8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A police raid on a decrepit, vast Indonesian apartment building populated by the city's most dangerous and desperate citizens turns into a bloodbath. The elite SWAT team who have breached the building, including courageous and noble policeman Rama, are pursuing the building's owner, a powerful drug lord. Their assignment proves even more dangerous and deadly than expected.
Starring: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Pierre GrunoThriller | 100% |
Action | 86% |
Crime | 82% |
Martial arts | 56% |
Foreign | 53% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Indonesian: Dolby Atmos
Indonesian: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Indonesian: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Atmos and DTS-HD Indonesian tracks are available with Original or International Music. Confirmed by Spanish speakers, Spanish track is Castilian Spanish, so Latin Spanish is not included as the back cover claims.
English, English SDH, Portuguese, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
You wouldn't necessarily be wrong if you noted the ahem similarities between fan-favorite cult classic Dredd, from writer Alex Garland and director Pete Travis, and filmmaker Gareth Evans's The Raid: Redemption. For the record, The Raid came first, by a year, which tells us two things: first, if anything, Dredd took its cues from its Thai cousin, but second, the two were released too close together for either one to inform much of the other. Sometimes coincidence shines on cinema on two continents. You also wouldn't be the first to confuse Welsh director Gareth Evans with British director Gareth Edwards, of Star Wars: Rogue One and 2014 Godzilla relaunch fame (or infamy, depending on your outlook). They are verifiably, um, two different people. So, with any nagging plagiaristic concerns and identity crises out of the way, on to The Raid: Redemption(!), a ballsy, no holds barred, ultraviolent, low-budget/high-impact Indonesian martial arts film that hits every bit as hard in 2023 -- harder actually, when you learn how much of the stunt work is borderline real -- as it did more than ten years ago.
The Raid: Redemption is presented in 4K with an HVEC-encoded remastered transfer that features a completely new color grade created under
director Gareth Evans's supervision. This new edition of the film comes courtesy of XYZ Films and Merantau Films. First things first, the new color
grading is dramatic, representing a substantial shift in the tone and appearance of the image. Black levels are much, much deeper and shadow
delineation is more punishing to background detail. However, the benefits far outweigh any complaint that could be levied against the presentation.
Colors are far warmer, more robust and vibrant, with hotly saturated skin tones puncturing the darkness and lending cinematic flair to the image; an
image that
was obnoxiously brightened, horribly desaturated, and overly flat and two-dimensional in its previous Blu-ray release. Here the hallways stretch into the
background convincingly, with foreground elements that pop and fine textures that are exacting and precise. Grain is also present and refined
throughout, granting the photography a filmic aesthetic that's appreciated. Again, it's a dark shift into some even darker color grading. Very
dark. But to my eye it's far more pleasing and much more in keeping with the tone and tenor of what's happening on screen. It's also important to
note this is still a low budget film that no amount of remastering could transform into a polished modern actioner. There is some softness, crush and
other issues inherent to the source. But none that appeared to me to be tied to the encoding efforts. This is by all measures The Raid Gareth
Evans wants you to see.
Note: I made an attempt to capture screenshots that best represent the fullness of the upgrade and the resulting quality of the image. However, it
should be noted that The Raid proved to be one of the most difficult films I've ever had to screenshot. The action is so fast, so fierce, that
screenshots don't do the presentation justice. In motion, the film looks pretty incredible.
There are actually four Indonesian-language audio options included on the 4K disc: Dolby Atmos (with Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatibility) and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks that feature the film's original Indonesian music score, and Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks that feature Mike Shinoda (Linkin' Park) and Joe Trapanese's international music score. (English-language and Castilian Spanish dubs are also included, via two DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes.) The result? So long as you select an Indonesian-language track, you're sure to be delighted with the payoff. Dialogue is intelligible, crisp and nicely prioritized, even amidst all the chaos. LFE output is aggressive and sternum-pounding, adding a physical element to an aural experience. The rear speakers are assertive and engaging, crafting a fully immersive soundfield with directional accuracy and action-scene complexity. The Atmos mix is especially electrifying, granting the listener an even more rousing, enveloping beatdown that's every bit as convincing as you could hope for. This is how The Raid's original sound design was meant to be heard.
All of the 4K edition's supplemental content is found on the Blu-ray copy of the film (including the director's audio commentary). As mentioned
above, the Blu-ray disc is the same outdated Sony disc that was released in 2012, complete with the previous color grading. It would have been nice
to see a new commentary or featurette, detailing the process and choices behind the remaster, but so it goes. Below is Martin Liebman's overview of
the special features you'll find in this 2-disc set:
I love The Raid and its sequel. I particularly enjoyed the first film this go-round, with a newly minted presentation featuring new color grading and an image overhaul courtesy of director Gareth Evans himself. The upgrade is well worth the cost of admission, as this is The Raid in a whole new light (or darkness as it were). Some may not approve of the change but I found it to be an excellent update to an old favorite. Sony's 4K Blu-ray release is even better with an excellent video transfer and a wide array of audio options that deliver the goods. It also features all the bonus content of previous editions, although the extras are found on the set's standard Blu-ray disc, which is presented with the now wildly outdated original video transfer. All told, this is one of the first must-own 4K releases of 2024. Enjoy!
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