Buster Keaton, Jacques Tati, and Jackie Chan created films that privileged performance over plot, partially sacrificing the satisfactions of narrative for the gratification of showcasing sheer skill. Peter Greenaway used to complain that movies had become little more than 19th-century novels transferred to film, firmly devoted to story and character. The story sounds lightweight, but The Raid scores on so many levels that it’s impossible to dismiss. And, of course, things go terribly wrong. Their mission is to neutralize his gang, arrest him, and get out without being macheted, shot, kicked out a window, or picked off by a seemingly endless army of henchmen led by the insane Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian) and the cool, composed Andi (Doni Alamsyah). The plot is bone simple: a SWAT team enters a 15-story housing project owned by a crime lord, Tama (Ray Sahetapy), whose lair is located on the top floor. Shot for slightly over a million dollars, The Raid reunites the team behind 2009’s amiable Merantau for a flick that represents a major leap forward in storytelling, performance, and technique. Viewers will later look back on this scene fondly as the one time in this frenetic film when they had a moment to catch their breath. There aren’t many action movies that begin with their Muslim hero performing his morning prayers, but before it launches into 101 minutes of nonstop face-breaking, kneecap-shattering, and elbow-smashing, Indonesia’s The Raid does just that, giving its audience a few quiet minutes of actor Iko Uwais doing fajr.
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