breadth are expansive and ambitious.

Cinematographically speaking, its determination pays off in spades. Iko Uwais proves he can, in fact, act, despite his primary training as an athlete; the supporting cast is arguably the best in any action film since Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991).

— However… Berandal tries to do too much with too many characters in too long a running time. Numerous scenes could and should’ve been cut, including Ruhian’s entire character and subplot. Uwais’ finale rampage lasts a little too long, or perhaps not long enough, as his three to four fights become exhausting back-to-back-to-back. The film grows too bloated, for lack of a better word.

—> RECOMMENDED

? “Were gonna change it [from Berandal]. I’m hoping not The Raid 2… ” Two years later, the best they could do was The Raid 2: Berandal. Way to go, everybody.